For A Quick Trip To New Delhi, Try The Buffet. By Rebecca Cook THE CUISINE OF India, with its many intricate spices and exotic flavors, is a virtual maharajah's treasure to the aficionado of fine food. Most Indian cooks prefer to compose their own blend of spices--coriander, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cloves and cardamom to name a few possibilities--in blends that vary from region to region as well as from chef to chef. This is but a small indicator of the subtleties and complexities of true Indian cooking, an Eastern smorgasbord of flavors and ingredients beautifully reflected in the menu of Gandhi, the most recent addition to Tucson's Indian restaurant scene. Owned and operated by a trilogy of Singh brothers and one sister-in-law, Gandhi is the latest incarnation of a restaurant that began seven years ago as Taste of India. When that partnership fell through, Mukhtiar Singh and family relocated to Los Angeles to help another brother operate his restaurant there. In time, a new opportunity presented itself here in Tucson and Mukhtiar, along with brothers Sadhu and Tarsem and Rajwinder Kaur, returned to once again work their culinary magic. At $4.95 a person, the daily lunch buffet is an especially delightful and economical way to get acquainted with Gandhi. The variety of dishes, which changes daily, reflects the tremendous breadth of the menu, including so many intriguing vegetarian offerings that non-meat eaters may well imagine they've died and moved on to nirvana. Appetizers such as samosas (turnovers filled with a mix of veggies and, sometimes, meat) or pakora (chick pea, batter-dipped fritters made with an assortment of vegetables and meat) can always be found on the buffet. They're delicious and filling. It would, however, be a tragedy to stop here. A soup (a mixed vegetable variation the day I visited) as well as a tepid and tossed iceberg-lettuce salad is also available. From there, however, the real fun of lunch at Gandhi gets underway. As you scope out the many possibilities, keep in mind that it's not necessary to heap everything onto your plate during this first trip. You are permitted, nay encouraged, to come back as many times as your appetite permits. All that your hosts ask is that you observe some simple decorum and take a clean plate each time. Easily done. Sample, if you will, the dal, a delectable blend of nearly pureed lentils, herbs and spices, which is soupy enough to require its own cup. Nibble generously on the saagwala, creamed spinach and spices that would have Popeye pea-green with envy. (Incidentally, this is an excellent item to scoop onto a piece of naan bread, India's puffy answer to the tortilla). Move on to the heartier dishes: the navrattan (the menu states this is Gandhi's most popular dish; its name means "nine jewels," indicating the eight different vegetables and the homemade paneer cheese of which it's made), the suka sabaji (an unusual cabbage and tomato combination), the aloo mutter (baby potatoes and peas in a piquant tomato curry sauce) and the lone meat offering, murgh makhani (tender pieces of tandoori chicken in a tomato butter sauce). Don't forget a substantial helping of basmati rice, the nutty and slightly sweet long grain that accompanies every Indian meal. Dessert, in the form of rice pudding (sweet and heavily scented with cardamom), or a wedge of the gulabjamun (like a small piece of steamed plum pudding) will complete your meal. Dinner is a slightly more elegant affair at Gandhi, with the whole of the menu at your disposal. Gandhi's selections are numerous and varied, making a choice especially challenging. We finally settled on an order of the tikka saag ($7.95), delicious tandoori chicken nestled in a sea of creamed spinach, and the vindaloo with fish ($10.50). Gandhi features an option of fresh fish in many of its dishes, the precise type dependent upon the prevailing market, which this day meant mahi-mahi. Vindaloo, slightly sweet and made with red chiles, is considered the most mouth-searing of the curries, and for this reason, my hot-blooded companion dove into this dish with glee. At first taste, however, the vindaloo failed to scorch even slightly. Once brought to the attention of our host, the problem was remedied and the dish that was returned to our table more than lived up to its fiery reputation. All dinner entrees are served on a thalis--a silvery, round, shallow tray--with garnished separate portions of not only your entree, but dal, raita and basmati rice with an orange slice. This aesthetic presentation is a very nice touch in a meal already replete with interesting tastes dancing merrily across your palate. Everything at Gandhi is done well, the only possible glitch being a dislike for Indian music, which plays continuously while you consume. But for my money, this, along with the large Taj Mahal painting against one side wall, is part of the ambience of a restaurant that has the ability to transport us to New Delhi. Gandhi. 150 W. Fort Lowell Road. 292-1738. Open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. daily. Beer and wine. V, MC, AMEX, checks. Menu items: $2.25-$10.95.

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