A welcome Indian trend in Somerville

Sometimes you can read the decor of a restaurant like tea leaves. Study the quirks and details of its design and they foretell what awaits on the menu. One step into spiffy, elegant Namaskar in Davis Square reveals an Indian restaurant up on recent trends. These days the recipe calls for a modern, upscale decor and a nod to India's southern cuisine, including crispy dosas and soft idli dumplings, which, true to form, Namaskar has and does well.

But just as Namaskar's long, narrow dining room isn't quite cookie-cutter chic, it's menu isn't quite predictable. As we settled in among an eclectic mix of British colonial-style wood tables, futuristic silver lamps with blue glass orbs, and classic Indian scenes painted onto glowing light boxes, the waiter handed us a menu that likewise delivered a few surprises.

Beyond a solid menu of the usual tasty kormas, vindaloos, and tandoori kebabs, Namaskar serves wonderfully spiced, hard-to-find Gujarati dishes from the west of India, street snacks rarely served in this area, and uncommon specialties such as whole stuffed chicken or Kosher goat curry. They are also the only area restaurant we know of that serves Indian-Chinese dishes, a fusion cuisine hugely popular in India.

Namaskar starts each guest off with a complimentary mint and saffron drink. When we inquired, we learned it's exotic name, was, well, ``welcome drink.'' It's a nice touch, but from there on the service on each visit took a different turn.

On a slow Friday, at least five people served us in a whirl of over-attentiveness that left us feeling like we had dined in a receiving line. On a packed Friday, we were hopelessly rushed. On two later weeknights, the service was just right - quick, modestly attentive, friendly, and efficient. They seem to be finding a groove worthy of the food they serve.

Get the gol gappe ($5.95) appetizer. Also known as pani poori, this addictive street snack comes with tiny, hollow, pillow-shaped crisps that you tap into with your fork. Once you create a hole, you fill the crisp with teaspoons of cumin-dusted potato, a crunchy mix of red chick pea and mung bean, and sweet tamarind-date sauce. The coup de grace is an outrageously tasty mint-cilantro sauce that tickles your tongue with fresh kiwi juice and lime.

The vegetarian appetizer platter ($7.95) offers a nice mix of standards such as samosas and tikki patties, as well as a Gujarati treat called patra, leafy green alvi leaves rolled around spicy chick pea batter sweetened with raw cane sugar and deep-fried. Fried spinach and onion pakoras ($3.95) excelled with flavorful vegetables, a light batter, and oil that tasted fresh rather than as if the whole town had been frying their supper in it.

Chef Ayub Bathania may hail from Gujarat, but the southern specialties were excellent. The foot-and-a-half long, crispy masala dosa crepe ($9.95) had the marvelous tangy flavor it should, and the potato filling jumped with cilantro. The white, moon-pie-shaped idli dumplings were soft and lovely. Both came with a fiery, flavorful coconut chutney and nice lentil sambhar swimming with fresh ginger. (On weekends the daily buffet includes idlis and made-to-order dosas.)

For a Cliff Notes-style introduction to the west Indian dishes, try the complete Gujarati dinner thali ($18.95 including appetizer, dessert, and chai), which may be familiar to fans of Bombay Mahal in Waltham. The same partnership owns Namaskar. Gujarati cuisine favors sweet and sour flavors like those in the thali's kadhi, a yogurt soup fragrant with cilantro, clove, and curry leaves. We loved the starchy thali entrees, especially the poori shaak, sweet fried potatoes with curry leaves and mustard seed, and the pav bhaji, a popular beach food that is a comforting herby mash of mixed vegetables.

Boston tiptoes into the Indian-Chinese craze with two choices here: the signature chili chicken ($12.95) in a garlic-ginger-green chili soy sauce or the chili paneer ($11.95), which substitutes paneer cheese and adds tomato to the sauce. Both are good and offer a glimpse of this fortunate fusion of Chinese cooking with Indian spicing.

A sampling of the usual North Indian fare turned up moist flavorful tandoori chicken ($10.95), above-average renditions of gingery kadai chicken ($12.95), and shahi bhindi (tomato-based okra, $11.95), and a blah lamb rogan josh ($12.95). Shahi paneer ($11.95) was delightful with cashews, raisins, and rafts of mild farmer's cheese in a gentle tomato sauce seasoned with garlic, ginger, and saffron. Chicken vindaloo ($11.95) was a stand-up version of this vinegar-spiked Goan tomato curry. Spicing is to order, and fortunately Namaskar has not joined the pack that charges extra for rice.

Must-have desserts include the liquids. The fresh strawberry lassi ($3.25) may not be authentic, but the flavor is sweet and wonderful. Manager Rajeev Arora also serves the very coffee he regaled Bombay's movie stars with when he ran actor Shashi Kapoor's Prithvi Cafe. The key is a hot cup, a sugar-dipped rim, sweet coffee with secret ingredients, and a layer of cream floating on top. Pair the coffee with homemade kulfi ($3.95) ice cream with almond, pistachio, and cardamom. Or try another of Namaskar's surprises: American cakes are served, and a dessert flambe cart is coming soon.