Saffron morphs into fusion fare
You might not have noticed the change to the sign outside, but the short-lived Saffron Restaurant and Sweets storefront in Schaumburg recently morphed into Saffron Indian Restaurant. New owner Amit Contractor, a career-changing computer programmer, took over the small restaurant in April, changing the formerly Pakistani menu to an Indian and Desi focus.
"Desi," which literally translates as "of the country" in Hindi and Urdu, is a term often applied to people of South Asian heritage living outside the Indian subcontinent. When it comes to food, it connotes what you might call "fusion" fare. For example, chicken tikka masala, a famous dish of roast chicken in a creamy tomato-based sauce, served in Indian restaurants throughout North America and Great Britain, was reportedly invented in Glasgow, Scotland.
Saffron doesn't offer that dish but instead paneer tikka masala, made with fresh Indian-style cheese. You'll also find items such as gyros, a house burger zipped up with Indian spices, masala-seasoned onion rings and delightful specialty pizzas.
The Indian-influenced pizzas start with an almost paper-thin crispy crust and add a choice of cilantro-mint chutney or spicy tomato-chili sauce in lieu of Italian-American marinara. I tried one of the house specialties, the fiery tehalka ("sensation" in Hindi), a disk topped with spiced chicken, onions, garlic and hot green chilies over tomato-chili sauce. Yikes! It's not for the faint of palate.
Other pizzas include the palak paneer, with spinach and cheese, and the "Saffron supreme," with ground beef or chicken, mushrooms, onion and green pepper, plus choose-your-own toppings from a list featuring paneer, tandoori chicken and gyros.
Traditional fare from northern India also features on the menu. Contractor, who immigrated to the U.S. eight years ago, is a native of Gujarat in western India, bordering Pakistan, and a few dishes represent the cuisine of that region, notably the tawa fry eggplant with potatoes. Prepared in a tawa, a flat Indian frying pan, this unique and appetizing dish presents small Indian eggplants coated with chopped peanuts and a variety of seeds and spices and dry-fried with thinly sliced potatoes.
Starters and snacks include excellent samosas, crunchy fried-pastry pyramids stuffed with well-seasoned chicken or potatoes, and chutney puri, walnut-sized, delicately brittle shells filled with a mixture of diced tomato, onion, cold potato and cilantro and drizzled with sweet tamarind chutney.
Other specialties include spicy Chinese-influenced chicken "chilly"; butter chicken; shrimp masala; and a good version of the layered basmati rice dish biryani, made with your choice of chicken or tender, flavorful "mutton" (actually bone-in goat meat). Paratha rolls, the Indian version of burritos, include roast chicken, beef, paneer and vegetable choices, wrapped in pancake-like flatbreads.
Dessert choices are limited to Eli's Cheesecake, packaged kulfi (Indian-style ice cream) and gulab jamun (dough balls in syrup). Beverages include cool, tart mango lassi (yogurt shakes) and canned sodas from a corner cooler.
"Saffron" implies something rich and costly, but this small eatery has a casual, fast-food ambience, and entree prices are reasonable. The food comes out on disposable plates with plastic sporks for utensils. The restaurant currently seats 16, although Contractor plans to add more tables soon.
Restaurant reviews are based on one anonymous visit. Our aim is to describe the overall dining experience while guiding the reader toward the menu's strengths. The Daily Herald does not publish reviews of restaurants it cannot recommend.
Saffron Indian Restaurant
602 W. Wise Road, Schaumburg, (847) 301-2424, saffronschaumburg.com
Cuisine: Indian and Desi food
Setting: Small storefront in a strip mall west of Roselle Road
Price range: Appetizers $2.99 to $4.99; entrees $8.25 to $12.50; pizzas start at $4.99; desserts 99 cents to $1.99
Hours: 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday
Accepts: Major credit cards
Also: Delivery; free parking; zabiha halal meats; lunch combos