LEE -- Leafy and flowering potted plants greet you on the walkway to the Bombay Bar & Grill. Inside the door, you can be momentarily confused, because you are actually at the reservation desk for the Black Swan Inn and it seems incongruous to find authentic Asian cuisine at a Best Western chain hotel. But, a few steps further and there you are.

As you enter, you may dab a streak of red powder, kumkum, on your forehead or hairline, if you choose, as a symbol of gratitude and humility and a wish for prosperity and a long marriage, although this traditional obeisance is not required.

The dining room is divided into an interior room, a side room and a main room overlooking the inn's pool, with an expanse of Laurel Lake in the distance.

The décor is unfussy, with lots of dark wood and green and beige linens topped with spanking clean slabs of white paper. Ceiling fans and jars of cumin, mustard seed, coriander, chili peppers and cinnamon add a note of the tropics, backed up by tantalizing whiffs of the same spices in action in the kitchen.

Warm, courteous service begins at once. Hardly are you seated when you are served a plate of warm pappadums -- brittle, wafer-thin breads made of lentil flour -- with a bright red

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onion tomato relish and a green mint and coriander chutney for dipping. Throughout the evening a team of waiters replenish water, polish plates and look after you with discreet attentiveness.

Choices are more extensive than at many Indian establishments, in part because partner/owner David Cheeran is from Kerala in the southernmost tip of the country. He explains that while most of the Indian cuisine familiar in America is of northern origin, his menu reflects more of the southern and coastal regions as well. This means more vegetarian dishes, more seafood, more rice.

Chef Ravichandran Subbarayalu cooked in hotels in India before moving to the United States, gaining far-reaching experience of his country's culinary variety.

Over a dozen appetizer choices include a crepe-like dosa stuffed with potatoes; vegetable pancakes; uttapam, with coconut stew; and shrimp in mustard cream sauce.

We asked for advice and followed it to a generous plate of fried calamari (aka squid) with slices of green pepper and onion. The coating was pleasantly spicy, but a trifle heavy with oil. It a good dish to eat only half of.

We also shared a lassi -- probably the best I've ever had -- a long tapered glass of liquid yogurt richly perfumed with mango. ($3.95) I hadn't meant to have one, but it was so good that the waiter, seeing my husband's dismay as I kept sipping at his, brought me a little glass of my own.

The restaurant's liquor license is due any day now, at which time a full bar will be available. Over 30 beers, at least three of them Indian, will be featured.

For dinners, I went north and my husband south -- with both dishes meeting in the middle of the table near a bowl of fragrant, perfectly grained jasmine rice.

My lamb Madras ($14) had tender chunks of meat in coconut and fresh tomato sauce, with just enough heat in the spices to excite, but not scorch the palate.

His fish Coromandel, was a red snapper, better than a foot long, roasted on a skewer in the kitchen's clay tandoor oven, and smothered in a thick mango ginger sauce. At $19.95, it was one of the pricier items on the menu, but not our favorite. The fish was on the dry side and studded with little bones.

Home-baked breads are ordered á la carte, and there is a goodly selection.

Our naan was a small salver of steaming flatbread, with basil and mint baked inside ($3.95). Good for dabbing in the savory sauces.

At dessert time (we had to pack up half our dinners to have room for it), we decided on gulab jamun and kheer.

The former consists of little cheese dumplings permeated with exceedingly sweet syrup, scented with honey and rosewater.

Though the latter was billed as rice pudding, it seemed but distantly related to our thick, baked variety. A creamy-milky concoction, it was flavored with lot of cardamom and a hint of saffron. Raisins, cashews and soft grains of rice added some body and texture, but it was definitely more liquid than solid. It was also definitely yummy in a spoon-licking kind of way.

Cups of chai, lightly spiced tea with milk, ended the meal on a cozy note. And as we left, we helped ourselves to a pinch from a mélange of tiny licorice candies, rock sugar crystals and fennel seed in bowls by the door -- the Indian answer to after-dinner-mints, both lingeringly sweet and soothing to the digestion.

Repeat visits to the restaurant yielded interesting take-outs of braised okra with lentil dump-lings, gingered lentils, grilled vegetables Jalfreezi (named for a northeastern region) and our daughter's favorite, a slightly sweet, raisin and cashew studded chicken Makmura, of Calcuttan Jewish origin.

Take-out dinners are served in convenient covered dishes of sturdy plastic; they include rice, a packet of pappadums, and relishes. Two entrées easily feed three, with second helpings.

For anyone who is both hungry and curious to sample a range of the restaurant's offerings, the lunch (or more elaborate brunch) buffet is a very satisfying place to start. The food is fresh, attractively served and plentiful. There are at eight or more main dishes, including at least three of chicken or lamb, and a nice variety of vegetables, the highlight of which, to my taste, is the spinach with freshly made paneer cheese.

A cool-down of yogurt raita with minced vegetables, an assortment of chutneys and a wonderful homemade gingered lemon pickle complement the entrÈes. Hot bread is brought to your table, and a dessert provided as well.

The Bombay Bar & Grill is the fifth restaurant established by one partnership. Other locations include Westport, Conn. and Manhattan.

We are fortunate that they chose the Berkshires for their most recent venture. With reasonable prices and memorable flavors, they should find a loyal clientele of dining-table travelers.

Aug. 15, 2001