Engineering a great dish

Jamal Abu Rubieh took a degree in aeronautical engineering and turned it into a vegetable curry that would do a Moghul proud. A part-time college job left the native Jordanian trained in French cuisine by Kansas City restaurant giant Antoine Toubia, and after a post-graduate gig with Beech Aircraft, Abu Rubieh landed in Boston. He’s been dishing up curries - from lamb, his favorite, to goat, kept on the menu for a regular who loves it - at Brookline Lunch since 1989. The ingredients change with the season, as Abu Rubieh uses only fresh vegetables, cut up daily and cooked when the order is placed. But what makes this curry different is the spices: not just curry, but thyme, oregano, crushed pepper, mint, parsley, anise, and caraway seeds. “We never stick with one thing,’’ says Abu Rubieh. “It just must be fresh.’’ Brookline Lunch, 9 Brookline St. (across from the Middle East), Cambridge, 617-354-2983.