Indian food for the Food Train!

Last Saturday we took the advice of a Food Train member and went to Hema's Kitchen on Devon Ave. in Chicago. www.hemaskitchen.com  This is a Check Please restaurant that we did not ever remember seeing. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-buX_YUiTg8, 

This turned out to be a fantastic place for Indian food. Very comfortable, relaxing and excellent food! It is a BYOB place with no corkage fee!

We started out with Tandoori Chicken, I was very skeptic because the only time we had Tandoori Chicken before it was very very dry. Well I am glad I didn't say anything out loud because this chicken was very good. It had a great flavor and was extremely juicy!

We also had Vegetable Samosa : A flaky homemade pastry shell stuffed with a delicate combination of potatoes, green peas and coriander leaves. And Kheema Samosa: Pastry shell stuffed with minced lamb, onions, green peas and cilantro leaves.  These are deep fried and fantastic.

We tried the Spinach Pakoras: Onion, bell peppers, spinach and green pepper dipped in a chickpea flour and deep fried. These were awesome! The flavor was just outrageous, and I don't like green bell peppers (not sure if that's what kind they are) but you don't get that over overwhelmingly taste of green bell pepper. It is spinach, spices and delicious.

We also had Papadam: Crispy lentil crackers (fried or roasted). The red sauce was sweet with a touch of spice. The green sauce is a cilantro sauce and it was very good even though I don't like cilantro.

For entrees we had several and shared, this is the best way to go. Fun because you get to try lots of different things. Lamb Vindaloo: "Seasoned lamb cooked in a rich gravy with potatoes, coconut and curry leaves. Very spicy".The menu says very spicy but it was not very spicy, even after asking them to make it extremely spicy. Don't think they believed us when we said we like it fire breathing.

We also had the Shrimp Vindaloo: "Seasoned shrimp cooked in a rich gravy with potatoes, coconut and curry leaves. Very spicy". It was even less spicy than the lamb, but very good.

Chicken Korma: Tender pieces of chicken cooked in cashew curry sauce (Mild Dish). This dish was good but didn't pack a big flavor.

My favorite dish was the Chana Masala: Chick peas cooked with potatoes, sliced onions and green pepper in light spices and special sauce.This dish was so flavorful, the curry and other spices just blended together so well. It was fantastic!

Sag Paneer: Fresh spinach and homemade cheese simmered in spices and gravy. Good flavor and even better when you get a bite with the cheese.

The breads we had were-Poori: Hand rolled homemade wheat bread deep fried.
Garlic Naan: Naan bread with crushed garlic with a hint of garlic oil.
Aloo Paratha: Whole wheat bread stuffed with spiced potatoes and peas.

Poori

 

 

 

Garlic Naan

Aloo Paratha

My favorite was the Poori, but probably because it was fried, almost anything fried is great. But it was really really good with the Chana Masala on it. The Garlic Naan was very good with everything on it also!

 

We all had a great time and would recommend Hema's Kitchen for those of you who want to try your first Indian food experience or those who love Indian food already. This restaurant is the perfect place for both. Go with a group or order a lot so you can try many different things.

with Hemma.