(This venue is closed.) The counterman was Pakistani, the server, Bangladeshi, the salad, a curiosity.
Even in the realm of catch-all South Asian eateries — this one embraces Indian cooking, too — I'd never seen the trio of apples, bananas, and grapes ($3). A little online sleuthing suggests that, at least in Pakistan, seemingly Western-leaning fruit salads aren't unusual. Some recipes suggest (but don't insist on) more-exotic fruits or a masala of spices, either of which would have brushed aside my school cafeteria flashback.
From the same coincidentally narrow spectrum of color: a chicken chapli kebab ($2), creamy daal ($4), an aloo paratha, in tearaway view ($2), lamb and eggplant curry ($5).
Janaan Tikka House
964 Coney Island Ave. (Newkirk-Webster Aves.), Kensington, Brooklyn
718-552-2633
www.JanaanTikkaHouse.com
