Sabor a India

Sabor a India sits on Avinguda de Joan Miró in Cala Major, on the western edge of Palma. The house describes its own cooking as authentic Indian tandoori cuisine, and the menu bears that out: northern-leaning curries across a whole run of preparations, plus a section of its own for everything that comes out of the clay oven. Anyone who eats Indian food regularly will recognise the logic of this menu at once. Eight curry preparations sit side by side — Curry, Madras, Masala, Dansak, Vindaloo, Jalfrezi, Korma and Rogan Josh — and each can be had with beef, chicken, lamb, prawns or vegetables. It sounds like a construction kit, but it is easy to order from: you decide first how hot and how creamy you want it, and then what goes in. The balti dishes follow the same logic, as do six biryanis, from the vegetable version to the mixed house one. What stands out is that beef runs through the entire curry range and appears as a biryani too — not something you find on every Indian menu. The house specialities Alongside the declined curries, Sabor a India keeps a section of dishes with names of their own. The Sabor a India Especial is boneless chicken breast cut into cubes, marinated in yoghurt and a house masala sauce, cooked with fresh tomatoes, ginger and onion, finished with fresh cream and scattered with cashews and fried onion. The Pollo Tikka Palak brings clay-oven tikka together with fresh spinach leaves. In the Pollo a la Mantequilla the marinated breast is finished in butter with garlic, tomato and ginger. The fish section is short and clear: Pescado Chilly, marinated and served with or without a hot sauce, and Pescado al Curry, medium hot and served with pilaf rice. What comes out of the clay oven Here the tandoor is not a sideline but a section of the menu in its own right. The Cordero Tikka Tandoori is boneless lamb marinated in yoghurt with herbs and spices. The Pollo Tandoori Tikka works with breast meat, tandoori marinade and yoghurt; the Gambón Tandoori with king prawns, likewise out of the yoghurt bath. Anyone who would rather not choose orders the Parrillada Tandoori Mixta, which gathers tandoori chicken, lamb, seekh kebab and both chicken and lamb tikka. The breads come out of the same oven. Six naan versions are listed, from plain through cheese and garlic to the Peshwari with its sweet coconut filling. Among the rice dishes the coconut rice stands out, next to the basmati and the pilau. Vegetarian, vegan, halal, gluten-free The vegetarian section is the longest on the whole menu. Spinach turns up in several forms — as Sag with spices, as Sag Aloo with potato, as Chana Sag with chickpeas — and beside it sit Dal Makhani, Bombay Aloo, Chana Masala, Aloo Gobhi and an egg curry. With the Shahi Paneer the house goes its own way: instead of paneer, the menu names queso de Burgos, the Spanish fresh cheese, an adaptation to what is easy to get hold of on the island. Sabor a India is also listed as halal, vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free. On a menu this long that mostly means one thing: there is almost always a second route to the same preparation. Sabor a India in Cala Major The restaurant sits on the main axis through Cala Major, Avinguda de Joan Miró, which links Palma westward with Sant Agustí and Cas Català. Besides the dining room, the house delivers through its own ordering system across much of the city and into the western suburbs; collection is possible too, and there is a children's menu. To drink there are the four classic lassis — sweet, salty, yoghurt and mango — and a short wine list with Rioja, cava and a lambrusco. The desserts stay with what you would expect of an Indian house: gulab jamun, pista kulfi, mango ice cream. Only the carrot cake breaks ranks.