THE Sagar Restaurant at Buddilane in Aurangabad gives the mistaken impression of being a seafood eatery because of the name and especially because its exterior has a painting of a wave-lashed beach on which a fishing boat bobs in the swell. However, this could not be further from the truth because inside the brightly-illuminated and gaudy restaurant, the plastic menu card reveals just four fish dishes: a fry, a curry, a tandoori and a masala. Avoid the fish and ask the waiter to get you the Chicken Cantukky instead. There�s no fear of the Kentucky Fried Chicken people objecting to infringement of copyright or anything like that, because Sagar�s Chicken Cantukky is more an Amritsari Tandoori than anything else. It is delicious, however, and the chicken finely marinated and tandoored: the meat falls off the bones at the touch. A full plate, incredibly a full chicken, costs Rs. 100.

Another hot favourite here is Naan Kalia, which is a thickish, red-masalaed Mutton Khorma in oil which is consumed by dunking a sweetish, puffy Naan brushed with turmeric into it and eating it. This particular Naan is not made by Sagar itself but by a small hole-in-the-wall kind of establishment across the road. It is sometimes called a Sheermal. A quick perusal of the Sagar menu reveals that its kitchen is daring in its enterprise. Among the �Chicken Items� are a Chicken India and a Disco Chicken, both expensive, at Rs. 200 a full plate respectively. And there is a fairly outstanding Chicken Biryani at just Rs. 30 a plate. The grains of the rice stand out individually to reveal the cook�s mastery at preparing a biryani and the dish itself is fragrant and appealing.