Tahoora: Halwa Puri [Pictures]

LTH,

Motivated by the comments in this thread I tried Tahoora for Halwa Puri this past Sunday and, while overall I found it enjoyable, when one factors in impossible parking and 30-minutes waits, there is not enough benefit, if any, to offset.



First off, I'm an Indo-Pak, if not novice, certainly 101-level student, and am fully prepared to defer on specifics to Zim, c8w and any number of LTHers, but I was not wild about the puri at Tahoora, they deflated quickly, often not even puffed and airy when served* had a oily mouthfeel and, as they completely deflated, the bottom two puri, became quite moist.

Puri at Tahoora's service counter


My order of Halwa Puri at table.


Ghareeb Nawaz's puri is quite crisp with a toasty flavor, Shan's puri has a lovely light airy quality, Tahoora's was just there, a vehicle to convey channa, halwa or aloo to one's mouth.

Tahoora's chana was good, complex spicing with a whisper of heat, aloo more heat, less complex. Halwa not overly sweet, with the interesting textural addition of macerated cashew nuts, raita bright, refreshing with a brunoise of carrot adding interest.

Tahoora Halwa


I also had a veg samosa, ok taste, though somewhat leaden crust, filled with the same potato component of the halwa puri.


Frankly I'm not sure if my lukewarm reaction to Tahoora is influenced by impossible parking, the 30-minute wait or I simply caught them in a catch-up/keep-up stage where light airy puffy puri are sacrificed to speed to appease hoards of hungry customers. I should also note that yes, I was aware of, and used, the Two Items or Less line for those not wishing sweets.

Overall I liked Tahoora, bright, large, spotless space, wide selection of sweets, which I did not have, and counter people who remained friendly and even tempered even in the face of ever growing crowds.



Enjoy,
Gary

*My wait was such that I observed any number of puri being served

Tahoora
2326 W Devon Ave
Chicago, IL 60659
773-743-7272

Ghareeb Nawaz
2032 W. Devon Avenue,
Chicago, IL
773-761-5300

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

Thanks for the report, Gary.

I very rarely eat poori/halva out (mostly at home), but have always sort of wondered how the poori at the bottom of the stack retain their life. When I'm eating poori at home I'm usually getting fresh ones out of the fryer one at a time (but at a pace perfectly aligned with my eating -- thanks mom!), so they're never suffocating.

So is this not a problem at other places ? Perhaps not as much of an issue with the crispy varietal at Ghareeb, but how does Shan deal with it ?

Btw, that line is intimidatingly long.

tatterdemalion wrote:So is this not a problem at other places ? Perhaps not as much of an issue with the crispy varietal at Ghareeb, but how does Shan deal with it ?

Tatterdemalion,

Shan's puri are light, airy and hold shape quite well. Also, Shan serves the puri in a low-slung basket which allows them spread out a bit as opposed to Tahoora where they are stacked one on top of another with residual heat causing a steaming effect to the lower, especially bottom, puri.

Puri at Shan


By the way, next time your mom fires up the fryer for puri I'm available.

Enjoy,
Gary