Indian Food in the Suburbs

-Grubbing in Chicagoland
Five of a Kind: Suburban Indian Restaurants  

When the question of where to get the best Indian food is discussed you might assume it's Devon avenue aka Little India to some - but that's changing. While there's still alot of Indian restaurants up and down Devon there's not that many new spots opening and that's because they're opening in the suburbs. Chicago's Indian community has grown so large that it's spread out around Chicagoland. It's not just one suburb either. There's two large communities in both Schaumburg and Naperville and with them lots of South Asian dining options and grocery stores in their immediate vicinities. Today we head to those areas to check out some of the newer Indian spots that have opened out there. 

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Turmerica (Schaumburg) 

This fast food import comes to Chicagoland via the state of Maharashtra in India. There's not much info online but they're known for their Maharashtrian dishes like Misal Pav. Misal is a spicy curry made with tomato gravy plus moth beans and pav is an Indian type of bread roll. The exact prep varies by region but it typically comes with farsan (salty snacks), onions, cilantro and cheese if you want it. The heat level can vary from mildly spicy to really spicy as it’s a DIY process. The spicy looking dark red oil served on the side determines how spicy you want to go. The end result reminded me of chili but I don’t recall a veggie version of chili quite as spicy and delicious as this. The pink sauce is called Solkadi. A follower on instagram told me it should be thinner than it looks in the pic as it's a drinkable digestion typically used after eating spicy food, which makes sense. I also tried an order of Kothimbir Vadi - a crispy and regionally popular snack from Maharashtra made with gram flour (besan), coriander leaves, peanuts, sesame seed and spices that are molded and fried and served with a savory chutney. Good stuff. Next visit I’ll get the Vada Pav, one of Mumbai’s signature dishes.

Kothimbir Vadi

Misal Pav at Turmerica
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Jay Bhavani Vadapav - Indian Vegetarian Street Food (Hoffman Estates)

Speaking of Vada Pav it's the signature dish of our next stop. Jay Bhavani is another recently arrived fast food chain from India. Bombay style burgers aka Vada Pav are their specialty (a deep fried potato fritter in a bun with chutney). JBV sits in the corner of a large strip mall where it has one of those sloppy slot shops as a neighbor. I visited in the fall when they were just getting going and I clearly wasn't the only one who knew of it as they were busy with customers. Vada Pav is one of India's most beloved street foods as it's adored by most and especially those with ties Mumbai. I have zero ties to India but lots of love for the Vada Pav. It was a little bit of let down that the green and red chutneys come pre-packaged but at less than $5 each these make for a great snack. As much as I like Vada Pav I've never tied one in India so I don't know exactly what separates the good from the great but this one was tasty and I would warmly welcome a closer location within the city.  

Vada Pav at Jay Bhavani 
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WKND PaniPuri (Naperville)

When the Mall of India opened in an old WalMart location its intent was to bring everything you can find on Devon to Naperville and that it has. I visited last year and perused around the ginormous grocery store for a little before making my way to the food court where WKND PaniPuri caught my eye. Pani Puri is an extremely popular Indian street food made up of of crispy, hollow, fried balls of dough (puri) that are poked open and stuffed with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, onion, and a spicy and tangy water (pani). The exact origins of this chaat family favorite are murky but it has many regional variations. The Pani puri at WKND PaniPuri is stuffed with a flavorful seasoned mash potato mix and served with cups of red and green water based liquid. The green one is made with herbs like mint and cilantro while the red water consists of tamarind and chiles among other things. The end result is a burst of flavors and textures and an absolutely sensational snack. They also make a variation from Mumbai called Sev puri which is similar to pani puri as far as filling but it gets topped with sev which according to wikipedia are "a popular Indian snack food consisting of small pieces of crunchy noodles made from chickpea flour paste, which are seasoned with turmeric, cayenne, and ajwain before being deep-fried in oil". There was a time when finding Indian street food in this former cow town would’ve been impossible but these days the suburb is an enclave for South Asians.

Sev Puri

Pani Puri at WKND PaniPuri
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A2B Indian Veg Restaurant (Warrenville) 

Whenever I’m going to a spot that I might not know a lot about there’s a few things I like to do including checking google reviews where I like to look at the most commonly mentioned words plus the pictures. This is how I ended up with the Royal Falooda at this vegetarian franchise from Chennai. The cold dessert with noodles has its origins in the Persian dish faloodeh. Variants of this are found across West, South and Central Asia. Traditionally it’s made with vermicelli noodles, rose syrup and sweet basil seeds plus milk and it’s often served with ice cream and powdered pistachios on top. A2B also has an extensive selection of Southern Indian dishes including a well made plate of Appam or hoppers as they're called in Sri Lanka. Appam is essentially fermented rice batter and coconut milk cooked in a deep pan similar in shape to a wok. A2B serves Appam with a savory vegetable curry and sweet coconut milk for dipping. The massive cones of dosa here looked really good. This is the type of spot that's great for groups and they come in droves during peak eating hours. 

Appam

Royal Falooda at A2B Indian Veg Restaurant 
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Mughal Biryani House (Park Ridge)

Towards the end of last year I did some Christmas Shopping at the outlet mall in Rosemont and it came some very good Indian food courtesy of Dan aka @polski_eater who met me at this biryani specialist. It opened last summer and has had very favorable reviews which is kind of a warning sign with Indian restaurants as the best Indian spots typically have a mediocre rating due to reviewers need to compare every dish to their moms and what not. Haha. But nah most of the good reviews for here were coming from the local Indian - American community plus I was already intrigued with their rather interesting menu. Many of the online reviews mention the chili chicken which is a favorite of mine so that was an easy pick as far as what to start out with. It was very good but lacked a bit of actual heat as it was served lukewarm but they were pretty swamped with orders so we didn’t want to further the delay. Had it been served steaming hot it could’ve been as good a version as I’ve come across in these parts but still not to the level of Yueh Tung in Toronto. On the other hand their biryani was pretty much as good as I’ve come across around here though I haven’t had enough versions to make a claim on where it stands amongst the best in Chicagoland. But it was fresh and fragrant and loaded with tender bits of Chicken 65. Same goes for the masala egg omelet which was a bit of revelation to me, masala seasoning should be a standard ingredient in all omelets. I always like to try Kothu Parotta if it’s on the menu as it is here. Torn up pieces of paratha are stir fried with chicken, eggs, and savory spices among other things depending on the recipe. This one was a real mouth burner (SPICY) but tasty nonetheless. We finished off with a steaming hot bowl of Gulab Jamun, a popular dessert of deep fried balls of dough sitting in sweet rose flavored syrup.

Dinner at Mughal Biryani House 
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See ya next time @chibbqking