ALL the stress of getting to Yatra – which aptly means “journey” or “pilgrimage” – vanished the minute we tucked into the offerings at this Indian restaurant in Bandar Sri Damansara.

The Bryani Thali Set, which comes in a round platter, has a lovely spiced rice with cashews and raisins, along with 10 items: spinach with dhal, ladies’ fingers, cabbage, deep-fried bitter gourd, sodhi, onion raita, lime chutney, pappadam, payasam and rasam.

Each vegetable dish got our thumbs up, and we even asked for an extra serving of the crispy bitter gourd.

The onion raita, sweet and mellow, is noteworthy, as are the sodhi and flavourful rasam.

The sound of pounding made me turn around, and I saw spices being crushed at the drinks counter for my Masala Tea.

Aromatic, smooth and creamy, this tea would have the “artisanal” tag at any trendy cafe.

We usually get a little greedy when ordering Indian food. In addition to the thali set, we got the Chicken Tikka Masala, Puri & Keema, Palak Paneer, Fried Fish and Mutton Peratal.

Appam is also on the menu, and we had the sweet variety for dessert.

The Chicken Tikka Masala has grilled cubes of chicken breast in a rich masala gravy, tempered with lime juice.

Green capsicum and onions are in the gravy, which has a good balance of spices and heat from chilli.

The Palak Paneer has big cubes of cottage cheese, sourced from a local farm, soaked in a thick spinach gravy made fragrant with cardamom and other spices.

We asked to meet the chef, Madina Begum, after relishing her exquisite cooking. Hailing from New Delhi, her signature touch is present in every dish.

The Mutton Peratal, with chunks of tender meat bathed in a well-balanced sauce, highlights her deft use of spices.

We couldn’t resist the Puri & Keema, or puffy deep-fried bread served with spicy minced mutton.

With it comes three side dishes, namely palak (spinach), aloo masala (potato) and dhal with mung beans.

The Fried Fish (tenggiri) came to the table hot off the pan.

I asked for a taste of the Classic Fish Curry, and it has the expected subtly sour note.

Rounding off a scrumptious lunch was the Sweet Appam.

The appam is moist, fluffy and thick in the centre, with a crispy, lacy fringe. It is dotted with brown sugar and served with coconut milk.

This satisfied my appam craving, though I should’ve asked for the sugar to come separately, to better control the sweetness.

Yatra’s menu is extensive. South Indian dishes feature prominently, but there are also some Northern favourites.

We will be back for the Mutton Chettinad, Signature Tiger Prawn Sambal, Chappati with Jhinga Masala Set, Keema Dosai & Aloo Masala, and Egg Appam with coconut curry and onion sambal, among others.

The portions are generous, perfect for sharing. The Bryani Thali Set (RM18) is enough for two. The Mutton Peratal is RM28, Palak Paneer (RM20), Puri & Keema (RM15), Fried Fish (RM15), Chicken Tikka Masala (RM25) and Sweet Appam (RM8).

Yatra is located at B-G-5, Block B, Ativo Plaza at 1, Jalan PJU9/1 in Damansara Avenue, Bandar Sri Damansara, Kuala Lumpur. It can be reached at 03-6734-0322. – December 28, 2019.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.