DINING OUT -- MARY FURR

An open door welcomes you to Sunday Champagne Brunch ($9.95) at

Bukhara, on Edinger Avenue across from Huntington Center. It’s the only

Indian restaurant in Huntington Beach and its steam table is a perfect

introduction to dishes that may be new to you.

The pleasant rose-colored room has double-clothed tables and

upholstered banquettes with the brunch buffet toward the back.

Informative labels over the hot trays help as you make selections. First

are a fruit chutney, a bright green mint sauce and a creamy white yogurt

dressing for the salad greens. Yogurt is used extensively in Indian

dishes as part of the sauces, salad dressings or as a marinade for meats.

The buffet offers several flavorful classic vegetable dishes such as

o7 saag paneerf7 , a creamed spinach and cheese dish with hot

cauliflower and potato sauteed in herbs calledo7 aloo gobif7 . There’s

o7 dalmakhanif7 , a delicious creamy lentil dish with vegetables and

freshly ground cumin and coriander seeds.

Chef Sunjet Singh comes early to prepare the dishes in limited

amounts, in order to maintain the perfect balance of herbs and spices.

Beyond the trays of saucy selections are those prepared in the tandoor

oven -- a large earthenware pot about three feet deep in which meat is

cooked over charcoal.

My chicken o7 tikka masala f7 (chicken pieces) cooked in the tandoor

was tender and moist, imbued with the earthly aroma of the oven. Most

tandoor dishes are a red/gold color originally achieved by dusting with

saffron, the world’s most expensive spice. I usually select

tandoori-cooked meats for their special flavor. For example, theo7

seekhf7 kabob, minced meat with ginger and herbs molded around long

skewers which are roasted by thrusting each in the tandoor oven.

The tandoor is also used to prepare the Indian bread o7 naanf7 . It

was disappointing this time at Bukhara -- rather dry and stiff, when it

had been tender, hot and blistered on a previous visit.

Though Indian cuisine can be too spicy, at Bukhara there is only an

undercurrent of warmth -- just enough to heat the taste buds. Also a must

to add to your plate is the golden long grained basmati rice mixed with

tiny pieces of vegetables and nuts, and fragrant with the aroma of

saffron.

Indian desserts are usually quite sweet but Bukhara has a o7 kheerf7

that is very good and simple -- a creamy rice pudding studded with

raisins, bits of almonds and lightly flavored with rosewater and

cardamom. Fancier is o7 gulab jamunf7 , a deep-fried, cake-like milk

ball, flavored with rosewater and soaked in honey syrup. It is not as

sweet at Bukhara as it is at some Indian restaurants.

If you decide to pass on dessert, you might finish with o7 chaif7

($1.50), Indian tea -- usually a combination of strong teas like

Darjeeling and Assan -- which is sweetened before being brought to the

table. At Bukhara, a light chocolate flavor has been added. It’s a

sipping and lingering drink, perfect to end an exciting cuisine.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions for her, call (562) 493-5062.

FYI

o7 BUKHARAf7

ADDRESS: 7594 Edinger Ave., Huntington Beach

PHONE: (714) 842-3171

FAX: (714) 842-4250

HOURS: Lunch - 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. Monday through Friday; Dinner - 5 to

10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5 to 10:30 p.m. Friday through Sunday;

Sunday brunch - 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.