Indian Restaurant Sees Change in Name and Ownership with Familiar Face

If there's anyone who knows how to run a business in Oak Forest, it might be the new owners of .

Raj Patel, Vic Malhotra, and their third business partner aren't exactly newcomers to the Oak Forest business world. Vic owns and operates and Raj owns India Bazaar grocery store next door. The three work closely together in the strip mall on 159th Street, so it didn't take much prodding for them to put their heads together one more time.

"We've seen each other working, everyone is doing well in their fields," said Malhotra. "Seeing how they're prospering, we decided we should get together."

Together, the men purchased what was formerly Haandi Indian Cuisine and revamped it into the new Kitchen of India.

They took over the restaurant in early October, and refreshed the entire interior, with new carpeting, fresh coats of paint—and all new staff.

"Everyone in here, from front to back, is brand new," said Malhotra. Chef Anmol has fine-tuned the menu of Indian food and Indian-fusion cuisine. Indian cuisine is known for heavy use of cream, oil and salt; Anmol has reduced the cream by 80 percent, Malhotra said.

The restaurant offers Indian cuisine specialties like Bhana gosht, or lamb with onion, tomatoes and bell peppers sauteed with garlic. On the vegetarian portion of the menu, they offer a paneer butter masala, or homemade cheese with cubes of onion and bell peppers in seffron sauce ($13.95). Or try the chole bhature—tortillas with spicy chick peas ($3.99).

From the grill, Malhotra recommends the tandoori chicken, or chicken marinated in yogurt and a special sauce ($15.95 for a full order).

If classic Indian cuisine isn't what you crave, Malhotra suggests the Indian Chinese food—fried rice, chili paneer, or cubes of chicken cooked with Chinese and Indian sauces.

The restaurant offers a lunch buffet from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, for $11.99. Customers can visit the restaurant's website and print off a $2 coupon, also, Malhotra said.

Malhotra stressed the complete changeover of the staff. Every staff member is new, he said, and they're committed to improving the restaurant's reputation.

And so far, it's working.

"In the last three weeks, customers have repeated themselves four or five times," Malhotra said. "That tells us that we're doing something right."

The key to a successful business?

"Cater to the needs of the customer, what they say," he said. "Fulfill the demands the way they want.

"Service, food, presentation, consistency," Malhotra said. "Achieve all four of those goals, stick to that."