Deep’s menu is the same one that made India’s Kitchen so well-loved in Medford.

The tried-and-true dishes were all favorites of owner Ramandeep Singh when he was growing up in India. Chicken, lamb and seafood all feature prominently along with the quintessential tandoori, items cooked in a traditional pitcher-shaped clay oven.

Singh is also getting extra mileage out of the menu’s numerous vegetarian items since moving to Ashland. Many new patrons have traveled to India and enjoy the authentic food, Singh said.

"For vegetarian people, Indian food is like a habit," Singh said.

Since the menu was so familiar, I decided to skip my usual favorites, spinach lamb and chicken kurma. I’ve enjoyed the lamb in its bubbling bath of creamed spinach on more occasions than I can count along with the kurma, a delicate cream sauce sprinkled with cashews and raisins. With its mild seasoning, the kurma is always a good foil for spicier dishes.

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To start, we ordered the aloo tikki ($4.45), patties of potatoes and homemade cheese. For entrees, Singh suggested the chicken tikka masala ($13.95), or what he likes to call Indian comfort food.

I couldn’t entirely pass up the opportunity to eat some good lamb, and I persuaded my friend to try a dish cooked with ginger ($12.95). Big enough to share, both dishes came with fragrant basmati rice.

I was slightly disappointed to hear Singh no longer offered nan with each dish. But the extra cost couldn’t keep me from craving an order of the fluffy bread cooked in a tandoor oven. And since we were paying for it, why not try one of the more exotic varieties? Singh vouched for the garlic nan ($3.25).

Plain, onion, cheese and two other types of white bread — one stuffed with meat, the other with nuts, fruit and coconut — range from $2.45 to $4.95. Paratha, or whole wheat bread, also is available.

Our appetizer arrived in short order. The crisply fried potato patties were still mealy on the inside with a subtle flavor. Served in hammered copper bowls, our entrees were placed atop open candle flames, a touch I’ve always enjoyed.

Both dishes incorporated tender, boneless meat with onions, tomatoes and the perfect amount of spice — a medium-hot, just as we requested. Deep’s cooks all orders to the degree of spiciness desired by the customer on a scale of 1-10.

The nan is such a heavenly treat, one could almost imagine it as the biblical manna. The fluffy clouds of bread were smothered in butter, slivers of garlic and a sprinkling of parsley, perfect for dipping in either Deep’s delectable sauces or the tamarind and mint chutneys.

Seeing as it was a girls’ night out, dessert could not be refused. Deep’s selection is small, and each of the three dishes offered is light. The kheer, a thin rice pudding with almonds and pistachios is a mainstay, but my friend liked the sound of the gulab jamin (for $3.45) — homemade cheese balls soaked in rose-water syrup.

The two morsels of cheese provided just about a mouthful for each of us, but the taste lingered long after. It’s hard to believe the smell of sun-warmed roses could transfer so pleasingly to the palate. If this doesn’t sound appealing, you have to try it to believe it.

— Sarah Lemon