Uru-Swati, "Healing Through Food," on Devon

There's a lot of activity on Devon. Okay, you knew that, just try to park on Saturday. What I mean is, there's a lot of new places popping up, a food scene that had seemed rather boringly stable, the same old buffet places forever and ever, suddenly has sprouted a lot of new spots, while others have spiffed themselves up voluntarily (Usmania, Zam Zam) or not (Khan BBQ, Sabri Nehari). (And one, Mazza BBQ, has already come and gone within a season.)

Picking one of these new places more or less randomly for lunch yesterday, Stevez, G Wiv and I found ourselves at Swati or Uru-Swati (the sign says "Uru-Swati," but "Uru" is in smaller letters so "Swati" seems to be the main name). The awning says they offer "North and South Indian Pure Vegetarian Food," and then ominously promises "Healing Through Food," which in an American restaurant would be one of those code phrases that means "we don't use something that's essential to flavor, like grease, or spices, or food, but you'll get an extra helping of moral superiority." The vegetarian tradition being more integral to Indian food, however, we had hopes that we weren't going to find out that everything was made of kelp or something.

The interior has one of those cartoonishly painted cityscapes that screams "indie coffeeshop," but actually it's rather nice in a more youthful way than so many of the shabby-genteel older spots along Devon. (Gary has more pictures than I do, I'm sure they'll follow; he has the menu, too, so he'll fill in the names.) The waiter-possible-owner (the guy we interacted with the most, anyway) initially treated us like Indian food noobs, and we ordered his initial recommendation (a stew served with "American-style bread") just out of amusement:



Yes, it's the traditional Indian dish, garlic bread on a Gonnella roll.

But eventually we put together a decent-sized meal (for five or six people), and even convinced them we could take the heat. And not only was there nothing weird and obviously flavor-deprived about our healing food-- it was damned good, everything had bright flavors, the fried stuff like pakora and samosas was fried with a light hand, not turned into grease bombs, bhindi (okra) wasn't cooked into sticky mush, pickles and sauces were perky and multidimensional, etc. Best of all the waiter-possible-owner made recommendations for breads to go with certain dishes that were spot on, this one:



with chunks of hot jalapeno in it went beautifully with a potato curry, and garlic naan was almost ridiculously good with a rich, cheesy tomato paneer stew, a better "pizza" than most of the pizzas I've had this year.

I went into Uru-Swati, "Healing Through Food," fearing I was going to owe everyone $3.95-- or worse yet provide an experience as memorable as the last time I dragged Stevez and G Wiv to a place. Instead I came out thinking it was a real find-- except that, with half a dozen new places on Devon this year, who knows yet which one is the real find? But if nothing else, it augers well for more exploration of this year's crop.

Uru-Swati
2629 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
(773) 262-5280
closed Tuesday

Mike G wrote:I went into Uru-Swati, "Healing Through Food," fearing I was going to owe everyone $3.95-- or worse yet provide an experience as memorable as the last time I dragged Stevez and G Wiv to a place.

Mike,

No $3.95 necessary here, Uru-Swati was enjoyable on all counts and, as seems with the best of vegetarian food, meat was not missed in the least. I liked the friendly, if initially mildly patronizing, staff, the slightly hip interior and, of course, the flavor bounce of the well spiced spread.

Our waiter was particularly helpful in suggesting complimentary combinations, for example Veg Uttapam* with Paneer Bhurji.

Veg Uttapam*


Paneer Bhurji


As Mike mentioned, fried items were quite nice, as was the Bhindi Masala and the achar (pickle). I was particularly taken with the dominant/aggressive mustard oil heat of the achar.

Bhindi Masala


Samosa


Steve Z and Mike G enjoy lunch beneath Uru-Swati's skyline.




It should be noted that Mike G picked Uru-Swati at random, simply wanting to try a recently opened restaurant on Devon. Good eye Mike, very good eye.

A few additional pictures may be found here

Enjoy,
Gary

*I may have misnamed the Veg Uttapam, if dead set on the combination, I suggest printing out the picture for 100% accuracy

Actually the Paneer Bhurji was what went with the garlic naan and I called "pizza." The veg uttapam went with the potato curry visible in the lower corner of the first photo. Both made more-than-the-sum-of-their-parts combinations. The only one that didn't was onion paratha with dal (lentils), seen at upper left here:



A lot of the Indian-looking folks seemed to be ordering paper dosa masala; suppose that's something I'll have to try next.

Mike,

In my picture above there are only two breads, not counting the Gonnella roll. You have three listed, Garlic naan, veg uttapam and paratha. What am I missing? I think the "pizza" is actually veg uttapam, not garlic naan.

Either way, I agree, next time paper dosa, which seemed to be the hot ticket amongst the Devon Ave regulars.

Enjoy,
Gary

Looks delicious, I can't wait to try it.

I also have a major rookie question- in Indian restsaurants, there's always that bowl of, I don't know, multicolored seeds or something? with a spoon, by the register (seen in G Wiv's pictures, bottom row, all the way to the right). What is that? What is it for?

They're fennel seeds (the colored ones are just candy-coated), in lieu of breath mints and also supposedly to improve digestion. You're under no obligation to eat them.

The brightly colored stuff (that admittedly looks like pizza) is the veg uttapam, which went with the potato curry. We also got garlic naan, even though there's no documentary evidence of it in the photo; as I recall it arrived steaming hot moments later. The paneer dish went on it, I called it "pizza" even though it didn't look like at all like a pizza because together the two things included tomato, garlic, bread and cheese.

Mike G wrote: We also got garlic naan, even though there's no documentary evidence of it in the photo; as I recall it arrived steaming hot moments later. The paneer dish went on it, I called it "pizza" even though it didn't look like at all like a pizza because together the two things included tomato, garlic, bread and cheese.

I politely disagree. Looks like it's back to Uru-Swati tomorrow for a Fact Checking Mission.

Man, now pizza starts fights in threads about Indian food.

G Wiv wrote:I politely disagree. Looks like it's back to Uru-Swati tomorrow for a Fact Checking Mission.

Seems I was mistaken, second time this year and it's only end of July. Garlic naan can be seen in upper right hand corner of the following pic.

noon 30 weds?

Mike G wrote:The brightly colored stuff (that admittedly looks like pizza) is the veg uttapam, which went with the potato curry. We also got garlic naan, even though there's no documentary evidence of it in the photo; as I recall it arrived steaming hot moments later. The paneer dish went on it, I called it "pizza" even though it didn't look like at all like a pizza because together the two things included tomato, garlic, bread and cheese.

I think they initially forgot to bring us the garlic naan (somehow it got lost among the other 100 things we ordered) and it showed up at the table after this picture was taken. As I recall, we even ended up ordering a second helping of the garlic naan.

My husband and I ate there a few months back; I had meant to post about it but just forgot.

We found the attitude of the staff fairly amusing - they just refused to believe that we knew anything about Indian food! We shared a paneer roll from the "light" menu, a samosa chaat, garlic naan, and, I think, saag paneer. (This is what happens when you try to recall meals of months past.)

Service was a little spotty - we didn't get the naan until everything else was finished - but the food was fine. The paneer roll was basically paneer bhurji in a paratha, which is pretty much can't-miss as far as I'm concerned. The samosa chaat was fine, though Sukhadia's is superior; something about the mix of flavors was a bit off. The entree, whatever it was, was apparently completely inoffensive.

I'd like to return soon, but for whatever reason I am always outvoted, and we end up at places like Ghandi. Speaking of which: skip it. Ghandi makes Indian food like it was reimagined by my Wonder Bread-loving grandma.

There's a lot of activity on Devon. Okay, you knew that, just try to park on Saturday. What I mean is, there's a lot of new places popping up, a food scene that had seemed rather boringly stable, the same old buffet places forever and ever, suddenly has sprouted a lot of new spots, while others have spiffed themselves up voluntarily (Usmania, Zam Zam) or not (Khan BBQ, Sabri Nehari). (And one, Mazza BBQ, has already come and gone within a season.)

There is *always* a lot of new activity on Devon, as you say, with new
restaurants popping up every few weeks

Mazza BBQ, IMHO, isnt gone - it will be pretty much what it was and is. I had
mentioned once before that the guy behind the counter was an old Daata
Durbar/Hyderabad House server... he is still there. The place will soon
be called "Hyderabad House Family Dining", of course, but the menu and
food will probably not be much different from what it is today. Even a month
ago it didnt really serve the food it listed on the menu - instead, despite the
menu, they had a little chalkboard with "specials" listed, and that was about
all they served on any given day, just like at Daata Durbar or Hyderabad House.

BTW, Id say that Khan's counts as being spiffed up plenty - their current location
is "new", after all, and a very very big step up from their old smoky little joint.

Speaking of which, the "new Devon restaurant" Iam probably going to try next
is the one that has emerged in the old Khan's spot - its called "Tikka Inn". Their
menu looks similar to Khan's, with 15 "charcoal and grill" items, and a similar
quantity of curry items (in addition to the Khan-style-menu-items, it also has
Chicken 65, Haleem, Nehari etc, and also 3 biryanis). Their best value is
probably for Saturday and Sunday brunch, which is 8.99 from 11-3 (and,
according to the proprietor, sometimes offers Biryani, Haleem, Nehari, a couple
of grilled items, and a couple of vegetarian dishes).

There is also a new Pakistani restaurant that will soon emerge in place of
the old Daata Durbar (across the street from Chopal) - that is supposed to
be a spot with "Lahore style food" IIRC, so it may well be interesting, but
it isnt open yet.

c8w

I poked my head into Tikka Inn but while there was a guy cleaning up in there, they weren't open for lunch, apparently (I don't think he understood my question but it was obvious that food was, at minimum, hours away). Yes, I also noticed that the old Daata Darbar is closed and promising to become something new.

Khan is much nicer, I was just saying that they, like Sabri Nehari, found themselves upgrading unexpectedly after a fire.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:...and we end up at places like Ghandi. Speaking of which: skip it. Ghandi makes Indian food like it was reimagined by my Wonder Bread-loving grandma.

I ended up there, at Ghandi, last night. It's difficult to talk about this experience. It was traumatic, but a friend invited me and that friend paid, so I feel bad saying it was...very bad. Memorably bad. It will take some time for the scars to heal.

David Hammond wrote:

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:...and we end up at places like Ghandi. Speaking of which: skip it. Ghandi makes Indian food like it was reimagined by my Wonder Bread-loving grandma.

I ended up there, at Ghandi, last night. It's difficult to talk about this experience. It was traumatic, but a friend invited me and that friend paid, so I feel bad saying it was...very bad. Memorably bad. It will take some time for the scars to heal.

Its too bad that Ghandi has gone so downhill. They used to be pretty good - at least I thought they were 20 years ago - but they changed management and possibly owners about 10 years ago.

My mom and I ate there pretty often throughout my adolescence and college years. In fact, eating there on Christmas day became a tradition for us. The restaurant would be packed with assorted non-Christians (and non-traditional Christians?). So, while some folks have warm memories of tucking in to the Christmas ham, I get nostalgic about lining up at the buffet for saag paneer and tandoori chicken. I don't think nostalgia would be enough to bring me back there, though.

comradelaura wrote:My mom and I ate there pretty often throughout my adolescence and college years. In fact, eating there on Christmas day became a tradition for us. The restaurant would be packed with assorted non-Christians (and non-traditional Christians?). So, while some folks have warm memories of tucking in to the Christmas ham, I get nostalgic about lining up at the buffet for saag paneer and tandoori chicken. I don't think nostalgia would be enough to bring me back there, though.

My husband and I have done the same for years. We used to go to the Sizzle India buffet, which was the best one on Devon IMHO, but they are gone now. Having experienced some really hateful buffets lately, I am hesitant about trying a new one and possibly ruining Christmas.

Suzy Creamcheese wrote:

comradelaura wrote:My mom and I ate there pretty often throughout my adolescence and college years. In fact, eating there on Christmas day became a tradition for us. The restaurant would be packed with assorted non-Christians (and non-traditional Christians?). So, while some folks have warm memories of tucking in to the Christmas ham, I get nostalgic about lining up at the buffet for saag paneer and tandoori chicken. I don't think nostalgia would be enough to bring me back there, though.

My husband and I have done the same for years. We used to go to the Sizzle India buffet, which was the best one on Devon IMHO, but they are gone now. Having experienced some really hateful buffets lately, I am hesitant about trying a new one and possibly ruining Christmas.

Yeah, I think we are officially done with Indian buffets. No Christmas ritual to replace them just yet but I think we've started a family tradition of Peking Duck on Thanksgiving.

Mike G wrote:The awning says they offer "North and South Indian Pure Vegetarian Food," and then ominously promises "Healing Through Food," which in an American restaurant would be one of those code phrases that means "we don't use something that's essential to flavor, like grease, or spices, or food, but you'll get an extra helping of moral superiority." The vegetarian tradition being more integral to Indian food, however, we had hopes that we weren't going to find out that everything was made of kelp or something.

With the healing reference on the awning, I'm curious, did the menu (I couldn't find one online) make any explicit references to Ayurveda? I've been trying to balance my own doshas with home cooking, but I've been wondering if there are any restaurants on Devon (or elsewhere in Chicago) that provide any Ayurvedic guidance in their menus.

happy_stomach wrote:

Mike G wrote:The awning says they offer "North and South Indian Pure Vegetarian Food," and then ominously promises "Healing Through Food," which in an American restaurant would be one of those code phrases that means "we don't use something that's essential to flavor, like grease, or spices, or food, but you'll get an extra helping of moral superiority." The vegetarian tradition being more integral to Indian food, however, we had hopes that we weren't going to find out that everything was made of kelp or something.

With the healing reference on the awning, I'm curious, did the menu (I couldn't find one online) make any explicit references to Ayurveda? I've been trying to balance my own doshas with home cooking, but I've been wondering if there are any restaurants on Devon (or elsewhere in Chicago) that provide any Ayurvedic guidance in their menus.

Hi-Tea offers ayurvedic teas; at the counter you can pick up a chart that enables you to self-prescribe a tea that will help correct whatever physical/spiritual balances you believe you might have. More at their site:

http://www.hiteachicago.com/HiTea/HiTea.html

G Wiv wrote:No $3.95 necessary here, Uru-Swati was enjoyable on all counts

You know, we must be cut from entirely different cloth.

When I remember to bring my camera, as soon as the food arrives any urge I may have had to photograph it withers before the all consuming urge to eat it, such that when the visual concert of the plates has degenerated into the status of little but sloppy seconds--only then do I ever remember that I should have thought to snap my pix.

Dear Abby--is there any hope for me?

David Hammond wrote:

happy_stomach wrote:

Mike G wrote:The awning says they offer "North and South Indian Pure Vegetarian Food," and then ominously promises "Healing Through Food," which in an American restaurant would be one of those code phrases that means "we don't use something that's essential to flavor, like grease, or spices, or food, but you'll get an extra helping of moral superiority." The vegetarian tradition being more integral to Indian food, however, we had hopes that we weren't going to find out that everything was made of kelp or something.

With the healing reference on the awning, I'm curious, did the menu (I couldn't find one online) make any explicit references to Ayurveda? I've been trying to balance my own doshas with home cooking, but I've been wondering if there are any restaurants on Devon (or elsewhere in Chicago) that provide any Ayurvedic guidance in their menus.

Hi-Tea offers ayurvedic teas; at the counter you can pick up a chart that enables you to self-prescribe a tea that will help correct whatever physical/spiritual balances you believe you might have. More at their site:

http://www.hiteachicago.com/HiTea/HiTea.html

Thanks, David. Hi-Tea sounds like the perfect place to stop by this Sunday after the Global Mala downtown.

LTH,

I'd like to organize a dinner at Uru-Swati. The restaurant is open every day but Tuesday. How does Wednesday, October 24th sound?

I have had several friendly encounters with Vishal, the owner's son, and he invited me to tour the kitchen during prep, so I am confident he'll be open to this event. He has been helpful in explaining how various dishes are prepared. Before I speak to him about it, I want to see how much interest there is.

Please respond to the thread posted on the events board if you'd be interested in attending.

Cheers,
Molly

I can do just about any day except Wednesday, personally.

My ongoing enjoyment vegetarian Indian cuisine has been an unexpected surprise to me. For years, the entire concept of eating at a purely vegetarian restaurant immediately started my scheming for a way out (or at least a second dinner).

Over time, I learned that I preferred lentils and chickpeas to the chicken, goat, and other animals prepared at my favorite Indian restaurants. As time went on, I found myself craving meals at Mysore Woodlands, my go-to vegetarian restaurant.*

I was very excited to learn about Uru-Swati as an alternative to MW for me. The setting is more casual, the menu is more chaat-heavy, and the prices are lower. (The menu only uses the Indian (Hindi?) names for dishes with no English explanations. So, if you aren't familiar with Indian menus, be prepared to ask a lot of questions or study-up before you go).

On a recent evening we tried a nice cross-section of dishes including samosas, onion pakora, matter paneer, tadka dal, chana masala, and aloo gobi. I was a bit disappointed in the flavor and spice levels. I believe some of these dishes are prepared in advance, but others aren't, and I was left wondering if somehow the kitchen "held back" on the preparations for us (none of us are Indian and there was a 2-year-old at the table).

In many cases, the aroma of the dishes was fuller than the flavor.

I'm eager to try Uru-Swati again. The menu is vast and the price is right, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I left unsatisfied.

Best,
Michael

*I've been there semi-regularly for the past two years since my first post about it in this thread.

Its too bad that Ghandi has gone so downhill. They used to be pretty good - at least I thought they were 20 years ago - but they changed management and possibly owners about 10 years ago.

Until a couple of months ago I hadn't been to Ghandi in many years (I remember, way back, when an Italian restaurant occupied the space (in the early/mid-1970's). I went as part of a large group - maybe 25 persons from very diverse ethnic backgrounds - and I think everyone (including myself) really enjoyed their meals . . . including some people who come from that culture. The meal, however, was higher-priced than I expected. A woman who said she was the original owner (or wife of the owner) addressed our group saying she'd worked in the kitchen since it's opening, and the restaurant manager spoke to us about the food, also - so I'm left with the impression that the ownership has remained in the same family over the years. This isn't a restaurant I've seen many people from India dine at - almost everyone I see when I walk by the place is non-Indian.

Michael, any number of things could have happened, of course, but given that our initial meal started with a Gonnella roll, I wouldn't be surprised to find that they'd dialed it down. It does seem to take some convincing to get them to accept that you want the real deal; maybe time will change that.

One of the best things about Uru-Swati, to my mind, is the access to management. Every time I have dined in or picked up food to go, I have spoken with one of the managers or owners. Vishal in particular has been eager to explain how various dishes are prepared, and I don't think he'd mind being asked for by name. After learning that I enjoy cooking, he invited me to tour the kitchen and see the tandoor.

I always order my food spicy, and I have never found it to be less than fresh and flavorful. I recommend the vegetable jalfrezi, malai kofta, and navratan korma.

I invite you to join the dinner I'm organizing on the 24th, as Vishal and his mother (the owner) will both be on hand, and I'm confident of a warm welcome. He assures me that all their best cooks will be in the kitchen that evening.

Molly

I've only eaten there once, and we took the food out (friends live nearby), but it was just lovely. As we were leaving, one of the owners (the lady hosting) called after us imperiously and I was afraid the card didn't go through or something, but it was only to tell us that the kitchen had misheard one of the dishes when she placed the order and so both the one we ordered and the mistake were in the bag, so we shouldn't be confused or think we'd been charged for the additional.
It's been weeks not so I can't do detail on the dishes except to say there were no disappointments and lots of happy stomachs. Pakoras and other fried things were just right. (Note: I found the samosas really good and without the "off" balance that someone else mentioned. In fact, I did notice a slight tang, almost like vinegar, which I don't recall in other somosas, and which I rather liked.)
Very much looking forward to the diner. Will confirm. May one invite friends who are not LTH'ers?