Best thing I ate: Lamb kebabs in a hot pink sauce in Laguna Niguel

The lamb seekh kebabs at Rangeen in Laguna Niguel are without a doubt the prettiest thing I’ve eaten in months.

Rangeen is a new California-inspired Indian restaurant with a fun surfer-meets-Hindi-fashion vibe and only about 30 seats. The kebab is a classic ground meat kebab made from lamb — four large pieces, nicely charred. The lamb is drizzled with traditional cilantro-mint chutney.

Rangeen is a California-inspired Indian restaurant in Laguna Niguel (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register)

At Rangeen in Laguna Niguel, lamb seekh kebabs are served in beet raita (Photo by Brad A. Johnson, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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That’s where the familiarity of this dish ends. The kebabs are served atop a raita unlike any I’ve ever seen or tasted before. The base is yogurt, as usual, but instead of white, the sauce is hot pink. Loud pink. I mean, Angelyne pink. (Google it if you don’t know what I’m talking about.)

The vibrant color comes from California beets. It’s stunning. I’ll never look at raita the same way again. Most importantly, the kebabs are terrific. And the raita is as delicious as it is flamboyant.

Also, for what it’s worth, my drink was purple. Apparently “rangeen” means colorful in Hindi.