According to most restaurant critics, the perfect Indian meal is served on a plate, which rests on a table with legs. With today's Groupon, enjoy tandoori cooking the way it was meant to be served. For $15, you get $35 worth of Indian cuisine and drinks at Cafe Tandoor, which has three locations in the Cleveland area.

Utilizing ancient Persian cooking methods with Indian flair, tandoori cooking prepares your meal to order, ensuring that it is delivered hot and fresh, like a shrink-wrapped DVD of virtual flames. Chef Lal, Chef Ghimire, and Chef Lama have teamed up in a virtual Justice League of cookery, bringing decades of experience straight into your mouth. Stimulate that very mouth’s taste magnet with the exotic flavors found on Cafe Tandoor’s menu. Appetizers include several platters and pakoras, which are battered and delicately seasoned in chickpea flour before being deep-fried. Try the shrimp pakora ($8.50) or the paneer pakora (mild cheese, $6.50). Sop up everything on your plate like a hungry loofa, with tandoori breads such as the garlic naan ($3.50) or aloo paratha (stuffed with spiced potatoes, $3.50). Quell the emptiness within with specialties such as boti kebab (boneless lamb, onions, and bell peppers, $14.50), tandoori salmon (marinated salmon with onions, asparagus, bell peppers, and naan, $19.50), or chicken tikka (boneless pieces marinated in yogurt and spices with onions and bell peppers, $13.50). Also, like most Indian restaurants, there are dozens of vegetarian options; but unlike those other restaurants, those options aren’t multiple-choice trick questions.

You won’t have to battle your way through the Khyber Pass to get to Cafe Tandoor’s deliciously comfy confines, but you may have to traverse some tedious parking spaces and cavernous potholes. However, Tandoor’s experienced chefs and friendly staff will make sure the journey was worthwhile and you leave with a mouth-bones-baring smile and a stomach filled with delicious spoils.

Reviews

The blog Gluten Free in Cleveland is a regular at Cafe Tandoor:

• There's lots to try here, but as for my personal favorite? Navaratana Curry with Saffron Rice. A colorful, delicious dish, with it's vibrant green peas, fresh mushrooms, and crisp red and green peppers smothered in a pink tomato sauce served up next to dandellion [sic] yellow rice, I keep coming back to Navaratana Curry, time and again. But hey, don't let me stop you from finding your own go-to dish. Experiment. Explore. – Dana Wax

Eighty-two percent of 132 Urbanspooners like Cafe Tandoor in Cleveland; seven Citysearchers and TripAdvisors rate it four out of five:

• Terrific food-great atmosphere-wonderful service . Recommend the saffron rice and any shrimp dish - the Nan is a wonderful addition to your meal! – bbh, Urbanspoon
• I have lived in the Cleveland area for over 30 years, am of Indian descent, and have been to every Indian joint in Ohio more times than I care for. Cafe Tandoor is hands down the best place for Indian food in the Greater Cleveland area. – qualityqualityquality, Citysearch