Taj Palace

Tandoori-style dishes are numerous here, as are the varieties of naan, which also are cooked in the tandoori oven. The conventional butter and garlic breads are joined by onion basil, spicy chili garlic and one stuffed with coconut, raisins and dried fruits.

Goat -- not found in every Indian restaurant in Las Vegas -- is available in a curry, vindaloo, biryani or karahi (stewed in an onion-based sauce), and lamb stars in over a dozen dishes. Chicken is the centerpiece of about 15 entrees. Fish and shrimp star in more than 20. And there are rice and biryani dishes galore. Vegetarian and vegan dishes are numerous, and listed separately for clarity.

But back to that busy clay oven. It turns out the likes of lamb, fish or mint chicken tikka, kabobs of various types and lamb chops are marinated in the chef’s signature spices.

“The first time I met Instagrammer @thelasvegasfoodie, she brought me here for lunch,” food writer Al Mancini recalls. “Then, when I asked my former Review-Journal colleague Heidi Rinella to recommend some good Henderson spots, this was on her shortlist. With them as fans, my endorsement is a little superfluous.”