Taj rogan josh Photo by Debee Tlumacki for the Boston Globe
IN THE KITCHEN When Raginder Singh, longtime co-owner of Quick 6 Liquors in Weymouth, heard earlier this year that the restaurant space across the street was becoming available, he knew he wanted to get back into the kitchen. The native of India has cooked in many restaurants since immigrating to the United States in 1992, and credits the owner of Kashmir on Newbury Street in Boston with teaching him how to cook well. In the kitchen with Singh at Taj Modern Indian Cuisine is his brother and business partner, Tarlochan Gidda. And with his daughter and niece working the front of the house, Taj is a family affair.
THE LOCALE Marked by a tall sign, the restaurant sits close to the road on busy Bridge Street, just south of the Fore River Bridge, in a commuter-driven strip of service businesses. The space, which used to be a pizza place, is clean and spare looking, the tables set with double white plates and cloth napkins. Singh’s daughter, Jagdeep, is a cheerful and knowledgeable server who is happy to guide the uninitiated through the menu.
ON THE MENU Singh and family are happily hospitable, and offer complimentary cups of the soup of the day at dinner and even to those waiting for a take-out order. It’s a little confusing, but in a very nice way, since the soups are also on the menu and can be purchased at lunch, or at dinner if you want one that isn’t the special of the day. In any case, it’s a good deal and a lovely gesture, and the soups are very good. The classic mulligatawny ($2.95 lunch/$3.95 dinner) is a soothing broth with yellow lentils in a rich base. Similarly light, the tomato coconut soup ($2.95/$3.95) combines coconut’s alkalinity with tomatoes’ acidity beautifully. Loved it.
Taj offers all of the familiar North Indian dishes — samosa, pakora, dosa, tandoori, biryani, curry — along with a funny-sounding but tasty American-Indian hybrid: naanwich. As you would expect, these are rollup-like sandwiches made with naan bread. The chicken tikka naanwich ($8.95) is filled with hunks of moist white meat, cucumbers, peppers, onion, and a special house sauce that tastes joltingly like Russian dressing. I asked to have the house raita (yogurt and cucumber) subbed in for the sauce on a lamb shish kebab naanwich ($8.95). The raita made a great sauce; the lamb here isn’t in chunks, but something akin to meatballs.
An omnivore is likely to be equally satisfied with the good lamb rogan josh ($6.95/$13.95) and the meatless baingan bharta ($6.95/$10.95). This dish turns eggplant, slowly baked in a clay oven and then mashed, into the creamy body of a thick stew with peas, onions, tomatoes, and ginger in a lovely complex, curry flavor.
Beware: Taj’s dishes tend to be spicy, and even mild is pretty hot.
The half-order of tandoori chicken ($10.95) is just right for those who don’t want a saucy meal, with four bone-in pieces of marinated, moist, baked chicken; the full order, with eight pieces, is $18.95.
Naan bread ($2.50) is its delicious self here, but don’t bother with the cheese naan ($3.50), which is only slightly sprinkled with cheese and not stuffed with mozzarella as advertised.
Lunch, Monday through Friday, is a real deal, with most dishes under $8.
Taj hasn’t been open long, and all reports have been good. Singh is very willing to please, so it’s a fair bet that this little place will get better and better.
Taj Modern Indian Cuisine, 312 Bridge St., Weymouth, 781-803-2521,www.tajmoderncuisine.com.
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