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chopal has three veg items if I remember correctly, okra, dal, and sarsoon ki saag (described by Erik)

Hyderabad house ain't so veg friendly. My suggestion for a veg/carnivore mix would be to hit sizzle india further west. (in general the veg options are more west of western avenue, as the restaurants are more hindu oriented than pakistani or hyderabadi)

FWIW: As you can probably make out from the above photo, a good portion of the balti gosht was bone. I should think that a diner with a relatively healthy appetite could polish that dish off by themselves.

C2 and I were not able to finish all of our food, but keep in mind that we had ordered two meat entrees and the spicy heat of the food slowed us down tremendously. Actually, it quite nearly stopped us dead in out tracks.

Regards,
Erik M.

Hyderabad house ain't so veg friendly. My suggestion for a veg/carnivore mix would be to hit sizzle india further west. (in general the veg options are more west of western avenue, as the restaurants are more hindu oriented than pakistani or hyderabadi)[/quote

Chopal actually has 4 veg items - the ubiquitous "Mixed vegetables" is the fourth
Talked to a Pakistani a couple days ago who eats several meals a week on
Devon - he said he has been to Chopal 4 or 5 times, but wasnt overly
impressed, he still preferred Usmaniya etc. (Ive been only a couple times
myself).

BTW, made it to Usmaniya Sunday afternoon with a friend - had the chicken
makhani and the Karahi Gosh. The chicken was decent to good, but on
Sunday the Gosh was absolutely terrrific. And the naans were very good
as well (Friend ordered the chicken, but ate mostly out of my Gosh, and
it ended up being over in a hurry Usmaniya is really as good as you
get on Devon in a lot of ways IMHO (though of course Iam talking mostly
meat-eaters - for veggies I think Usmaniya also has only 3 dishes,
daal fry being one of them).

For the veggie-meat mix, as you say Sizzle might be the way to go. Or Bhabi's
I suppose - Iam still not much of a Bhabi's guy, but they do carry a fair few
veggie options in addition to their meat (but if you want anything other
than bland food you pretty much have to ask for extra heat I'd guess -
mine has been bland the couple of times Ive tried it).

As for Hyderabad House - one of my fave spots. But dont go there if youre
a veggie, you might literally have nothing to eat Daal, some of the time,
and other times maybe nothing at all. (I was once at Daata late-night, and
a couple came in asking for veggie food. They sat there for a few minutes
while the menu was recited to them by the owner, and the went thru
their options - and there was quite literally nothing. Their only option that
day was the "tomato cut", but that comes with boiled eggs in it - the owner
assured them he'd remove the boiled egg and give them just the "cut" if
they wished They eventually had to leave hungry. Hyderabad House
wouldnt be quite *that* extreme - they'd have side dishes of khati-daal,
or maybe even bagare-baingan (both very good). But they almost certainly
will not have a vegetarian entree.

c8w

Oh, BTW, forgot to mentoin - dropped in and picked up another "to go" menu
from Bhabi's while around there on Sunday (were parked almost right
there for the Usmaniya lunch). It should be noted that the menu has
changed - not the items, but the prices. *Everything* is more expensive,
and by a bit! Most things seem to have gone up 33% - Kadai Chicken's
etc have gone from 6 to 8 bucks, basically (the meat-dishes are now
all 9 bucks, sort of uniform all the way). A few others have gone
up more - Ras Malai, from 2 to 4, is basically a 100% jump Bhabi's
now is clearly the most expensive restaurant of its kind in the area -
the small-sized no-frills places (ie Usmaniya-like, or even Chopal-like
I suppose). I mean, they now charge *9* bucks for a Sarson-ka-saag!
There isnt a veggie dish under 8 anymore (which is pretty damn high
for any veggie dish, really).

Their biryani is now 8 bucks (the much better and bigger-sized Usmaniya
biryani is 6 or 7 IIRC - and you can get 2 pretty good Ghareeb Nawaz
biryanis for the price of 1 Bhabi's biryani now, which is probably what
I'll do anyway Even some of the rotis are up to 3 bucks apiece - and
the kheema-naan is 5 bucks (for a naan!). The Check-Please effect without
ever appearing on Check-Please I suppose

c8w

I am definitely not a bhabi's guy, even for the much vaunted sarsoon ki saag. I liked the version I had at chopal much better.

c8w, what are your favorites at usmania? FWIW, i've never been all that wowed by their stuff. I ordered a frontier gosht, the other day but think I gota karhai gosht instead (takeout), and it didn't really do all that much for me.

Nor was I.

Met my parents there for dinner last night. As the prices are pretty low (for the decor!), we ordered a fair amount, but pretty much none of it satisfied. Bland breads, bland kebabs, bland soup (of course!), under-cooked chiken tikka, slightly off tasting goat, greasy shrimps (offered as low cal!), mushy beef, but the broccoli raab soupy-curry was pretty good. Of course, we failed to order the goat chaps. With so many other places on Da'Bomb, I'd be hard pressed to return.

not c8w, but...

The Chapli Kabobs are really outstanding at Usmania. It's the one dish there that I think completely stands out.

They make decent chai too.

Rob,

You talking about Chopal or Usmania?

Enjoy,
Gary

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Low & Slow

ab,

thanks for the chapli kabab rec. I'll give it a try.

btw, Rob. I'm not sure I ever said chopal was the best thing going on devon (in fact I'm pretty sure I didn't) I did say they make three things well - goat champs (sic), sarson ka saag, and chili chicken. 2 things were decent - grilled quil (sic) and okra.

of those dishes I think you had one (saag) and liked it. Maybe you should have tried some of the others?

I went to Chopal the other night.

Perhaps dishes not ordered would have been better than dishes ordered, but I just found the overall cooking to be not nearly as careful or as well executed as other places I've been to in the area, so with so many other choices, I would be hard pressed to return--although I am not sure any other places on Da'Bomb offer a complimentary bowl of drecky egg drop soup.

It's kinda the same way I feel about Bhabi's. A lot of people like it, but when I went, I was so underwhelmed, I would be hard pressed to want to return. On one hand, there are places I have liked: Sizzle India, Sabri Nehari, Udupi, Tahori Sweets, Kabbabish of London, Sukhadia, Kamdar, Khan BBQ; on the other hand, there are plenty of places I still need to try (or are always opening), say Ravi Kabob, that places like Chopal and Bhabi fall off the need to eat list.

Rob

I agree, Ive liked the chaplis in the past as well.

Zim - I suppose it comes down to personal preference. I went there with a guy who
has been in Texas recently, a week or so ago. He got a chicken makhani IIRC,
I got a karahi gosh. He ended up eating most of mine, saying it was one of
the best things he had eaten in a few months (the makhani was good, solid
and rich, but not particulary hot as usual; the goat on the day was just
terrific, very very good).

Ive had their biryani before and liked it - and many will tell you its the best
Hyderabadi-style biryani in town (at least, a fair few Hyderabadis have told
me that, I inquire ofmost Hyderabadis when I meet em as to their fave
biryani in town usually

Their kabab platter has been very solid in the past as well - with the chaplis
particularly a couple of times, as ab said.

However, as I say - personal preferences. Note that 2 of the items listed
above that have been particulary enjoyed (Biryani and Karahi Gosh) have
been Goat. And, as we've discussed before, Iam a goat-guy, grew up on
it, much prefer it to Lamb in Indian dishes - and youre the reverse IIRC
So while some might think this is the best biryani in town (especially because
its a good *goat* biryani), you might well not like it quite as much

Actually, I was thinking about this the other day - what *would* you consider
your "go to" spot on Devon? I really dont know if Iam sure of one anymore.
(Not Sizzle so much for me - I prefer meat, and lots of it; Sizzle I'll go to
happily with veggie friends, but its not a destination I'd seek out). What else
really stands out? I used to like Sabri a lot, but its almost an identical menu
to Usmaniya and Ive come to think Usmaniya is better all around, on almost
every dish (except maybe the Nehari). There are a lot of places that
are decent - I like JK Kabab (esp for the chilli chicken, and the combo with
it), Chopal has a couple good dishes etc. I like the cabbie joints plenty
(some days are better than others). But overall, if Sabri was one of the
better choices, its turned into Usmaniya for me lately (for example, the
Usmaniya kabab platter might not be *great* all the way thru - some purely
kabab spots might do a better kabab, but they do the gravy-dishes poorly.
But Sabri's platter, when Ive ordered it, is invariably dry, Usmaniya is
a better overall choice than the kabab spots, and their kabbas are good
enough to pick them over Sabri etc). I havent been to Hema's in a while
(but a friend just went - he used to do Hema's 2-3 times a week about 5/6
years ago, it was very good homestyle food then; he couldnt believe
how badly its deteriorated in his opinion).

Anyway. There isnt really a perfect choice out there anymore IMHO (my
own personal fave just for food used to be Janet's in Des Plaines, which
is now closed; its been replaced in the same location by "Maurya" which
Ive heard is decent, serves a good level of heat etc - but I havent had
the heart to try it yet). I still havent made it to your Keralan takeout,
though I keep wanting to (every time I want to, I realize I dont have
the exact menu, or address, or phone-number - do you, BTW?
But what would your default go-to spot be, on Devon, nowadays?

c8w

Its not egg-drop soup! Its sweet-corn-chicken-soup - and every Chinese
meal in India *has* to start with sweet-corn-chicken-soup (wiht lots of
soy-sauce and hot-sauce sprinkled in), its the Law. I was very pleased to
find they served a complimentary version at the start of your Indian meal
at Chopal (and they arent the only ones, the first one to do it was my old
fave JK Kabab House - which is still very good for the dishes I eat there,
anyway. And zim says Chopal is owned by the original founder of
JK Kabab House, so I suppose the Sweet-Corn-Chicken-Soup tradition
is a natural carry-over).

Ive had only a couple things at Chopal, and that mostly carry-out, but I
thought they were decent enough - a nice heat-level, at any rate, much
more authentic than most. But again have not really done it often enough
to say with authority that Iam a fan.




Completely different "styles" there, however - not really fair to compare.
Sizzle and Sabri maybe (though, as I said in my last post, personaly I
prefer Usmaniya to Sabri, and Sizzle is a different style entirely). Udupi is
a whole different category - you go there only if youre sure you dont want
to get near meat of any kind (not that there's anything wrong with that,
you understand); their competition is Mysore Woodlands, and Iam not sure
there's much difference (but Iam far from an expert - I used to be, with
several veggie friends 5/6 years ago we went to both a couple times a
week, and could say with authority which restaurant was superior
in which month. But no more .

Sukhadia and Kamdar are only for snacking, at best -
no real "entrees" at all, really, as is Tahoora (I used to be a regular at
Tahoora for their sweets for years, but have now switched entirely to
Ambala for sweets; though Tahoora's weekend halwa-puri breakfast is
still special). Khan BBQ - thats one place I want to try, but seems to be
closed every time I stop by there. Oneof these days...

Anyway. Of the above, for a decent non-veg option, you have Sizzle,
Sabri, Sabri, Kababish, Khan and Ravi - all pretty good options really,
but all with their flaws IMHO. (Kababish, Khan and Ravi are all basically
kabab-houses at that - great with grilled and dry stuff, but with little
or no "wet" stuff). Sabri, Sizzle - the 2 more "rounded" options. Chopal,
I suppose, would fall somewhere in the middle - better rounded than
your typical kabab-house, but not quite Sabri/Sizzle? Bhabi's would
probably be something similar - more a sit-down rounded meal (as
would Hema's I suppose).

All of the above are good in their way - even the snackplaces are great
in their way. But sometimes I suppose you just want a "proper" Indian
meal. Starting with good kababs, then a good gravy-meat-dish to eat
with parathas, rotis and naans, followed by a good biryani and a good
sweet to round off. And I wonder (as I said in my last post) if there is a
good single "go to" spot on Devon for that kind of stuff anymore? (not
that Chopal had pretensions to that of course - not suggesting that,
just using this as an excuse to ramble/rant

c8w

Oh, believe me, on Saturday night it was egg drop soup. For one thing, I sure as hell know egg drop soup; for another, they specifically said, when asked, "it's egg drop soup." I have witnesses.

As to all the comments about Sabri, Udupi, etc. I'm not trying to compare one to another or lay out one place against another. All I am saying is that between the places I know I like on Da'Bomb, and the places I still need to try (Usmania for instance), I have little desire to go to a place that was distictively bad on my one visit. Perhaps I got Chopal on a bad night or perhaps I ordered not enough of their specialites, but for ME, there was just not enough beyond a cool set of furniture to get me to return. Flawed as any of the places I listed above maybe (Khan, too smokey!; Udupi no meaty, Sizzle no atmosphere-y, etc.), I would be happy to return to them.

Rob

Did it look like this?

Now, that stuff was total crap, and only a force as fiendishly powerful as homesickness or nostaligia could have made it otherwise.

Erik M.

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I believe the Keralan you're referring to is Malabar:

3519 West Montrose Avenue
Chicago, IL 60618
773-588-0304

To order ahead you need to order a lot. Though I can't remember what the exact benchmark is, it's food for at least 10 or more. For walk ins they have a rotating list of items, a bit different on every weekend with some staples. If you walk in they have their offerings on a chalkboard - whiteboard to the right of the door. They don't get many walk ins so the door may sport a "closed" sign though they are inside busily cooking. I advise trying the door, knocking or calling if it's during the hours that they are supposed to be open. And offer a greeting to the anomalous statue of a chef in his toque standing in the window.

Of the Keralan dishes I've had (that I remember), I enjoyed their avial (mixed vegetables, coconut) - much better than the dull and gritty version at Mysore Woodlands; the thoran (a dry long bean dish ... though I think "thoran" is a type of dish that can accomodate meat, this is vegetarian); the Theeyal, a wet sour tamarind and vegetable dish ... almost a soup to accompany rice; the fish fry (with, I believe, kingfish); the palappam, a rice flour "crepe" (I think this is the only "bread" they sell that they make themselves ... worth asking for); and the payasam, a grainy sweet soup with a strong jaggery/molasses flavor, raisins, cardamom, and cashews. The sambar was sambar - nothing earth shattering. Though I'm not much of a meat eater, I've tried their pork curry and goat curry. Both were interesting, with the pork bearing more heat, bright flavors (sorry for the vague terms - it's been a while) and the goat richer and drier (sauce wise) with "garam masala"-like spices. The fish curry had a lot of heat and a flavorful sauce, though something about it turned me off - perhaps the slight "funk" of kingfish, perhaps the smoke/tobacco/leather flavor of the wrinkled, black dried kodampuli (I think that's what it was ... an unusual kind of tamarind if I'm not mistaken). Interesting, but not something you can eat much of.

I haven't tried any beef dishes at Malabar though for some that might be of primary interest since Kerala, with it's Syrian Christian population, is one of the few areas in India to eat much beef. Kerala also has a number of duck dishes, though Malabar has never had any when I've been there. Again, worth asking about.

Though they are Keralan, they offer North Indian dishes as well. These may be done in a "Keralan" style, though I'm not discerning or educated enough to know. Their chili chiken and chicken masala are quite good. I've seen references to a "malabar" style chicken masala, so the latter may be a slight variation. Last time I was there they were just finishing a batch of samosas, which were quite good when fresh.

All told, very friendly people, very good food, and really reasonable prices.

rien

Rien,

Long ago and far away in another land called c-h we had a group Keralan dinner, hosted by Mike and Susan G, catered by Malabar. Dinner was produced and directed by the elusive RST. A good time was had by all.

Pictures can be found Here

Enjoy,
Gary

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Low & Slow

A couple of years ago we did a big take-out party (at my house as a matter of fact) of food from Malabar; here's the link to the reports people posted at another board, talks through a lot of the dishes.

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You know, I go to Devon an awful lot, and have since childhood - and if pressed, I still consider Sabri my go-to spot. However, you're right, there are better options for Kabobs and Veggie dishes et al. I think that is the best thing about Devon, you park and walk around to decide what place sounds best that specific day. There are so many good places that excell at a few things that it's definitely my favorite place to eat in Chicago, even if I can't pinpoint one place that covers it all (can we even ask for one place to cover all the subcontinent bases?).

Good discussion...

Yes,I did mean Malabar - thanks for that. However, a clarification please - when
you mention "walk-ins have a rotating list of items, different every weekend"...
does that mean it serves walk-ins *only* on weekends? Or can one actually
walkin during the week and not find the "closed" sign? I dont think I'll be
ordering for more than 10 people - not to start with, at any rate, so calling
in early doesnt seem to be an option. Maybe I'll call in anyway, and see if
they can provide some information on the phone, if not an actual small
order of takeout.

c8w

C8W -

Malabar is ONLY open on the weekends, maybe Fridays. I'm sorry I didn't specify. I recommed calling before stoping by to make sure they are open.

The bulk of their business is events catering and providing people with a week's worth of food. My guess - totally unsubstantiated - is that there are a lot of young Indian men in Chicago that never cook and either buy all their food from catering joints like Malabar or at restaurants.

rien

You know I definitely DONT have a go to spot anymore. I think my posts for a while kinda inidcate that. I often meet my dad for lunch on the weekend, when he likes to stock up with dishes from various palces on devon for eating during the week. Because i don't think there is a go to spot, we usually end up eating elsewhere and then picking up an item here, an item there along the strip. My situation is a little complicated by the fact that i'm also eating with vegetarians, and most of the meat oriented places really don't have anything for veggies. I also inevitably compare food to that I'm able to make myself or my mother will make for me (not the kabab stuff, but at least the meat entree type stuff)

If pressed I would say that my favortie indian food around town is that available from malabar catering. As others have mentioned you need to order for 10 to pre-order (and when you order for ten you get for 20) otherwise over the weekend they have available extra of some of the stuff they're making for banquets, I am not a great fan of their avial, but then i'm not a great fan othe avial in general) their beef fry can be remarkable, the small taste of the shrimp dish I had was very good (its a more recent menu addition) they do have some north indian stuff on the menu, but I am not as fond of those, you can ask for malayalee versions of some of those, such as a really very nice channa they make.

If really interested, I can fax you the current catering menu, or you can have them fax it to you. As rien noted, you probably wanna call first, as their hours are a little inconsistent, and even when they look closed they can be open. Actually a number of times I have gone, there has been someone asleep in the front room.[/i]

Rob,

Agreed, egg drop soup, at least when I was there for lunch earlier in the week. More accurately, chicken flavored corn starch soup with strands of egg, not very good, though I did like the cup of jalapeno laced vinegar Chopal served as a condiment for the soup.

Speaking of condiments, table sauces were very good, especially the date, which had an nice heat level. I also very much liked the Sarsoo Ka Soog, Frontier chicken and breads. Veal T-Bone was flavorful with a nice crust of spice, but overdone and, while the Bihari kabab's flavor/spice was very good, it was over marinated to a point verging on meat jello.

Service was good, our hostess hailed from Mississippi, and Chopal is certainly 'interesting' from a decor standpoint, though the chairs are very uncomfortable for us 'husky' fellows.

All in all I enjoyed Chopal, though nothing really 'popped' for me. I'd most certainly go back, but doubt I'll be driving down Devon and suddenly have the urge for something specific at Chopal, like Frontier chicken at Ghareeb Nawaz, Brains Masala at Shan, Paya or Mutton Biryani at Usmania, Nehari or Charga Chicken at Sabri Nehari or Langan Chicken at Hyderabad House, just to mention a few Devon Avenue favorites.

Enjoy,
Gary

Chopal Kabab
2240 W Devon
Chicago, Il
773-338-4080

Shan
5060-A N. Sheridan Rd
Chicago, IL. 60640
773-769-4961

Ghareeb Nawaz
2032 W. Devon
Chicago, IL

Usmania
2253 W Devon
Chicago, Il 60659
773-262-1900

Sabri Nehari
2511 W. Devon Ave.
Chicago, IL 60659
773-743-6200

Hyderabad House
2225 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-381-1230

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Alright, alright, I give in. Went with an uncle to Chopal last week - they gave us
the "sweet corn chicken soup" to start again. As usual I eagerly leapt at
mine, my uncle (not having grown up on it) was more sceptical about what
it was. While I liked mine and wolfed it down as usual, he didnt think much
of his and had only half the cup before leaving the rest. So, Erik's
right - only a force as powerful as nostalgia will make you like it
(but, I can attest, if you are nostalgic you *will* like it




Have been to both Usmaniya and Chopal in the last week. Had Kadai Ghost
at both - different versions at both places. Usmaniya's was very good (it
has, on occasion, been decent - on other occasions its been brilliant).
Chopals is a bit too loaded with tomatoes for me, different from Usmaniyas
and not as good, but still a pretty decent version IMHO.

The biryani at Usmaniya has been very good the last 3 or 4 times - my
favourite biryani in Chicago at the moment IMHO (a very good goat
biryani, but only the goat versino - I havent tried their lamb version).

The last time at Chopal, had their chilly chicken. Zim was right, it was
very very good - the best version of the dish Ive had on Devon. It was
one of my favourite dishes anyway, at JK Kabab House - but this was
better, was really excellent. However it has a nicely high level of heat, so
those who dont appreciate that should be warned.

Uncle picked up a sarson-ka-saag at Chopal, to go. We headed off to
the parked car - and I grabbed a Bhabhi's menu for him. He looked at
it, and was very excited to see "firni" on the menu - so we went in.
He was very taken with the place, had a long and very pleasant
conversation with the owner etc - and, on his insistance, took the
"most popular" sarson-ka-saag (along wtiih the firni). Thus, he managed a
direct head-to-head sarson-ka-saag taste test (though carryout style).
His report - the Chopal sarson-ka-saag, in his view, was much the
superior, more complex spices, better tasting all around etc.
(Also, BTW, he was very disappointed with the Bhabi firni eventually - it
wasnt firni at all, was basically just a kheer pretending to be a firni
in his opinion).




I think I will, however. Not so sure about the Frontier Chicken at Ghareeb above
personally, and Iam not a brain guy anyway. The Paya and Mutton Biryani
at Usmaniya, I agree (also I go back for their kadai ghost, because on a
couple of occasions its been fantastic - but only on a couple). Nehari at
Sabri, the same.

Outside of that, Id personally rate the Chilli Chicken at Chopal up there, from
a personal point of view. I like the Langan Chicken at HH (and the Chicken
65 on occasion), but I actually preferred the Chilli Chicken this one time
at Chopal to either - was bettr tasting, to me, and with a higher heat level.
It'll definitely be among the pantheon of dishes on Devon that I go back
to the restaurant for, personally (the kadai ghost, OTOH, while decent,
wont be nearly the same kind of destination dish to me).



BTW, both the above spots now have their own parking - a huge bonus if
one ever ventures to Devon on a weekend. There used to be a
grocery store with a small parking lot opposite Usmaniya - the store is
now gone, and there is a sign claiming "Parking for Usmaniya Management
only" in the parking lot. However, it actually is parking for Usmaniya
*customers* - so said the guy at the counter at Usmaniya, when I asked.
And the guy at the counter at Chopal told me (post meal, unfortunately)
that they have their own parking for customers behind the restaurant in the
alley - only about a half-dozen spots, but manna from heaven when one
can spend a half hour hunting for a spot on a weekend evening.


c8w

LTH,

Our LTHForum Impromptu Lunch at Hyderabad yesterday was most enjoyable. We had a nice turnout, for last minute, Melissa, Thor, Cathy2, The French Couple, Octarine, Jan B and G Wiv, which made for a nice group and the food at Hyderabad, as always, was excellent.

We started off in fine fashion with a taste of MAG's homemade Olive Oil/Rosemary bread. In a word terrific! All I can say is never miss a chance to try MAG's bread, which she makes using a starter that's old enough to drive, that is if starters could drive.

MAG's Olive Oil/ Rosemary Bread


We decided to put our lunch in Naseer, the owner's, capable hands and ended up with a real feast. including Lamb Biryani, Punjabi Mutton Curry, Chicken Fry, Dum Ka Chicken, Dum Ka Khema, Lamb Kotmir Gosh, Mutton Khorma and Dahiki Kadi (wheat gluten curry.) The majority of our meal has been pictured earlier in this thread, though the Dahiki Kadi was new to me, and quite delicious.

Hyderabad House's Dahiki Kadi (Curry Wheat Gluten)


We ended our meal with two desserts, both in served in small bowls. Dabel, which was similar to sweet, thick, sticky bread pudding, and Quar Bani, sweetened apricots topped with a dollop of whipped cream. I took pictures of the two desserts, but, unfortunately, they did not turn out well.

All in all a great meal, both company and culinary wise. Not to mention a hell of a deal, as we had a (fairly) large meal, some dishes we doubled up on, along with rice, veggies, multiple sodas, tea, paratas, in a casual, but spotless, friendly restaurant all for $13 per person including tax and tip.

Enjoy,
Gary

_________________
Sauce on the side, always, implied, axiomatic..........never a doubt, BBQ sauce without.

Low & Slow

Yeah I liked it a lot, and have gone back for it, and I'm not even that big a fan of chili chicken in general



To tell you the truth, I don't think bhabi's is even in the same league as chopal's sarson-ka-saag. And since it is such a labor intensive dish (and also vegetarian) its become a go back for item for me.

oddly enough given my preference for lamb over goat, the one other dish I am very inclined to order at chopal is the goat champs. really nicely spiced, crusted up bits of goodness on the 3-4 occasions I've had them. The rest of the stuff (shrug), so I'm not inclined to give it out when folks ask me where to go to on devon, but if you're doing as we do, picking up a number of items from various places to build yourself a tasty meal, any of these three are worthy



I was wondering about that sign for usmania management, the chopal parking is reached from the alley coming off the street just west. They share it with the hair salon, and its a little tricky getting in there, so be warned there may or may not be anything available in there.

Have had most of these items at HH, at various times - most of them are pretty
decent versions IMHO. The above new item, BTW, is "Dahi ki kadi" - dahi is
basically yougurt (and kadi is the Indianized spelling of curry . To me this dish
ought to be quite yellow in color, and HH's isnt quite there, really.



Thats Dabal-ka-meetha and Qurbani-ka-meetha on their menu (Qurbani is
one word, literally meaning "sacrifice". Meetha is "sweet dish" - basically
this is a dish that is often served on the Feast of the Sacrifice).

Iam a fan of Dabal ka meetha in general. However, IMHO the HH version is
just ok - I find the version at next-door Daata Durbar much better. Maybe
because they seem to do a lot of business with it, and so run out and
make new versions every day or so. (In general IMHO the food at HH is
better than at Daata lately, but the double-ka-meeta is one of the few
things that is IMHO distinctly superior at Daata currently - last tried them
at both spots a couple of weeks ago).



Sheesh. That definitely qualifies as a "fairly large" meal - I didnt think it was
possible to spend 13 bucks per person at HH Basically, you can purchase
an actual meal at HH, just as at Daata - 2 rotis (or parathas, which take longer
but which I prefer), rice, one entree and daal on the side (this is the
standard purchase of most cabbies - in fact, some of them do the "monthly
meal plan", which is somewhat discounted IIRC). This meal costs 6 bucks at Daata
(and, IIRC, 6.50 at HH>) and is a pretty decent-sized quantity of food. You guys,
effectively, had *2* meals apiece, living up to the grand tradition of LTH

c8w

Enjoy,
Gary[/quote]

This dessert was very much like (American) Indian Pudding made with cornmeal. I have no idea with what the Dabel was made with, though it was sweet, dark, thick and filling. Does anybody know anything about this dessert?

Regards,[/quote]

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"You'll be remembered long after you're dead if you make good gravy, mashed potatoes and biscuits." -- Nathalie Dupree
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[/quote]

Well, its a dessert I like a lot and always have - but I know nuttin bout cookin

FWIW, as I mentioned elsewhere, if you really liked it - you might find a better
version at Daata Durbar (abotu 2 doors down from Hyderabad House, going
towards Western - basically between HH and Usmaniya). At least, Ive had
HH's dabal twice and DD's 3/4 times in the past month or two, and Ive
preferred DD's each time.

Secondly, Dabal ka meetha has on occasion been referred to as "Indian
bread pudding", so youre not far off.

A quick google search gave me a contribution from someone to a menu
site - you can find a simple version of Daba-ka-meeta at
http://www.tarladalal.com/ViewContribut ... ipeid=5542
Note, its usually spelt "dabal", so maybe that threw you in a search.

This is a pretty simple version, and maybe not that rich. Its been suggested
by several people that the really good versions are made with "khoya" or
"mawa", which is a dairy product - thats how I think they make em in India
when they turn out really good. In India you can buy khoya at stores, its
a dairy product used often. That isnt the case elsewhere, so people use
substitutes. You can find out more about khoya at
http://www.bawarchi.com/features/feature5.html
This also suggests substitutes, and ways to make it at home (which
is possible, but tedious according to the site

Also, BTW, dabal-ka-meetha is sometimes also known I think as "Shahi
tukra". At least, theyre about similar - basically Shahi Tukra translates as...
well, Shahi = Royal, of the Shah, sort of. Tukra = piece of anything,
in this case bread (often called Shahi Tukre too, tukre = pieces, plural).
These things can be made as rich as one wants to make em - Shahi
Tukra is often a lot richer, can be garnished with saffron, almonds, raisins and
pistachios etc (which are very expensive to buy in India, but add greatly to the
taste). These are dishes dating back to the Mughal Empire days I believe
(and Shahi Tukra probably got its name because it probably *was* the
favourite dish of an emperor of the time - this is also why it can be
prepared with a lot of expensive garnishes).

You can find a simple version of Shahi Tukra at
http://www.cookitsimply.com/cream-milk- ... 515u6.html

Or one which includes the use of khoya from an Indian website here
http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/mp/2004/0 ... 700300.htm

Not sure where one can find the best version of Shahi Tukra in Chicago -
havent seen it on too many menus. DDs is IMHO better than HHs' as I
mentioned - but it isnt a great version or anything (the real ones, made with
mawa and garnished with pistachos and almonds and saffron, and
sinfully rich, can be truly excellent. OTOH, just plain dabal-ka-meetha
can often be a quick everyday-dessert type version made from
leftover day-old bread).


c8w

[/quote]

BTW, a reference to shahi tukra which some might find mildly interesting...

-----
"I arrive freshly bathed, made up and powdered, trying to camouflage the stink
within me. You tell me to be here, outside your huge house, at this time every
Tuesday. I cannot be late or you will find someone else. There are many like me
in the city, and only one of you. I touch the red hibiscus tucked behind my ear,
check my new red lipstick in the side mirror of the big car parked in your
driveway.

“Eat until you are full. Eat until you can eat no more,” you whisper into my ear.
You pour me more tea, hand me another slice of the shahi tukra, dripping with
rose-scented sugar syrup. We sit silently, except for the tinkle of the dishes
and the muted gossip of the servants in the next room.

The dense, creamy, violently saffron, sweet bread slides down my gullet with
no effort. It is like swallowing a handful of sunshine on an early winter morning,
warm, delicious, leaving me wanting more."
...
-----------

More voyeuristic Indian-food porn (though no more about shahi tukra), if anyone
is interested (though Iam sure nobody is) at

http://www.chowk.com/show_article.cgi?a ... lade%20inn


c8w

c8w,

The previous picture washes out the color a bit, the Dahi ki kadi is actually quite yellow in color.
Dahiki Kadi (Hyderabad House)



Ahhh, the grand tradition of $6. I once posted no matter what one seemed to order at Kababish (Orleans) it was always priced in increments of $6. Actually our lunch, while not small, was not as large as $13 per person might indicate. This includes numerous coke, diet coke, limca and a tip reflecting our appreciation of a really good lunch.

I didn't notice it last time I was there, but a few weeks ago I had a solo lunch at Hyderabad and noticed a number of people eating, what looked like, omelets. I asked Naseer and he said omelet with ginger, scallion and.......damn, I don't remember. Anyway, it looked very good.

Thanks for the additional info.

Enjoy,
Gary

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