Klay Oven

The modern Indian restaurant is a recent invention, born after Indian independence in 1947. During the upheavals of that year, many Hindus from the Punjab region in the northwest fled to India, especially to the new capital city, New Delhi. Hard working and enterprising, Punjabis opened the first restaurants to cater to the new Indian middle classes and government workers.  Naturally, they brought their own regional foods with them, one of these being dishes cooked in a tandoor, a large clay oven. Since then tandoori-cooked dishes, from meats to breads, have become staples of Indian restaurants at home and abroad.

When Prem Khosla bought five-year-old Klay Oven in Chicago’s River North neighborhood in 1995, he intended to recreate as much of his native Punjabi fare as possible. Trained in a New Delhi culinary school and with experience in some of Chicago’s fine dining establishments, he knew that high-quality dishes made from scratch would be popular. They were.

In 2008, the Khosla family has brought their concept to Oak Park.

The menu is mainly Punjabi, featuring dishes such as Dal Makhani (dal and beans slow-cooked with coriander and cumin), Malai Kofta (pastry filled with vegetables), Palak Paneer (fresh cheese cooked with spinach, tomatoes, butter and coriander), and  Sarson Ka Saag (fresh mustard greens made with spinach, ghee, ginger and chiles, among other ingredients). Since many Punjabis are vegetarian, these delicious vegetable dishes are among the 20 or so on the regular menu.

Of course, there are many dishes made in the clay oven. Lamb and chicken are usual in Indian restaurants (no pork or beef here), but prawns, lobster and mahi mahi are interesting variations. Nor are they alone, since quail and cornish hen masalas are also featured. These are Klay Oven inventions, as is a mango and cucumber salad.

Klay Oven has other Indian regional dishes, but with a difference. Vindaloo, from Goa, is a famous Indo-Portuguese dish originally made with pork. Here, it is made with lamb and a special secret spicing created by the chef. Other regional dishes include a lunch-time southern Indian special featuring delectable Idlis (steamed rice cakes), Sambar (vegetable stew), Masala Dosa (a large, thin pancake filled with a spicy vegetable mixture), coconut chutney and more. This is definitely worth a try.

Everything at Klay Oven is made on the spot including grinding and mixing of spices. For that reason, the restaurant can easily adjust the spice levels to suit diners’ wishes, from mild to Indian-hot. Here is a more distinctly regional Indian restaurant than most.

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