A month after opening The Yellow Chilli, the couple who brought the flagship restaurant to Fresno from one of India’s top celebrity chefs say they’ve gotten strong attention for the localized take on cuisine from the subcontinent.

Husband-and-wife team Satvinder and Kamal Ghotra say since they’ve opened, they’ve been waitlisted on the weekends due to the popularity of the restaurant at Herndon and Palm avenues.

The menu comes from celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor who has hundreds of locations in India. The Ghotras opened one of the first ones in the U.S. in Southern California before COVID circumstances forced them to close the restaurant.

“What he brings to the table is a mix of all the tastes from all around the world, rather than just sticking to Indian, typical butter chicken, masala,” said Kamal Ghotra. “Everybody likes butter chicken or chicken tikka masala with naan, but it’s beyond that. We’ve got a lot of other fusion foods which are are very nice, very flavorful rather than spicy.”

Yellow Chili an Unsung Hero of Indian Masala

Satvinder Ghotra said the restaurant’s name comes from an often-overlooked chili. When Kapoor tried to replicate a dish but couldn’t, he found the missing ingredient was the yellow chili.

The chef had to go home and visit a particular street vendor to discover the secret.

“Yellow chili is one of the unsung spices in Indian masala,” Satvinder Ghotra said. “Let’s say every dish has about 15 to 20 different kinds of spices that goes into Indian cooking.”

Kapoor will visit the restaurant when the Ghotras hold their grand opening, which they expect in April.

Another focus for the couple is the lunch menu. They offer quicker, lighter bites for people who don’t want a heavier meal.