Best Indian restaurant

In calling itself an Indian bistro, Jamaica Plain's colorful and airy Bukhara is being anatomically correct, what with exposed brick walls and wood floors that indeed recall your basic urban bistro. Still, the menu offers no Indo-European fusion-fest but straightforward pan-Indian dining -- and that's a good thing. When the kitchen is on, tandoori meats are a must -- unless, of course, you're a vegetarian, in which case shahi paneer korma, a dish of fresh cheese flavored with tomato, ginger, garlic, nuts, and raisins, is a must. Another must: five varieties of stuffed naan. Further musts are up to you.

Coming from the owners of Allston's long-standing Rangoli, Tanjore's instant success is hardly a surprise. What is a surprise, and a pleasant one at that, is that this Harvard Square café refuses to rest on Rangoli's laurels, offering up some specialties of its own in a simply but attractively adorned, turmeric-and-saffron-hued space. While the dosas and manifold curries are as reliably good here as there -- ditto the chaat and peshwari naan -- curiosities like onion bhaji (deep-fried onions with cumin) and fajjeta, a yogurt-based soup flavored with mango, are favorites in the making.

Bukhara, 701 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, (617) 522-2195. Tanjore, 18 Eliot Street, Cambridge, (617) 868-1900.