The Cupertino Courier

Dining

Photograph by Brian Connelly

Chef Arvind Bhargava at the Turmeric Indian restaurant in Sunnyvale makes everything, including the yogurt he uses, from scratch. Here he holds a dish called aloo dum chutueswala, which consists of potatoes stuffed with raisins and a special sauce.

The chef at the new Turmeric has long history in the kitchen

By ANNE GELHAUS

To the naked eye, Turmeric restaurant hasn't changed a lot since the days when its name was spelled with a "k" instead of a "c."

New owners Arvind and Vinita Bhargava spruced the place up before its grand reopening March 19, but they kept the walls painted a deep yellow that resembles the color of Indian dishes infused with the restaurant's namesake spice. Diners are still seated in rattan chairs at mahogany tables, both custom-made in Dubai.

The "k," however, had to go, and "Turmerik" became "Turmeric."

"The exact spelling looks better," says Arvind Bhargava. "It's the right thing in the right place."

Bhargava, who has been the restaurant's executive chef since it first opened in 2001 in downtown Sunnyvale, is passionate about creating the right recipes for Turmeric's menu. He makes everything from scratch, down to the yogurt for mango lassi, and even grows his own lentils. Anything less, he says, just wouldn't do.

"Maybe our guests would be satisfied, but I wouldn't," says the chef. "To get the right taste and consistency, you have to make your food from scratch in the right way."

Bhargava's quest for fresh, new tastes began at New Delhi's Institute of Hotel Management, the Indian equivalent of New York's Culinary Institute of America, where he also trained. After serving as head chef for a five-star hotel chain in India, Bhargava moved to Washington, D.C., in 1992 to head the kitchen at the Bombay Club.

In this capacity, the chef cooked for many heads of state, including President Bill Clinton, who ordered the chicken vindaloo.

"It's such a spicy dish, you wouldn't believe it," Bhargava says. "We crossed our fingers that he would like it. He had one bowlful, then asked for another."

Bhargava stayed on the East Coast to work as head chef at three Indian restaurants in New York City before coming to the Bay Area to help start Turmeric. He worked at the Sunnyvale restaurant under original owners Brian and Gratian Joseph and Justine Wong until they went out of business in May 2005. The chef catered events at the Santa Clara Convention Center until he and his wife purchased the restaurant. Vinita Bhargava, who formerly worked at Turmerik as a manager and a server, is running the front end of the reincarnated restaurant.

"Our reason for buying the restaurant is that we love the place," says Arvind Bhargava. "I've got so much family and friends here that I didn't want to leave it. I want this place to come up, so whatever I can do, I will do. I came here from New York to be at this place."

Bhargava has reworked Turmeric's menu to include dishes from various Indian states. Diners can sample khoe awadh (lamb shanks) from Lucknow, shrimp balchau from Goa or makhan masala from Punjab. For the lunch crowd, the restaurant still features an extensive buffet.

In surrounding himself with the tastes of his native country, Bhargava makes himself feel right at home.

"I've spent 32 years as a chef, and I love to create," he says. "I make it my mission to keep doing it."

Turmeric, 141 S. Murphy Ave., Sunnyvale. Lunch: Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., and Saturday-Sunday, noon-12:30 p.m. Dinner: 5:30-10 p.m. daily. Call 408.617.9100 or visit www.turmericrestaurant.com.