Sheesh Mahal Dhaba

Yesterday while trying to find parking for Sabri Nehari, I stumbled across this little place on Maplewood. I was hoping to try a dish with eggplant, sesame paste and coconut powder (I'm forgetting the name) but the waitress discouraged me. With a very large grin, she said it was very spicy, "maybe not for you." So I ordered the curry special, which was a small bowl of lentil soup, a medium bowl of ground beef curry with green beans, and two massive roti. She also brought out a cucumber and shredded lettuce salad with yogurt sauce. Then, the waitress brings out a tiny sample of the eggplant dish I wanted so I could see if the heat was too much. That's when I realized what that grin was for - they're not doing this to be nice, they just want to get a laugh out of Westerners who can't handle Indian spices and are reduced to tears (what I refer to as Wussterners). I stuck with the meal I ordered, though after my lips started burning I realized they have two levels of heat: "Maybe Not For You" and "Oh This Isn't So Bad Holy Shit." But other than having the heat level sneak up on me, the food was really quite tasty. I could have eaten that ground beef curry all day, and if I wasn't late for my class I would have savored that heavenly second roti, but I had it wrapped up to go with lunch today. Besides super nice service, a sample of a second dish, and really pretty surroundings, my very filling dinner only cost $7. I'm very glad I stopped here instead of Sabri.
Please note that the menu is limited, so it's probably not the place for picky companions. And it appears that they have a very nice outdoor seating area, or at least they will when the weather stabilizes.

Sheesh Mahal Dhaba
6355 N. Maplewood
Chicago, 60659

Pie Lady wrote:I was hoping to try a dish with eggplant, sesame paste and coconut powder (I'm forgetting the name) but the waitress discouraged me. With a very large grin, she said it was very spicy, "maybe not for you."

Nice write up Pie Lady, sounds like the eggplant dish is right up my alley. I love that false sense of spicy security then, Bang on the Head "Oh This Isn't So Bad Holy Shit."

I'd have to see the place to be sure, but I'm thinking Sheesh Mahal Dhaba is one of the few Devon places I have not been.

Enjoy,
Gary

G Wiv wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I was hoping to try a dish with eggplant, sesame paste and coconut powder (I'm forgetting the name) but the waitress discouraged me. With a very large grin, she said it was very spicy, "maybe not for you."

Nice write up Pie Lady, sounds like the eggplant dish is right up my alley. I love that false sense of spicy security then, Bang on the Head "Oh This Isn't So Bad Holy Shit."

I'd have to see the place to be sure, but I'm thinking Sheesh Mahal Dhaba is one of the few Devon places I have not been.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sheesh Mahal Dhaba has been around for a long time... its relatively easy to miss I suppose, because it isnt actually *on* Devon, its off to the side (on Maplewood like PL said). Sorta across the street from the nice Indian bakery with naan-khatais etc (which I havent been to in ages)...ah, Mughal Bakery I think is the name..

Anyway. Sheesh Mahal is a popular spot with good food.. it is Hyderabadi-owned, the prices are reasonable, and a couple people I know have claimed it has the best kababs on Devon etc (not sure Id go quite that far, but still). Also does a good biryani (as is mandatory for a Hyderabadi spot). On Fridays it gets very busy... the mosque is around the corner, and post afternoon-prayer folks congregate in largeish numbers for the kababs, biryani etc - parking would be almost impossible on Friday afternoons there (and in the summers the outdoor seating area is filled). The food is very much aimed for the expat-Hyderabadi-palate, so may at times be spicier than a few other places. (PL - was the item you were looking for Bagare Baingan? Popular Hyderabadi dish..)

As PL said, if youre ok with less-posh surroundings (and not always great service.. PL may have been an exception ... as with a few other places on Devon, the food is good and the prices cheaper than the Sabri's and Khan's of the world..


c8w

c8w wrote:...ah, Mughal Bakery I think is the name..

Yes, that's it!

c8w wrote:PL - was the item you were looking for Bagare Baingan? Popular Hyderabadi dish..

Yep! Something like that. I'm sure if they made it to order with half the spices I would have liked it.

c8w wrote:If youre ok with less-posh surroundings..c8w

I thought it was pretty posh. Perhaps they remodeled?

Pie Lady wrote:Yesterday while trying to find parking for Sabri Nehari, I stumbled across this little place on Maplewood.

Has anyone tried the nihari at Sheesh Mahal Dhaba? Almost ten years ago I reported on my experience there. I really liked the dish but it was unlike any nihari I've had before or since. As I recall it was a discrete strip of meat covered in spicy paste, not stewlike as most other versions. Almost a nihari kebab (maybe I was served the wrong thing?). I ought to get back there and find out.

c8w wrote:Sorta across the street from the nice Indian bakery with naan-khatais etc (which I havent been to in ages)...ah, Mughal Bakery I think is the name..

Mughal Bakery across the street is well worth visiting. It seems they specialize in small cookie-like sweets. The owner is one of the nicest men you'll ever meet and is very generous with samples. Their sign makes the surprising claim that it is the oldest Indo-Pak bakery in the US. Could that really be true?



Mughal Bakery
6348 N Maplewood
Chicago
773-761-9660

Rene G wrote:Has anyone tried the nihari at Sheesh Mahal Dhaba? Almost ten years ago I reported on my experience there. I really liked the dish but it was unlike any nihari I've had before or since. As I recall it was a discrete strip of meat covered in spicy paste, not stewlike as most other versions. Almost a nihari kebab (maybe I was served the wrong thing?). I ought to get back there and find out.

I don't remember seeing this on their menu. Maybe it's a special?

Rene G wrote:Almost a nihari kebab (maybe I was served the wrong thing?).

Hmm, I wonder if it was a bihari kebab that I ordered.

That sounds more like it.

There was no nihari on the menu yesterday. Lunch was excellent though w/the lamb biryani and saag paneer a highlight.

Rene G wrote:Hmm, I wonder if it was a bihari kebab that I ordered.

Sheesh Mahal Dhaba has behari kabob on the menu "delicate slices of beef topped with seekh kabab masala, lettuce, cucumbers and lime" Its currently $6 with one roti.

Has anyone tried the nihari at Sheesh Mahal Dhaba? Almost ten years ago I reported on my experience there. I really liked the dish but it was unlike any nihari I've had before or since. As I recall it was a discrete strip of meat covered in spicy paste, not stewlike as most other versions. Almost a nihari kebab (maybe I was served the wrong thing?). I ought to get back there and find out.

As you pointed out later, that was probably Bihari kabab - available in many restaurants around Devon (IIRC Khan's makes a decent version too, as does Usmaniya..). In a sense I suppose its not shocking that Sheesh Mahal doesnt have a regular nehari.. its a Hyderabadi restaurant, and Nehari isnt a wildly popular dish among Hyderabadis (unlike Biryani et al). Most of the Pakistani places carry nehari, though.

c8w wrote:Sorta across the street from the nice Indian bakery with naan-khatais etc (which I havent been to in ages)...ah, Mughal Bakery I think is the name..

Mughal Bakery across the street is well worth visiting. It seems they specialize in small cookie-like sweets. The owner is one of the nicest men you'll ever meet and is very generous with samples. Their sign makes the surprising claim that it is the oldest Indo-Pak bakery in the US. Could that really be true?



Mughal Bakery
6348 N Maplewood
Chicago
773-761-9660

[/quote]

I dont know about the oldest Indo-Pak bakery in the US.. but its been around a while (must be one of the older ones in Chicago surely). They supply their stuff to many restaurants and sweet-shops around the city, and probably the region too.

Their cookie-like stuff is good.. I mentioned the naan-khatai above (one of the few places to make one probably).. which is sort of cookie-like in a way (on googling I found the decidedly unappetizing description of "eggless cookie" - it really is much better than that makes it sound They also used to do a few savoury things... the little "meat patice" (which is more like a mini-meat-pie).. dont know if they still do, it really has been too long since my last visit (must try and rectify that sometime soon)..

c8w

Pie Lady wrote:

c8w wrote:PL - was the item you were looking for Bagare Baingan? Popular Hyderabadi dish..

Yep! Something like that. I'm sure if they made it to order with half the spices I would have liked it.

c8w wrote:If youre ok with less-posh surroundings..c8w

I thought it was pretty posh. Perhaps they remodeled?

Actually, 2 potentials in re the Eggplant dish.. the big Hyderabadi-eggplant-dishes are Bagare Baingan, and Baingan Bharta (Baingan=eggplant)...

I suppose posh might not have been the right choice of description... just overall, ambience/service etc, Sheesh Mahal isnt among the "higher end" spots on Devon. On Fridays, for instance, when they are slammed, the service may well be painfully slow. Its a place closer to.. Hyderabad House, than it is to India House, if you know what I mean. (Thus the clientele is also, like HH, more expat.. and the spicing-levels often more authentic).

c8w

c8w wrote:Sheesh Mahal Dhaba has been around for a long time... its relatively easy to miss

I seem to have missed Sheesh Mahal Dhaba, my loss if yesterdays lunch is any indication.

Sheesh Mahal Dhaba

Pie Lady wrote:I thought it was pretty posh. Perhaps they remodeled?

Not sure about posh, but its a number of steps past strictly utilitarian.

One of three rooms



Turns out we arrived slightly before the official noon opening and ordered at the pass though window, gathered our own plates, water etc. Right about noon a waiter arrived and filled us in with ice, more napkins, spoons. Efficient yet relaxed, friendly yet reserved seemed the order of the day, including the grandmotherly woman in charge of the kitchen. I would have liked to take her picture, she simply radiated the quiet competence of a really good cook, but it did not seem appropriate to ask.

We ordered for three before learning the third would not be joining us so if it seems a lot of food for two it was, we gave it our best LTH effort.

Lamb Biryani, Bagaray Bengan, Paratha, Kofta Salan, Palak Paneer, Roti



Lamb biryani was terrific, tender lamb a few pieces still on the bone, rice having a savory rich lamb flavor.

Lamb Biryani



Pie Lady's eggplant nemesis, Bagaray Bengan, did not seem overly spicy to Jazzfood or myself, rich complex delicious, most certainly.

Bagaray Bengan ("(Eggplant cooked in a paste of sesame seeds, white poppy seeds and coconut powder (curry dish) " )



Rotating special of the day, two curry dishes with rice or roti for $6.99, Kofta Salan and Palak Paneer on Thursday. Loved palak paneer, I rarely see it on menus at the places I frequent, and dug the curry but not the kofta in the kofta salan. I'd guess the kofta was a fine example of the breed, I'm simply not a fan of the style.

Kofta Salan



Palak Paneer



Roti



Palak Paneer, Kofta Salan, Bagaray Bengan, Lamb Biryani



I've been lucky the past few days, two places I'd not been, La Chapparrita and Sheesh Mahal Dhaba, that I can't wait to return.

Enjoy,
Gary

Sheesh Mahal Dhaba
6355 N. Maplewood
Chicago, IL 60659
773-274-4444

c8w wrote:They also used to do a few savoury things... the little "meat patice" (which is more like a mini-meat-pie).. dont know if they still do, it really has been too long since my last visit (must try and rectify that sometime soon)..

The vast majority of Mughal Bakery's stock is sweets but there are a few savories by the door. I recall curry puffs, both meat and veg. I thought the seasoning of the meat one was rather boring but found the veggie puff's exuberant spicing much to my liking. I went back the next day for more.

I also enjoyed several of the sweets though I'll never remember the names. Some have a restrained sweetness, unlike many Indian desserts (I'm afraid I have an underdeveloped sweet tooth). I looked up a picture of naan khatai and I'm pretty sure that's one I liked.

G Wiv wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I thought it was pretty posh. Perhaps they remodeled?

Not sure about posh, but its a number of steps past strictly utilitarian.

One of three rooms

Wow, that's unrecognizable to me. When I was last there back in '01 it was a few steps beneath utilitarian, a dive really. I don't think there was table service and I don't recall a formal menu. I wonder if my nihari/Bihari confusion was due to my misunderstanding a conversation with the kitchen staff. Regardless, I enjoyed that plate of food and don't know why I haven't returned in all this time.

G Wiv wrote:Palak Paneer

Isn't that the bagara baingan again?

Rene G wrote:Isn't that the bagara baingan again?

Fixed, thanks.

G Wiv wrote:

Pie Lady wrote:I thought it was pretty posh. Perhaps they remodeled?

Not sure about posh, but its a number of steps past strictly utilitarian.

One of three rooms

You're right, that looks pretty average in the photo. In person I guess I thought it was prettier. Oh well, it was still a neat place.

Pie Lady wrote:You're right, that looks pretty average in the photo. In person I guess I thought it was prettier. Oh well, it was still a neat place.

I more meant I'm not reliable judge of posh than you were incorrect. Either way, I thought the surroundings pretty nice, after all there is a chandelier.

Wall menu, there are a few additional items on the table menu