COLORS OF INDIA SHERMAN OAKS CAFE TRIES TO CURRY FAVOR - AND FLAVOR - WITH ETHNIC CREATIONS.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

Just about all the dishes delivered to our table one evening at India Cafe in Sherman Oaks appeared in shades of brown.

And it wasn't much different at a previous visit.

Ranging from the golden or beige-browns of pakoras and samosas to the reddish-browns of tandoori-baked items to a majority of the curries, all seemingly dark and rich brown, these basic tonal qualities signal a sameness of sorts in the food purveyed at so many local Indian restaurants.

Of course, raita, the cooling yogurt and cucumber dip, is white. So is basmati rice. And spinach and lettuce offerings along with a house chutney may bring in a touch of green.

But brown is definitely the dominant hue. And sometimes dishes like mushroom mattar ($5.95) with green peas arrive so enveloped in the dark curry sauce, that as they sit on the table side by side with crucibles of chicken curry ($6.95) and lamb tikka masala ($8.95), all three have to be poked to determine which is what.

Incidentally, both the chicken and lamb dishes are respectable, relatively tasty, if not outstanding, versions.

But the kitchen is disappointingly cautious if you ask for any curried dish spicy hot but not fiery: It's likely to arrive either medium to mild in spicy heat or less.

The lamb, always a good item to order in an Indian restaurant if you want to check out the general quality of the ingredients used by the kitchen, seems better here as tandoori-baked lamb tikka when part of the mixed tandoori assortment ($10.95) than the drier, chewier lamb in the lamb curry portion of the Mughlai combo ($13.95).

Moister chicken tikka rates a notch above the regular tandoori chicken, both being part of the mixed sizzling platter. The remaining item on this tandoori grouping, seekh kebab, is a good-tasting, palatable, sausagelike arrangement made with ground lamb and onions.

Thoughtfully, the kitchen at India Cafe describes on the menu the nature of its curry sauces. Masala, it explains, utilizes freshly ground herbs and spices sauteed with onions in a tomato sauce. Korma is merely the adding of cream to the masala. And vindaloo begins with the same masala and gives it a zing with a touch of spicy hot pepper and vinegar.

Curry powders and MSG are not used here, we're told.

The result is basically standard, reasonably priced, familiar Indian fare in somewhat of a utilitarian (i.e., paper napkins), though not uncomfortable environment.

India Cafe seems less splashy than its predecessor, India Palace. With its more localized approach, neighborhood residents, shop and office workers can take advantage of the current $5.95 lunch buffet served daily except Sunday. The management here has sensibly instituted daily changes in buffet items, hoping to induce repeat business.

And on Sunday the buffet becomes a ``champagne'' brunch for $8.95 with more items and sparkling wine.

At dinnertime, I, for one, prefer beer with my spicy Indian food.

Two of us shared the larger 22-ounce bottle of refreshing, imported Taj Mahal beer ($4.95) one time.

Just in case the curries came up hotter than we anticipated.

As it happened, they didn't.

INDIA CAFE

Where: 4523 Sepulveda Blvd., Sherman Oaks.

When: Open for lunch daily and Sunday brunch from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., for dinner from 2:30 to 10 p.m. daily, to 10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Recommended items: Chicken tikka, lamb tikka, chicken korma, raita, garlic naan.

How much: Starters from $2 to $7, entrees from $6 to $15, desserts $2.25 each. Beer and wine. All major credit cards.

Wine list: Small, serviceable list has no vintage dates on all labels except the last four written-in listings. Those include a Clos du Val 1990 ($25), a Heitz 1993 ($17) and a Tanglewood 1993 ($17), all cabernet sauvignons that, if they're in decent shape, are great bargains. There are also pleasant chardonnays and cabernets as low as $12 a bottle. But imported Indian beer at $2.95 (12-ounce) and $4.95 (22-ounce) is often the preferred beverage accompaniment.

Reservations: Helpful. Call [phone].

Our rating: Two stars for food; three stars for service; three and one half stars 1/2 for wine.

CAPTION(S):

photo

Photo:

India Cafe's head chef Bruno Fidencio uses a tandoori oven to cook lamb. Other authentic specialties that are baked in the clay oven include chicken and seekh kebab, which is a sausagelike arrangement of ground lamb and onions.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News