Restaurant Review: North Center’s Basant celebrates Indian cuisine, Diwali with local ingredients, modern twist
Diwali, the Hindu spiritual festival of lights, celebrates the victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance. The five-day celebration, from October 20-25, is marked with grand festivities, including fireworks, parades, and celebration dinners. 🎊🎉
At North Center’s Basant, Chef/Owner Jeet Singh celebrates Diwali with a special dinner showcasing modern Indian cuisine made with fresh, local ingredients.
However, Singh’s food at Basant also represents his personal mission…to fuse his culture and experience with modern techniques.
Basant’s website illustrates his commitment to sharing personal experience with his guests, noting that Singh’s salmon curry for a dinner for 20 college friends evolved into his Fish Basant sauce. Another example: a 22-spice Chettinad Marinade, was reinterpreted as a foil for his fried chicken, as well as his Duck Basant, which features a seared duck breast, complemented by a coconut, tamarind & banana sauce, served with jeweled saffron rice and caramelized plantain.
Start with appetizers like Gobi Manchurian, with fried cauliflower koftas (ground meat,) sauce with peppers, ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppers, and rice vinegar. Chicken or Paneer Malai Cilantro includes your choice of chicken or paneer (cheese,) with cream and cilantro sauce. Vindaloo Pork Belly Tonkatsu w/ Plum Murabba has pork belly tonkatsu, Vindaloo aioli, plum murabba, and wasabi mustard microgreens. Samosas are made with potato and peas pastry, and mint and tamarind chutneys. Jackfruit Cutlets have young jackfruit and potato cutlets, served with mint chutney.
On Sundays only, guests can enjoy Mango, Corn, Sweet Potato & Hominy Bhel, a sweet, sour, tangy, spicy and crispy chaat.
Mulligatawny Soup is a spicy lentil broth, with a dollop of rice, while tomato soup gets a major upgrade as Tomato Lemon Shorba that com alive with lemon and cilantro. Kachumber Salad is a fresh, tangy mix of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and lemon juice.
Main dishes are equally fresh and flavorful. Malai Kofta has potato and paneer koftas, in tomato and cashew sauce, served with rice. The aforementioned Fish Basant is a seared Verlasso salmon filet, coconut milk and tomato sauce, with habanero, served with rice. Chicken Basant is a meal in itself with peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomato and onion sauce with rice.
Other main dishes include Makhani, derived from the Hindi word “makhan,” meaning butter. traditional tomato-based sauce, is available in paneer, chicken, and Cornish Hen (for an upcharge). Saag is a slow-simmered mix of greens and herbs, with rice, with a choice of paneer, chicken, or lamb (for an upcharge). Lamb Rogan Josh has boneless lamb, ghee, Kashmiri chilies, yoghurt, and spices over rice.
No Indian kitchen is complete without a Tandoor menu, and Basant ensures that the traditional clay oven is used for such specialties as Fish Tikka which is Verlasso salmon with skin, served with mint chutney. Paneer Tikka hasroasted paneer cheese and peppers served with mint chutney.
Basant is located at 1939 W. Byron Street. They are open Thursday from 5pm–9:30pm, Friday and Saturday from 5pm–10pm, and Sunday from 12pm–9pm. They are closed Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. For reservations, click here.
Alison Moran-Powers and Dean’s Team Chicago
