CURRIES STAR AT BOLLYWOOD.

Byline: Larry Lipson Restaurant Critic

SOME LIKE IT HOT. Some don't.

Bollywood Cafe, a new little Indian restaurant in Studio City, may be named after India's huge film industry, but thankfully there's neither Bollywood nor Hollywood phoniness about its curry heat promises.

Bollywood is one of the few Indian restaurants locally that seems to follow the truth-in-heat line.

So, if you ask for peppery hot food here, you'll be sure to get it that way.

Most Indian chefs, wary of Americans who ask for the top range of spicy heat, tend to serve up fare of medium chile-induced temperatures. Occasionally, they'll even send out wimpy, mildly spiced curries when your palate is properly focused and fully prepared for something scorching.

But request fish vindaloo ($9.95) at Bollywood and you receive the right stuff, chunks of tender mahi mahi swimming in a reddish brown curry of fearsome fieriness, studded with semi-pacifying cubes of potato and spiked with drops of tart lemon juice.

Of course, if you're a smart, savvy curry aficionado, you'll order a side of raita ($1.50), the cool, refreshing, Indian yogurt and cucumber mixture that quickly soothes any residual burning.

You should already have been sampling the trio of complimentary chutneys (tamarind, mint and an onion-and-parsley blend) that Bollywood sends forth with crispy, thin papadums immediately after diners are seated.

The tamarind chutney probably works best at tempering spicy heat. There's always the option of adding some mango chutney ($1.50).

As for enjoying dishes here of lower heat intensity, the regular chicken curry ($7.95) fits the bill as much as anything, with moist pieces in a similar-looking but obviously much milder rendition than the mahi-mahi vindaloo dish.

Indeed, after trying a variety of dishes here, it appears that the chef excels in curries over tandoor oven-baked, fried and grilled items.

Though the kitchen's aloo chat appetizer ($3.95) of mixed potatoes, garbanzos, tomato and flour chips, and sag aloo ($6.95) vegetable pairing of spinach and potatoes, are both delicious, the pakoras ($1.95) and samosas ($2.50) plus samplings of chicken ($3.95) and lamb ($4.50) tikka and seekh kebab ($5.95) - they can all be ordered in an assorted appetizer plate ($5.95) - actually earn, at best, average ratings.

Tandoor-oven goodies on the mixed tandoori platter ($12.95), even with the array of baked, seasoned mahi-mahi, lamb, chicken and shrimp goodies, seem to need plenty of dousing, daubing and dipping of chutneys to achieve even average satisfaction. Yet the naan and garlic naan tandoor-baked breads are as good as they get.

Really tops, however, is the house lentil-vegetable soup ($1.95), much livelier, extra flavorful and overall more rewarding than the more expensive chicken soup ($2.50).

A straightforward bit of advice: Stick mainly with the curries at Bollywood, whether you like them mild, medium or hot.

You'll certainly agree, they're the true Bollywood stars.

BOLLYWOOD CAFE

Food: Three stars. Service: Three stars.

Where: 11101 Ventura Blvd., Studio City.

Hours: Open for lunch, dinner and snacks from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. daily, to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.

Recommended items: Aloo chat (potatoes, garbanzo beans and tomato), lentil vegetable soup, chicken curry, chicken tikka jalfrezi, fish vindaloo, sag aloo (spinach and potato), naan and garlic naan.

How much: Starters from $2 to $6, main plates from $7 to $13, desserts $2 each. No alcohol. All major credit cards accepted.

Wine list: Beer and wine license pending.

Reservations: Taken. Call [phone].

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2) An order of chicken tikka masala, top left, accompanied by some pillau rice, above, makes a savory meal at Bollywood in Studio City.

Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer