Know Your Bharta From Your Gulab?

You have to really like Indian food to chow down on lamb curry in the morning. But if you do, Mayur Cuisine of India in Corona del Mar is a good place to go. This elegant restaurant serves some of the best Indian food in the county.

Even if the food was not up to par, a look at the decor alone is worth a visit. The dining room has a mayur (peacock) theme. It’s painted in jewel colors and gold filigree, and peacock feathers adorn the walls. This is a soothing spot to enjoy a midday meal.

It’s not always tranquil, however. I’ve been there for dinner when customers have been crammed in and the noise level is decidedly higher, as are the prices. But the morning we visited, the room was quiet as a tomb.

Brunch costs $14.95 and includes beverages, naan (leavened bread) and dessert. During the week, lunch specials start at $8.95, about half the price of dinner specials.

Owner Anu Kapoor of New Delhi opened the restaurant next to the old Port Theatre in Corona del Mar in 1984 and has kept the same chef since. Dharam Punair cooks the standard Indian favorites with little concession to American tastes. The spicy condiments are not toned down, and the entrees are served much as they are in India.

Kapoor comes from a family of restaurateurs who own restaurants throughout Southern California. She is well-known in the Indian food community and has a passion for foods of her homeland.

She and Punair embellish several dishes with exotic ingredients that set them apart from the usual curries and snacks found in Indian restaurants. A dessert, gulab jamoon, is speckled with real silver purchased in sheets and imported from the subcontinent. The basmati rice, cooked with cumin and saffron, is topped with caramelized onions that raise the humble grain to new heights.

Large Buffet Is Set Off by Impressive Copper Pots

Sunday brunch consists of a large buffet of assorted appetizers, chutneys and meat-and-vegetable dishes, all served from large, glimmering copper pots.

The starters are the best Indian assortment I’ve ever had. Crispy chips, a salad of onions, herbs, cucumbers and tomatoes with yogurt dressing, mango chutney and tamarind sauce make up the cold starters.

The hot appetizers include samosas (crisp patties with spices, potatoes and peas); chicken tikka (cooked in a red sauce with spices in a tandoor or clay oven), onions, mushrooms and broccoli, and fried potato sticks.

My favorites of the buffet entrees are bharta (roasted eggplant cooked in tomatoes and onion) and the dal makhani (creamed lentils in a spicy vegetable sauce). The dal dish is redolent with freshly ground cumin and coriander seeds in a rich sauce. The bharta has the sweet taste of roasted eggplants and onions that go so well with spicy-hot dishes.

Also available are lamb and chicken curry and saag paneer, creamed spinach and onions with cheese. The meats are cooked until tender in mild curry sauces.

None of the buffet items are especially spicy-hot, though they can be made that way by applying sauces and condiments available. These mild dishes are from Northern India, known for flavorful sauces of turmeric, garlic, ginger, cilantro, coriander and cumin that have been freshly ground or chopped and used in long-simmered stews.

The meal also comes with a creamy mango milkshake or champagne, as well as a choice of the gulab (fried almond balls in syrup capped in silver shreds) or rice pudding.

These are standard Indian restaurant finales and are palate-soothing ends to a spicy meal. Enjoy them with tea masala, a creamy tea brewed with milk, and you have a heavenly finish.

* Mayur Cuisine of India, 2931 E. Coast Highway, Corona del Mar. (949) 675-6622.

Brunch hours: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Prices: $14.95, including champagne.