Great Kathiawadi food at the Village Hut

Just yesterday, my husband and I were lamenting the lack of good vegetarian indian restaurants in the Chicagoland area. After some googling and a helpful friend's recommendation, we went to the Village hut at Glendale heights for lunch. Well, I know that most of my blog readers do not live near Chicago, but I wanted to write this article because of the superb cuisine. And I am hoping to inspire you into hunting for the closest Kathiawadi restaurant near where you live.

We were not given a menu. Instead, the restaurant owner, after ascertaining that we were first-timers, decided that we should go for the Kathiawadi style lunch. The food was awesome. We were given a big jug of Chas (buttermilk flavored with cumin and chilli powder) and papads for starters. The appetizers were regular vadas and something like a cross between dhoklas and dosais.

Now on to the main course - we were served a wide variety of curries, dhal, kadhi and bajra rotis. The unique aspect of Rajasthani and Gujarathi cuisine is the simplicity of the recipes. There are very few ingredients used, and no heavy masalas or rich tomato gravies. And absolutely no cream in the dishes (something desi restaurants are notorious for). My favorite was the patra curry - colocasia leaves stuffed with a besan filling and steamed and then made into a curry. We finished the meal with a decadent walnut-milk-something. My next project? To try and start cooking Kathiawadi food at home.