Basant Modern Indian Restaurant - Chicago
North Center’s Basant Modern Indian Resta
urant is brought to us by the owner Jeet Singh and his father, executive chef Manmohan Singh.
At Basant, the menu features some signature and some classic Indian dishes.
The signature dishes include Lamb Gustaba (a Kashmiri delicacy, featuring meatballs served in yogurt-based sauce); Fish Basant (salmon cooked in creamy coconut milk/ spicy tomato-based sauce), and Seafood Khichdi (riced cauliflower and lentils served with salmon and scallop).
Classic Indian dishes please with many favorites, including Lamb Roganjosh, another specialty from Kashmir, Malai Kofta (potato and paneer-based balls in tomato-based sauce); Makhani (traditional tomato-based sauce with paneer, chicken or spinach); and Takka Tak, a popular Delhi street food.
The desserts are relatively simple, which is just what you want after some of the complexly spiced dishes. For dessert, we recommend Gulab Jamun Cheesecake, an interesting cross-cultural take on a traditional sub-continental sweet.
In all dishes, you’ll taste the influence of Chef Singh. As reported by Block Club Chicago, “Jeet Singh and his brother would often look over their father’s shoulders while he explained why he chose to use one ingredient over another or why he was preparing the food in a specific way. He wanted them to know the value of good food prepared well. He would be happily surprised when, at a young age, his children would talk critically and analyze how a dish tasted or was prepared when they went out to eat at a restaurant. ‘You learn more by seeing someone prepare something than by just reading. Seeing how it’s made is very vital. In one moment, you can learn so many things you’ll remember,’ Manmohan Singh said.”
It’s safe to say that a dinner at Basant Modern Indian will also be one of those things you remember for a long time to come.
