Turning up heat on Indian cuisine

Lori Midson, Special to the Rocky

Published February 1, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Lounging in an uncomely mini-mall in Greenwood Village, India's Castle is an exotic lair of a restaurant, an enchanting galaxy bewitched by the golden glow of candles, hand-woven billowy fabrics, glass-topped tables and a wall of windows, framed with fringed tapestry curtains.

On a Friday night, the dining room is thronged with couples, college students, globe- trotting foodophiles and families diving into flavor-bombed dishes that do somersaults in the mouth. Curries come out singed with heat. Housemade chai ($2.50) flows like waterfalls. The servers, attired in black pants, white shirts and skinny black ties, are endearingly demure and unfalteringly accommodating.

Over the past few years, Denver has seen an infiltration of Indian restaurants, many of which are bedeviled by tempered kitchens, catering to reticent American palates. But in the hands of a sassy chef who doesn't shy away from his homeland's authenticity, Indian food is unequivocally one of the world's most riveting cuisines.

Indian food is my paramour, an ongoing love affair that began during my junior year of college, when I spent a year in London hanging out at the corner curry house. It was there that I encountered the powerful pleasures of ginger and garlic, pungent curry leaves and black mustard seeds, cilantro, cardamom pods and tongue-searing chilies, all of which weave their way through the complex dishes that make this unnerving cuisine vibrate with forceful flavors and emotion.

Considering its regal quarters, it is clear that India's Castle strives to be more than your run- of-the-mill curry parlor. The kitchen doesn't explore new ground and there are no offbeat, fusion forages, but the extensive, multiregional menu - a journey through familiar tandoori preparations, masalas, kormas, bhoonas, vindaloos, vegetarian dishes and Indian breads - delivers vibrant diversity and exceptional dishes redolent with seductive spices.

From the greaseless, golden-fried, cumin- scented vegetarian samosas ($3.95), simultaneously crisp and chewy and fat as a boxer's fist, to the strawberry lassi ($3), stocked with the sweet flesh of ripe berries, nearly everything about India's Castle reminds me of why I want my last meal on earth to be in an Indian restaurant, preferably this one.

Sitting in a cozy booth in the warm dining room, listening to everything from Indian-inspired low-key ballads to get-your-groove- on disco beneath the mosaic cloud of fabric, it's possible to feel as though you've entered some mysterious realm on the far side of the globe - if not to Delhi, then at least to my days in London.

Then, when you get a waft of curry from the kitchen and the crescendo of dishes begins to arrive at the table, you know you've been transported. I know this because every time I eat here, I'm completely imprisoned by the marvels on my plate, wanting to linger as long as I can, reluctant to leave.

This is especially true when I'm in the dream world of chicken tikka masala ($13.95), smooth as marble, mellow with cream and piquant with roasted tomatoes and assailing gusts of fire, fenugreek, cumin and coriander to rev up its flavor, with tender cubes of chicken lolling in its steamy bath. The saag paneer ($12.95), creamed spinach simmered with homemade white cheese cubes, is musky, earthy and lush.

It may also be the restaurant's best dish. Or is it the exceptional lamb vindaloo ($12.95), a provocatively peppery, ginger-fragrant, distinctly vinegary ghost print that leaves a hauntingly spicy spell on the tongue?

It is an unexpected pleasure to find an Indian restaurant that isn't afraid to breathe fire into its food. Request your lamb jalfrazie ($13.95) - tender nuggets of savory lamb submerged in a swathe of red and green peppers, tomatoes and broccoli - hot, and the servers don't belittle you with raised eyebrows. More important, the kitchen obliges.

Breads are wonderful and include a tandoori- slapped, blistered naan ($2.95), crusted with garlic and chopped cilantro leaves, and paratha ($2.95), glistening with ghee (clarified butter) and stuffed with garlic, onions and spices.

I won't belabor small failures like the pallid dal soup ($3.50) wanting for a splash of lemon and salt, or the lukewarm, watered-down cream of tomato soup ($3.50).

Instead, I'll laud the wine list, large for an Indian restaurant and strewn with inexpensive bottlings, including a handful of Rieslings and Gewurztraminers, which pair far better with Indian food than any chardonnay.

That said, I prefer my curries with beer, a hankering that someone here also seems to agree with, considering there are upwards of 40 bottled brews, including 10 from India.

India's Castle

* Grade: A-

* Address: 9555 E. Arapahoe Road, Greenwood Village

* Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Mon.-Fri and 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sat.; dinner: 5-9:30 p.m. Sun.-Thurs and 5-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat.

* Food: Indian

* How much: $3.50-$6.95 starters; $8.95-$35.95 entrees

* Reservations: Recommended on weekends

* Noise: Lively, but not too loud

* Information: indias castle.com; 303-782-9700

* Parking: Free lot in front of the restaurant

Food like no other country in the world

There is something marvelously satisfying about Indian food - the fresh-ground spices and pungent herbs, the intoxicating scents, the camaraderie of sharing plates of basmati and curries - but for whatever reason, I've always found it difficult to convince even the most adventurous food warriors to partake in my passion for Indian cooking. Most of them would prefer to bury their noses in algebra rather than risk a run-in with a vindaloo.

If you're not familiar with the foods of India, an ethnic melting pot of myriad cultures and diverse cuisines whose one common denominator is the blending of spices, then it's time you learn. You can either head straight to India's Castle or immerse yourself in Indian cookbooks, like The Best of India ($16.95), a tidy cookbook by Balraj Khanna whose authentic recipes, encapsulated in stunning photography, range from pork vindaloo to aloo paratha. It also peddles an extensive, but not daunting, glossary of Indian ingredients.

I also like Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookbook ($13.95) for its spices and seasonings cheat sheet and straightforward recipes. And Rani's Feast of India ($12.95), while devoid of photos, is chock-full of engaging recipes, including chapters on nonalcoholic Indian libations and desserts.

And if you're seeing stars after your vindaloo, there's even a chapter devoted to Hindu astrology.

• Mark writes:

  Man, I loved this review!!!! I love Indian food and so can't wait to try this restaurant. Thanks to the reviewer for giving me a new place to dine.

•  

  lindad writes:

  I agree, really great review and now that I've had the pleasure of having dinner here, I won't go anywhere else for Indian food.