The vivid hues throughout RASOI are so alluring and so exotic, they seem the perfect introduction to the cuisine. Sponge-painted golden walls vie for attention with red room dividers, which have cutout carvings of the leaves and fruits of Indian spices. Royal blue accents in the tiles below the bar, the linens, and the spotlights along the ceiling continue this Asian riff on primary colors. The menu certainly lives up to all of this splendor. Owner Sanjiv Dhar offers dishes from 10 different regions in India, not just the northern curries. Thus there is a Bengali seafood stew, chicken with a chettinad sauce from Tamil Nadu, scallops with a curry leaf sauce from Kerala, Kashmiri-style lamb dumplings, or deep-fried cauliflower in a spicy Manchurian sauce. Thalis are sampler plates of six or seven dishes, based on Ayurvedic balance (one veggie option, one meat).
Rasoi | 727 East Avenue, Pawtucket | 401.728.5500 | rasoi-restaurant.com
