Delightfully Chilli

The occasion was a friend’s birthday recently. The choice of venue to celebrate was funneled down in favor of Indian, and a little closer, her Punjabi roots. It turned out thus to be an invitation to dine at noted chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s Yellow Chilli in Santa Clara, California. I had only heard about its launch recently, and looked forward to it.

The California Bay Area dining scape has no dearth of mushrooming new Indian eateries, and Yellow Chilli happens to be one of the very latest entrants to the scene, having launched only in March of this year. The restaurant chain has of course made waves already in India, and a few locations around the globe, so one kind of knew this was going to be good. The expectation proved right, and even a couple of notches better.

The interiors were pleasantly inviting, offering a sleek modern ambience. We sat down to appetizers, and both the papad crisps and mint chutney were noticeably superior to what I have encountered in most other Bay Area Indian restaurants, prompting repeated requests from the table for the chutney. We were soon tucking into crisp vegetable skewers, chana jor garam tikki and the harippa paneer tikka. The chana jor tikkis (potato patties) turned out okay but a little bland, and were a tad too fried when they should have been a little spicier. The vegetable spring rolls scored well, crisp and spiced just right, while my friends approved noddingly of the paneer (cottage cheese) cubes with their hint of greens. One felt like having witnessed a sound opening stand in a cricket game, with the promise of more good batting to come.

Our next sampling was of the coconut zaffrani shorba, garnished with flowers of saffron, and this soup certainly had a taste of refinement about it. The main course was a classical vegetarian spread, comprising rajma masala and pindi chholey, the intriguingly titled shaam savera, the subz panchavati, pyaaz mirch roti, naan and two varieties of vegetable pulao. The portions came perfectly sized, with quality to match. Delving into the dishes, the shaam savera made an instant impression, with its paneer stuffed and delectable spinach kofta rounds dipped in a bold and tangy tomato gravy. This was, after all, Sanjeev Kapoor’s signature dish. So did the subz assortment of cauliflowers, green and red peppers, which drew out the flavors of the veggies rather than suppressing them in spice. The onion rotis were fresh and warm.

Surprisingly, two of the classical Punjabi mainstays, the pindi chholey and rajma masala could have delivered more. Their spicing could have been more nuanced, even if not necessarily bolder. On the promise of the earlier dishes, I was expecting a slam dunk of compelling, authentic dhaba quality taste, but the bean dishes preferred to stay in the zone of good rather than great. In cricketing parlance, this was like safe and disciplined batting, keeping the score ticking, but short of finding, or rather creating the gaps that would fetch the boundaries.

The pulao dishes made their mark though, in combination with the rest of the dishes, hitting the perfect spot. They were spiced conservatively rather than bold, much like preserving the brisk momentum of batsmen already well set.

The portions settled in easy, leaving one light yet satiated. The after taste lingered satisfyingly enough that we felt not the need to go in for the desserts. My first Yellow Chilli experience left me clearly impressed, though it seemed to search for the proverbial missing gap to bridge before making it to the league of excellent. I certainly wanted to go back again.

A visiting friend of yester year provided perfect company for a second visit in the space of two weeks. This time, our explorations forayed into sea food (the Tandoori sea bass and Bhatti ka jeenga), and chicken (the Murgh Angaar Bedgi). It was good to see the chicken and shrimp cooked in a tandoor (clay oven), the traditionally healthy manner of making Indian dishes.

The tandoori sea bass arrived moist and buttery, garnished with yogurt. This was a little surprising, because fish and yogurt are not complementary from an Ayurvedic perspective. It would be good if Indian restaurants held to some of the basic traditional food combination principles. The patrons of today look to not merely sample good flavors, but also leave in good health.

The Bhatti ka jeenga was served on slate, which made for an aesthetic twist to the presentation. It turned out fine, though the marinade was not quite adhering to the crustacean. The Murgh Angaar Bedgi was cooked well, with an interesting marinade. It was the spiciest chicken on the menu, and it lived up to its promise.

Vegetarian bites included the Hara Masaley ka Bhuna Paneer, which was overcooked and rubbery. The substitute that was brought to the table still didn’t make the cut, and seemed like it was done in a hurry. The Karara Subz Rolls (veg rolls) were crispy but overdone, lacking in flavor, for one could only taste the shell.

In welcome contrast, the rice pilaf (Nizami Tarkari Biryani) and the Punjabi favorite Sarson ka Saag proved outstanding, in terms of their richness of flavor and liveliness of taste. They were the magnificent fighting partnership down the middle order that proved to be the highlight of the second cricketing innings, when the top order, save for the Murgh Angaar Bedgi, had not exactly had a field day. It certainly restored the score back to a cheery total. The best was reserved for last. The Gulab-e-Gulkhand of gulab jamuns stuffed with rose petal compote was pure enchantment. It hit the ball clean out of the park.

Overall, I was grateful and glad to have had the opportunity to dine here both times, and so it was for my companions. The wait staff could have been just that little more responsive, though the dishes arrived quite promptly. My second foray into Yellow Chilli held good ground, turning out on par with my first, and perhaps a notch better. Considering there’s an internationally renowned celebrity chef behind this venture, one would hope the suggestions lead to well done improvements and healthier alternatives. I would recommend this place heartily.

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