Catering to the needs of Indian food fans

Pushp Bhetia (right) serves pakora, palak gosh, basmati rice, chicken tikka masala (above), and more at Guru the Caterer. (Photos by Wendy Maeda/Globe Staff)

Guru the Caterer's logo advertises "Divine Indian food for brilliant minds," and that says it all (at least the divine food part). The little storefront in Somerville's Teele Square offers only takeout right now, but owner Pushp Bhetia is expanding into the space next door and will have three or four tables and a larger takeout area in about a month.

Bhetia has no formal cooking training, but he says that as a photographer in India, he learned about the flavors of the country's regional cuisines as he traveled, tasting food prepared everywhere from fine hotels to roadside stands. He consulted with his mother and aunts about how to make things he had sampled and began developing his own recipes. Bhetia got his start as a cook about 3 1/2 years ago making box lunches for MIT students. This led to catering jobs, then, a few months ago, he opened the takeout business.

The menu changes each day, but some dishes, such as the chicken tikka masala, seem to be standbys. You can choose a meat entree with rice and a vegetable ($7.50) or the vegetarian option, two vegetable dishes and rice ($6.50). With either one, you can add another vegetable ($3.50).

Eager customers line up out the door and onto the sidewalk waiting to get to the counter and see what the choices are that day. Bhetia has a devoted following and chats with each fan at the small counter, greeting many as old friends. It's more a community happening than a tedious wait in line.

One night we choose chicken tikka masala with dal makhani (red lentils) as the vegetable and an extra side of palak paneer (spinach with cheese). Chunks of white meat in the sunset-orange-colored tomato and yogurt tikka masala sauce, spiced with cinnamon, bay leaves, green cardamom, and red chili powder, has heat but isn't overpowering.

Red lentils are soft but not mushy, and the sauce has an unexpected smoky undertone that sends us back for seconds and thirds. Bhetia explains that the flavor comes not only from spices - cloves, cinnamon, cardamom - but from eight to nine hours of simmering.

The jewel-like deep green palak paneer has a silky texture and so much body it sits up on the spoon; the spinach, cheese, onions, coriander, and cumin combine into a full, smooth flavor.

Another time we try palak chicken with mixed vegetables in a curry sauce, and dhaba dal. The chicken tenders are plump and juicy in the spinach. Cauliflower, carrots, zucchini, and green beans are the vegetables, and the sauce in which they're cooked actually makes us excited about eating cauliflower. Yellow and black lentils are cooked with ginger, garlic, cumin, deggi mirch (red chili powder), turmeric, coriander, and salt in the deeply flavored, slightly spicy dhaba dal.

A few side dishes are offered, including the cucumber and yogurt dipping sauce raita ($1). It's cool and clean-tasting, and the small amount of salt, pepper, and cumin that Bhetia uses adds a delightful zip.

For dessert rice pudding ($2.50) is the only option, but you don't need any other. The pudding, dotted with plump raisins, is more liquid-y than most (but better that than the gelatinous quality of some rice puddings) and it bursts with flavor from cardamom pods.

Bhetia's food is surprisingly light because he uses as little cream as possible. He offers a limited menu and cooks in small batches, making each dish in its own sauce, rather than having a couple of sauces ready to ladle over all the dishes - so common in Indian restaurants. Here, each recipe has a distinctive flavor.

One of our tasters admits he doesn't really like Indian food. He says he thinks everything tastes pretty much the same. After eating Guru the Caterer's cooking, he says in a tone full of surprise, "I liked it." Maybe Guru should change its mantra to "enlightenment through amazing food."