The Maharaja called out to us through the chill October night.

We had parked a half block north, pulled on our sweaters, and were waiting for the steady flow of N. Farwell Ave. traffic to ebb so we could cross the street.

That's when it hit us. A plume of fragrance drifted up the street like a lone invisible, silken, scarf. It sang of sun and spices, and a land far older than our own where friends dine on deep yellow curries and delicate grilled meats and fish.

It led us, through the front doors of the Maharaja restaurant at 1550 N. Farwell. There a white-shirted waiter showed us to a white-clothed table and the first of two pleasant East Indian meals.

For the past two years, Indian restaurants have opened steadily in all corners of the Milwaukee area. But with the exception of Shah Jee, a modest little Pakistani restaurant that moved to 770 N. Jefferson St. earlier this year, none of the new restaurants has located on the east side, where a large number of vegetarians and more adventurous diners have been waiting.

That situation changed Sept. 19 when CO-owners Balvir Singh and Charan Jit Bolla opened Maharaja, a restaurant with an extensive menu of both vegetarian and non-vegetarian Indian dishes.

The building that houses Maharaja has seen a lot of tenants over the years. In the early l980's, it housed Del Mondo's. Later tenants were Italian and then Chinese. Most recently, it housed Dim Sum House, which went out of business last year.

One problem plaguing the previous restaurants was parking. Maharaja's owners seem to have taken care of that by securing the lot across the street. They've also brightened the interior of the restaurant by repainting the walls a light pastel green.

But the Maharaja's major attraction is its food, which includes many traditional Indian curries. Diners have only to choose whether they want the spicy stews prepared with beef, lamb, chicken, fish or shrimp and whether they want them hot medium or mild. We ordered medium and mild and weren't overpowered by either.

The lineup starts with a simple curry, which we ordered with boneless chunks of chicken ($8.50). Light yellow and fragrant with garlic and ginger, the chicken curry had a delicate yogurt sauce that tasted great on the basmati rice served with it. (A long-grain rice from India, basmati has a nutty flavor and aroma.)

Next in the curry lineup was jalfraizie, which we tried, with lamb ($9.95). The combination of meat green and red peppers produced a wonderfully rich flavor.

The spiciest curry we tried was vindaloo, which we ordered With Shrimp ($10.95). Nine, medium shrimp had been stewed with potatoes and onions in spicy reddish sauce that put beads of perspiration on our brows as we enjoyed it.

Saag curries add spinach,which cooks down into a delightful, creamy sauce. Our lamb saag ($9.95) was one of the most savored dishes we ordered.

One other curry, navrattan korma ($7.95), came from the vegetarian section of the menu and featured carrots, zucchini, onions, potatoes, cauliflower, tomatoes, broccoli and cauliflower cooked in cream and topped with cashews. This was one of the better vegetarian dishes I've tasted in town.

In addition to the curries, Maharaja has a lineup of biryani dishes, which are Indian rice casseroles. Our vegetarian version ($7.95) had red and green peppers and carrots, and lima and green beans that looked like they came from a package. The biryani had fragment of inedible stick cinnamon that we had to avoid, and was our least favorite dish.

One other non-curry dish, chicken mango ($8.95), practically stole the show. Like the chicken curry, it was flavored with onion, garlic and ginger. But it had been covered with sweet mango sauce in the last, stages of cooking.

Among the appetizers, we liked samosas ($2.50) and aloo tikki ($2.50) best. The former were Indian turnovers with a cilantro-laced filling of potatoes and green peas fried crisp; the latter were fritters made of chopped potatoes and green peas.

A mixed non-vegetarian appetizer platter ($6.95) gave us a taste of deep-fried fish and chicken (called pakoras), along with a tasty sausage made of ground lamb and a crunchy sheet of pappadam, an Indian cracker made of chickpea flour and lots of black pepper.

Meals came with rice and hot, chopped onion and mint chutneys, along with sweet tamarind sauce. We experimented with them on several of our dishes.

And we knew enough to order raita ($1.50) with dinner. A cool condiment made with mint cucumber and yogurt, raita is essential for putting out the fire in your mouth when you've encountered an Indian dish that's too spicy.

For dessert, it was hard to beat homemade mango ice cream ($2), though kheer ($2) a soupy rice pudding flavored with rosewater came close. Gulab jarain ($2), a fried cheese ball served in sugar syrup, was a bit too heavy after a big meal.

Service on our first week night visit was quite good, from our first bottles of Indian beer to hot spiced tea ($1.50) after dinner. On Saturday, things weren't as smooth. We sat at our table for 20 minutes before a server appeared.

That aside, the Maharaja is a good place to consider when you want something out of the ordinary. With its proximity to downtown, it might also make a good sop after a holiday show.

THE TAB: The first dinner for four cost $95 for four entrees, four appetizers, four desserts, three breads, raits, three beers, a glass of wine, a soft drink, and three cups of tea. The second diner for four cost $87.98 for four entrees, four desserts, two appetizers, three orders of breed, raita, two cups of spiced tea, two cups of coffee and a soft drink.