Dining pick of the week: Taj Palace

Indian food is all about spices, and once you discover the many within this ancient cuisine, you’ll become a believer. And when it comes time to worship, Taj Palace should be your temple. It presents made-to-order, ethnic Indian food that represents an authentic taste. As with most Indian restaurants, there is a good selection of vegetarian dishes, such as vegetarian curry, vegetable biryani (veggies sautéed with basmati rice, raisins, nuts) and aloo mattar, green peas and potatoes cooked in tomato sauce with herbs and spices. There are so many tasty entrees featuring chicken, shrimp, fish, lamb and goat —- each prepared mild, medium or hot. The naan bread is delicious, with flavors such as onion and cilantro, nuts and raisins, nann filled with tandori chicken and garlic naan with the option of chili. This place needs to be discovered with soups such as dal shorba, the refreshing yogurt drink called lassi dil khush, and pakora and samosa appetizers. Authentic? Enjoy desserts called ras malai, kheer, kulfi and gajar halwa, grated carrots served in sweetened milk with almonds, cashews and raisins. Entrees begin at $9.95 and soups at $3.95. Taj Palace serves a daily lunch buffet for $9.99 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and dinner begins at 5 p.m. — Jack Bulavsky