Tava (Indian): How can you not have your own thread?

I learned about Tava from LTH forum but couldn't find a dedicated thread (mods: feel free to merge if I missed it). I've always enjoyed the buffet but I really love ordering off of their broad dinner menu with fabulous 'wet' curries. We were so happy to see that they recently reopened for carry out/delivery and stopped by for a take out meal. We had the chicken makhani (made with tandoori chicken), lamb curry, navratan korma, chicken tikka tandoori and naan. Everything was excellent (though I did made the naan a little too crispy with reheating). We also love the chicken 65 appetizer but didn't order it this time. The one good thing about the pandemic--minimal traffic on the way to Morton Grove from the north side of the city for pick up.



Tava
7172 Dempster Street, Morton Grove, IL 60053
(847) 966-8282
tavadining.com

Have had Tava three times during quarantine. Never disappointed with Butter chicken ( eldest daughter’s favorite Indian dish), Chicken tikka ( youngest daughter’s favorite) and Lamb curry. Not unusual entrees to say the least but spot on flavors and good portions. You have to ask for the green chutney which also comes with tamarind chutney in small plastic pill sized cups. Tava did not charge us for for the chutney for our first two take out orders but attempted to on third order. We raised our eyebrows, said we have not been charged before and the take out menu says a charge only for mango chutney. They did not charge us. For each take out order we only got the one tiny set of chutneys for three entrees.
We made basmati rice in our rice cooker and baked frozen naan with brushed clarified melted butter infused with minced garlic and made garlic naan. (We have a huge bag of basmati rice we bought on Devon and rarely use and I wanted to try the frozen naan to see if it was any good -which it was.)Love this place and can’t wait for the buffet to reopen...if buffets ever reopen.

Tava continues to be one of our takeout faves. Additionally, we had a meal at one of the restaurant's (three) outdoor tables. Tables were nicely spaced, staff disinfected the tables and chairs before we sat down and provided a water carafe. We've had two experiences dining out at restaurants since the pandemic restrictions were lifted. Of the two, we felt the most safe/secure at Tava (by far), in terms of COVID precautions. The folks at Tava seem to be taking the precautions extremely seriously.
At our last meal, we had an off-menu item, chicken lababdar, at our server's suggestion. It was fantastic and it replaced their butter chicken as my number one favorite there! I highly recommend requesting it if you go...

Try the calamari appetizer - seriously. It's strips of calamari and crispy fried onions with a great curry seasoning. Unexpected.

Brett's naan is also excellent -thinly sliced scallions and garlic baked in.

The icing on the cake - in other than COVID times is easy and plentiful parking.

spinynorman99 wrote:Try the calamari appetizer - seriously. It's strips of calamari and crispy fried onions with a great curry seasoning. Unexpected.

Brett's naan is also excellent -thinly sliced scallions and garlic baked in.

We were back at Tava last night on their "patio" (the strip in front of their storefront) and it was as great as ever. Unfortunately, they are not offering the Calamari Bhurji right now because they are less busy than usual (though they seemed to be doing brisk carry out while we were there). We had our new favorite, chicken lababdar (off menu), saag paneer and samosa chaat. They make the paneer in-house and the saag paneer was fantastic (though the chicken lababdar still ranks #1 for me). We also tried Brad's naan, per spinynorman99's suggestion, and very much enjoyed it.
No buffet right now (will buffets every be back) but Tava is offering lunch bowls that look interesting.
I'm still having trouble posting images so below are links to the images on imgur...


Brad's naan


Chicken lababdar


saag paneer


Tava Lunch Specials

Tava continues to be a big favorite for us during the pandemic. A nice perk is how delicious their leftovers are on pizza. Here's a recent pic from a Tava meal: garlic naan, paneer makhani, chicken lababdar, and parsi bhaji (green beans in a coconut curry).

One of our fave take out places too. Had it for New Years Eve dinner. Spot on. But every time we order chutneys and are billed for it they forget to put it in the bag. Happened again last night. So I always have to check rather bag before I leave.

thaiobsessed wrote:I'm still having trouble posting images so below are links to the images on imgur...

Since you've already uploaded the images to imgur, the rest is easy. When you're looking at an individual image on imgur that you want to include in your post, look to the right of the image and click on the button that says "Copy" on the line directly below "BBCode (message boards & forums)". Next, when entering or editing your post, hit the two keys CTRL and V, which will paste what was alongside the copy button. That's it, your image will appear at that point in your post.

nsxtasy wrote:

thaiobsessed wrote:I'm still having trouble posting images so below are links to the images on imgur...

Since you've already uploaded the images to imgur, the rest is easy. When you're looking at an individual image on imgur that you want to include in your post, look to the right of the image and click on the button that says "Copy" on the line directly below "BBCode (message boards & forums)". Next, when entering or editing your post, hit the two keys CTRL and V, which will paste what was alongside the copy button. That's it, your image will appear at that point in your post.

Thank you, Ken.

I went ahead and edited the post to include the embedded images. While we wait (seemingly forever) for this fix to be made, I'm always happy to upload and provide links for any images that our any of our members are not able to post on their own.

Please, send me PM if you'd like my email address for sending over images.

Thanks, for your patience and understanding.

=R=
for the Moderators