Authentic vegetarian delights at Pabla Indian Cuisine

It would be so easy to miss Pabla Indian Cuisine, wedged as it is in a Renton strip mall among a dry cleaners and a quilting-supply store, in a potential blind spot to passing drivers.

But once found, it is clearly something of a destination: workers in for the lunchtime buffet, shoppers familiar with the staples and snacks sold in the adjacent Indian grocery.

The restaurant is a legacy in the Pabla family: Owner Harnek Pabla's father opened a sweet shop in the family's home state of Punjab, in northwest India, in 1947. Harnek Pabla opened restaurants in Seattle in 1995 (since sold to his brother), Renton in 1998 and Issaquah in 2005.

The menu: All vegetarian and kosher, as the menu and signage proudly attest. So while that abbreviates the selection found at other Indian restaurants, it allows for variety within traditional dishes featuring vegetables, garbanzo beans and paneer (cheese). A recent lunch buffet featured five entrees, naan (bread), samosas (thick pastry shells housing potatoes and peas), pakoras (vegetables fried in lentil paste) and rice. Standouts were Punjabi Vindaloo — potatoes with a tangy tomato sauce — and Mattar Paneer, cubes of homemade cheese with peas, onions and spices. Buffet entrees vary daily; lunch diners can order off the menu, though that is typically reserved for dinner.

What to write home about: The authentic flavors and array of sweets. Skip the candylike treats at the end of the buffet (though they're good, too) and opt for the more exotic, buttery goodies — milk fudge, for instance — and spiced cashews at the grocery store. The store itself is worth a walk through: Indian CDs, utility-size bottles of mustard and coconut oils, jars of sauces and spices. That recipe you've been wanting to make but can't find tamarind concentrate? It's here.

The setting: Indian art on the walls and Indian music playing softly over the speaker system; the lace draperies and chandeliers attempt to mask the utilitarian space and view of Fred Meyer across the parking lot.

Summing up: The total for two lunch buffets, along with one hot chai, was $21.32. Lunch is an easy way to try various dishes, and the open door to the grocery is an excuse to try a new dessert.