AURORA – Sathya and Sujatha Narayan like saag paneer as much as anyone. They just wondered why every Indian eatery has to have creamed spinach and cheese on the menu. “There are so many other Indian dishes to try,” Sujatha said.
That was the genesis of Aurora’s Jai Ho Indian Kitchen.
If “Jai Ho” sounds familiar, you probably saw the Bollywood dance finale of the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire.” The upbeart dance anthem, “Jai Ho,” is made to get stuck in your brain. The phrase “Jai Ho” roughly translates as “victory to you.”
Sathya and Sujatha grew up in Chennai, a large city in Southern India around the corner from A.R. Rahman, the composer of “Jai Ho.” After marrying, they lived in various cities in Canada and the U.S. before settling in Colorado nine years ago.
Sujatha has a degree in dietetics, and works as a realtor. She’s a vegetarian.
Sathya is an architect who works as a tech consultant. He eats meat. He travels back and forth to Edmonton, Alberta, where many of his clients are located.
In other words, Sujatha said: “We’ve eaten out a lot. We kept going to Indian restaurants and it seemed like they all looked the same and served too much of the same dishes,” Sathya said.
“If you go out to a nice restaurant in India, it’s a special place where you can relax. They serve a mixture of dishes from various parts of India.”
The young couple developed their own personal test for whether a restaurant was good. If they left an eatery talking about how good the food was and how much they wanted to come back, it was a winner. If they argued and quickly left then the restaurant wasn’t good and they wouldn’t go back.
So despite a busy life featuring two kids, they opened a restaurant in Aurora with a comfy, modern bar area fitted with groupings of low benches and tables, and Bollywood movies on the flatscreens.
“We wanted Jai Ho to have a fun atmosphere and have fun with the menu,” Sujatha said.
Here’s how Jai Ho’s menu describes some of its most popular dishes:
• Jai Ho Lollipop Chicken: “Chicken Wing lollipops!!! Are you crazy??? Every table’s got to have one”
• Kuruma: “Giant puffy fried bread with many options and a bright future”
• 18-inch Dosa Super Sub: “Multi-layered dosa sandwich. U will not go back to Subway unless U R Jared”
• ECR Fish Fry: “Tilapia Filet, Marinated and Pan fried with a vengeance”
The couple’s approach to cuisine was equally free-spirited, combining Northern Indian meat dishes with vegetarian and lesser-known meat dishes from Southern India like Ceylon mutton dosas, plus popular highway/street food items and a surprise: preparations from Southeat Asian. “Indo-Chinese food has become very popular all over India,” Sathya said.
Besides, he said, the same biryani rice dish from different regions of India will taste vastly different.
“It’s like barbecue. Texas barbecue is different from Memphis barbecue or Kansas City or from the Carolinas.”
Jai Ho serves a lunch buffet that becomes brunch on weekends, but the only evening buffet is the Thursday night Kolaveri popular with families. (“Kolaveri” is not a cuisine, but rather the name of another quirky Indian tune.)
Even with the buffet, she said, they skipped the obligatory tandoori chicken, naan, rice pudding, veggie curries and saag paneer. “The buffet is our chance to feature dishes that aren’t on the menu,” Sujatha said
They located their first restaurant in Aurora because it’s the home of “the India belt,” a high concentration of Indian markets, restaurants and related businesses on and around South Parker Road. “Being here is instant visibility. Indian people come here from all over the state and Wyoming and Kansas to shop and eat,” Sathya said.
At the Aurora store, he estimates that 70 percent of the patrons are Indian. At their second Jai Ho in Boulder, Indian customers are about 60 percent. Now Sathya and Sujatha are getting ready to add an eatery in Lone Tree.
“We want it to have a different feel and a different name,” Sujatha said, along with further culinary twists.
There’s one thing for certain — the new place will be fun.
Jai Ho Indian Kitchen
3055 S. Parker Road, Aurora
jaiho.us.com; 303-751-5151