Masala Grill

Masala Grill is a casual, unassuming restaurant in a pod mall, but one look at its menu, you are immediately struck by the extensive range of its offerings.

There’s the mughlai dishes – biriaynis, naans, curries vegetarian and non-vegetarian – that you are familiar with from other Indian restaurants; but alongside, organized under sub-menus are dishes you may not be as familiar with. These are the humble everyday dishes that desis – Indian immigrants – grew up with and crave, all at very reasonable prices.

For the many Indians who are vegetarians, there is a large selection of vegetarian curries that can be eaten with an array of breads – rotis, as well as the fried parathas, and pooris, all of which are also available as set plates or thalis. Noteworthy is the jackfruit curry, which in India is commonly touted as being closest to meat because of its texture. Though jackfruit is available here in Latin markets, it is not only too ripe and sweet for curry, but also challenging to work with because it is both sticky and hard to cut. So home cooks usually resort to using canned jackfruit, which of course, tastes canned.

What is more, the Masala Grill’s fare is Pan Indian, explained by the fact that Chef owner Sahil Chawla grew up in Delhi where regional Indian dishes co-exist and abound.

So the menu has a section on South Indian favorites like Idli Sambar – fermented rice patties served with a spicy tomato based soup, and Dosas – paper thin crepes made with a batter of fermented rice and urad beans. Traditionally, they are served plain, with a sprinkle of a special combination of spices, or stuffed with curried potato and onions. Here you can also get them stuffed with spinach, paneer cheese, and even a nonvegetarian version stuffed with spicy chicken.

Expanding on the menu’s Pan Indian range, there’s Goan chicken coconut curriy, bhelpuri and pav bhaji from Bombay, and kulche chole, and chole bhature – weekend brunch staples from Delhi.

There’s even a selection of the most popular Indo-Chinese dishes – fried rice, noodles, gobhi Manchurian, and chili chicken – the last of which Chef Sahil says is one of his most popular dishes.

What drew me to the restaurant, though, was its Street Food Cart section, with its extensive list of spicy chaat snack items. You are probably familiar with the vegetable and meat samosas, the medley of spicy pakoras or vegetable fritters, and aloo tikki – the Indian version of potato latkes – that often show up at Indian restaurants. More specifically, the menu got me with everyone’s favorite pani poori or gol gappe, here called puchke on the menu. You fill these small, hollow balls made of paper thin semolina with spicy potatoes, chickpeas, and a spicy mint water and pop the concoction into your mouth where they explode into a burst of flavors. They might break before they reach your mouth, and you might have the spicy mint liquid squirting on your face, but all that is part of the fun of eating them.

Previously, you’d have to trek to Little India in Artesia to find many of these items, now no more. Plus the restaurant’s mid- Wilshire location makes it very convenient to get there from the Westside, Downtown, and Hollywood.

As if its Indian menu weren’t extensive enough, there is yet another, intriguing section in Masala Grill’s menu called Fusion that sprang from the restaurant’s history. Before it became Masala Grill, the space used to be a Mexican joint. So after Masala Grill took over, the old restaurant’s customers continued coming in and asking for Mexican food. Chef Sahil obliged with what he had on hand, filling Indian curries in rotis and naans to create his fusion tacos, burritos, quesadillas, and ‘naanwiches’. The customers were apparently satisfied, as was the chef owner, and the section continues. Chef Sahil makes it a point of handing out free samples to let his customers try new flavors, so the Fusion section may well expand.

Clearly, there’s plenty to please many types of palates here, with something for everyone, and all at a very reasonable price!