Food historians concerned with such matters often rank Indian fare fourth among the world's great cuisine; behind French, Chinese and Italian, though the Japanese and the Spanish might dispute the standings. Portland's seeking confirmation of the subcontinent's gastronomic claims have increasingly serious choices available to them, and one of the better claimants has recently opened an "impost", servicing the flight to the suburbs by joining its original Beaverton location with a city branch.

Swagat, whose name means, "Welcome," has taken over the space formally occupied by Cajun Café. Swagat is the only Indian place around that offers several specialties from Madras and the Southeast. These dishes have become the restaurant's signature dishes; they are basically crêpes made from various lentil flours, such as moong bean, urad and cream of wheat occasionally mixed with soaked rice and in some cases spiked with onions and chilies. Crisp and flaky, tawny brown and full a foot long, they cantilever over the plate in a display of exuberant excess. Dosas are gigantic and filling, since most of them are lavishly stuffed with vegetable curry-including potatoes laced with ginger, mustard seeds, aromatic asafetida, turmeir, onions and green chilies-and come with a cup of spectaculaty coconut-rich, tamarind-laced lentil soup, known as sambar. In addition to the creeps there are several more versions of what is essentially street food: sethu vada, a rather bland, deep fried pastry-thick disks of crunchy beans that are all texture, no taste-and utappu. a marvelously spicy and buttery grilled pancake that resembles a great individual designer pizza.

In south Indian, dosas are often accompanied by a buttermilk drink; to approximate this taste (but even better), ask for a Iassi, a cold yogurt drink available salty or sweet, often with a pinch of cumin ore rosewater. Then move up to creamy Kingfisher beer. Accompanying the dosas you’ll find a trio of deep-fried dipping sauces: a mild coconut and roasted chick pea, a tangy mint and cilantro, and a blazing hot tomato and jalapenho- ketchup’s desire for apotheosis. As you graduate from ivory to jade to ruby, you’ll experience a full range of flavors that marry beautifully with the pancakes, and you'll see that Indian food is hardly a series of monochromatic stews.

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Willamette Week | Graze 2001
WW reviewers have visited these establishments recently and can
recommend them.

Swagat
Indian meals can be overwhelming in terms of sheer volume, and Swagat is no exception. All entrees are available à la carte or as the Thali dinner, which includes heavenly naan, vegetable curry du jour, thick lentil soup, raita, dal, and dessert. Go for the dinner, even if you're not ravenous. The enchanting variety of textures and flavors defines Indian cuisine, and at three bucks extra, you can hardly afford to miss out. Of course, you could always opt for the lunch buffet, when you can try it all. Indian

2074 NW Lovejoy St., 227-4300; 4325 SW 109th Ave., Beaverton, 626-3000

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