Navjot Arora at Chutney Masala

When Navjot Arora was 10 years old, his father assigned him responsibility for a section of the family vegetable garden. He learned how to prepare cilantro-mint chutney--the word chutney is derived from the Hindi word chatni and it means relish or dip--and how to grind spices using mortar and pestle.

His father was a hydroelectric power engineer, a profession that occasionally required the family to pull up stakes and relocate within Punjab, a state in northwest India. But wherever the family moved, it always had a large and varied vegetable garden. Punjabi cuisine is predominantly vegetarian and Arora recalls that what vegetables they didn't grow, they bought from farmer's markets or roadside food bazaars.

As Arora grew into his teens, his parents envisioned a career for him in medicine. But it was the hospitality industry that caught his interest and he enrolled at the Institute of Hotel Management in New Delhi to pursue a Bachelor of Science degree in Hospitality and Catering Management. The education he wanted to acquire would qualify him for entering either the hotel field or the restaurant/food industry.

During his last year of college, something happened that helped him make up his mind on a career path:

His fellow students put Arora in charge of food preparation for a special, multiple-event cultural/athletic/social week that would attract participants from 13 educational institutions. His duties involved planning menus, scheduling meals for 1,000 registrants and making sure his part of the operation ran smoothly. His young work force included an attractive first year student named Anu from Benares in the Hindi heartland who three years later would become his wife.

Arora enjoyed every minute of running the food preparation program and he began to favor cuisine preparation as his profession of choice.

As graduation approached, he accepted an offer of employment from the Taj Group, a large hospitality organization headquartered in Bombay whose 42 hotels contain some of the most prestigious restaurants in India.

He embarked on a two-year training program that exposed him to both the food and service sides of the business. Upon completion of the course, he joined the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi, a luxurious hotel with eight eateries including world-class French, Chinese, Mediterranean and Indian restaurants. He remained there for ten years, advancing to key supervisory kitchen positions including Sous Chef and ran the Indian restaurant for three years.

After arriving in the United States, Arora went to work for Sushil Malhotra, former owner of the Manhattan Indian restaurant Dawat and founder/president of the newly formed Cafe Spice Restaurant Group. Arora served as Executive Chef as the organization expanded to eight eateries in four states.

Malhotra recognized Arora's interest in starting a restaurant and they teamed up in April, 2008 as partners to open Chutney Masala Indian Bistro in Irvington. Ayurveda principals were an influence in the determination of dishes for the menu. (Ayurveda is a 5000-year-old Indian science that combines good dietary practices with other factors to promote longer and healthier lives.)

The restaurant occupies a 150-year-old building that was once the storage warehouse for a lumber company. Arora engaged Tarik Currimbhoy to design the distinctive interior of the restaurant which is resplendent with Victorian mirrors, hand-blown glass fixtures and and a majestic inlaid Indian tile bar. Exposed brick walls and ductwork, painted walls, wooden floors and emerald green banquettes contribute to the museum-like appearance of the restaurant. The walls depict India's 19th-century British colonial era through historic photographs by Raja Deen Deval and related artwork from that period.

About the Menu

For the menu, Arora focused on wholesome and healthy food representing many regions of India. The "centerpiece of the kitchen," he says is the Tandoor oven which reaches 700 degrees Fahrenheit and is used to prepare fresh naan breads and grill healthful and flavorful meats and vegetables. All-natural and free-range meat, wild shrimp, and homemade spices are used.

The menu is extensive but there are three dishes that Arora says are gaining in popularity: One, an appetizer priced at $7, is dahi allo paadi - a cold layered combination of semolina crisps, yogurt, spiced potato and chickpeas and tangy chutney. A seafood main course also catching on is called meen moille - fresh coconut tilapia fillets, yogurt sauce with a hint of ginger and green chilies, priced at $20. Among the many vegetarian entrees, a winner is baigan mirchi ka saalan at $16 - sweet and sour eggplant with toasted sesame and peanuts. 

For those patrons interested in a generously sized combination platter, Arora created the Maharaja thali which combines amritsari macchi (crispy tilapia) with the chicken or lamb special of the day ($25). It's served with lentils, vegetables, basmati rice and naan bread.

Recognition with the restaurant industry for Arora has come quickly.He was selected by the James Beard Foundation to cook as guest chef for a program in March, 2009 honoring the Spring Festival of Color, a holiday in India.

He and Anu are residents of Dobbs Ferry. Malhotra lives in Irvington.

What's next for Arora? He says, "I set out to bring authentic Indian cuisine to a discerning suburban audience two years ago. Now I'm ready to take it to Manhattan."

Chutney Masala is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week. It is located at 4 West Main Street in Irvington, New York. 914-591-5500. www.chutneymasalabistro.com.