Hema's Kitchen: A Taste of Devon

Even though Devon Ave. is about a 20 minute bus ride from us, we had never made the trip to the strip of this street that is packed with Indian and Pakistani stores and restaurants.  A sunny spring afternoon convinced us that it was time to get off the couch and do so.  We had heard about the Indian restaurant, Hema's Kitchen, from a friend, so we thought that would be our target lunch destination, although we also wanted to wander around to see what else we might find.  We weren't necessarily strangers to Indian food, although we had been reading recently about the differences between the cuisine in the northern part of the country vs. that in the south.  It seems the northern region was influenced by Turkish and other cultures that enjoy grilled meats, and that the southern region was influenced more by southeast Asia and tended to be more vegetarian.  Since the owner of the restaurant is from Hyderabad towards the southern part of the country, we thought her restaurant would give us a chance to sample some cuisine specifically from that region.



Drinks
There were some lassi and herbal tea options on the menu that looked good, but don't be too disappointed that we just opted for basic water and iced tea.


Food
Before our lunch at Hema's, we had done a fair amount of walking around on Devon St. checking out the sights (including a Croatian, Georgian, Jewish and Russian presence).  By the time we got to the restaurant we were super hungry.  The naan and masala papadam helped take the edge off.  Naan is an unleavened wheat bread that is chewy and perfect for sopping up sauce.  It's cooked in the tandoori oven and is nicely blackened in spots to add flavor.

Naan

The masala papadam is made from lentil flour and is thin, crunchy and slightly addictive.  This papadam was seasoned with some spices, topped with some fresh tomato, onion and cilantro and served with two dipping sauces--one that was slightly sweet and another that had a little kick. The sweet one may have had tamarind, and the other seemed to be a blend of cilantro and some seasonings.  

masala papadam

The curried fish that Beth had for her entree was in a tomato based sauce that also contained tamarind, fresh curry leaves and cilantro.  According to the menu this was prepared "southern style."  The mild, flaky fish was bathed in the sauce, which was flavorful and imparted just enough heat.  We'd never tried Indian seafood but it was super good!

curried fish

Neil ordered chana gosht for his entree, which was cubes of lamb and chick peas in a curry sauce.  It had a little heat, but just the right amount.  The chick peas added a nice texture to the tender lamb chunks.  The sauce was very flavorful and Neil completely cleaned his plate by soaking it up with the naan.  The flavors mixed together wonderfully and he didn't leave a crumb.

chana gosht

Overall
The food at Hema's Kitchen lived up to the expectations.  We'd heard from multiple folks that this place was good and it didn't disappoint.  The service left something to be desired, though.  We were going to do some appetizers as well, but what we ordered never appeared.  No one went home hungry and the bill was right, but we were looking forward to trying more stuff!

What we Learned
North Indian is more Middle Eastern influenced but southern Indian is focused more influenced by southeast Asia and on vegetarian options and seafood.  We hadn't thought much about Indian seafood before, but the fish was really good and the Indian sauces were tasty and nicely spiced.  While eating at various ethnic restaurants over these past few months we've run across cilantro many times.  This led us to wonder about where the plant originated and how many varieties might be.  Maybe we'll be enlightened about the cilantro thing further into our culinary adventure.

Foreign Factor
The entire Devon Avenue experience is pretty foreign.  We went on a Sunday afternoon and the street was packed with people who had come in to do their shopping.  There were people in Indian, Muslim and even Orthodox Jewish clothing, including turbans, burqas, taqiyah and saris.  We weren't ever uncomfortable, though.  Everyone we encountered from the young woman at the counter at Russian deli who let us sample sausages to the fellow shoppers at the mainly Indian supermarket were friendly.  Hema's menu was pretty familiar to anyone who has tried Indian food before, but it could be a bit daunting if it was your first time.  The interior of the place was welcoming, and the customers came from all walks of life.  Overall the restaurant gets a 5 out of 10 in the foreign factor.


More
The Chicago Cultural Center offers neighborhood tours, so keep  your eye out on their web site for one for the Devon Ave. area.  The next one is on June 9, 2012.  Devon Avenue is so well known it has its own wikipedia page!