A few Sunday's ago, Joe and I went to Khana Khazana for Sunday brunch. Oh wow. Just... Wow! I cannot begin to describe all the wonderful foods they serve on their Sunday brunch. This is, to be truthful, in part because I did not write them down, but I wanted to -- no, I must -- share with you this marvelous offering.
Khana Khazana offers a brunch every weekday, but on Sunday's, they expand their brunch menu. At the front of the restaurant you'll find Indian street snacks prepared fresh upon your request.
Khana Khazana's Indian Snackfood Bar
The day we went, the Sunday buffet offered two Indian snack foods: Bhel Poori (first photo at right) and Pani Poori (second photo at right). These foods are staple offerings of road-side food stands in India, and they can be difficult to find here in Michigan. Chaats are addictive, and you may find yourself craving more and different ones. Fortunately, Khana Khazana can help. A list taped to the wall describes the other chats available, and be sure to check out their regular menu for additional items, and they are not to be missed.
Once you pull yourself away from the snack foods, you'll discover that their main buffet includes a number of the common offerings found on Indian buffets in Ann Arbor, as well as a number of South Indian dishes. I was delighted that the breads included not just naan but also poori, along with a tray of uthappam. They had some very nice hot pickled vegetables, which I love plain, but are usually mixed with a yogurt sauce and eaten at the end of the meal. There were a number of lamb and vegetarian stews — more, truly, than any reasonable person can try in one sitting. (Note to all: I will write down the names of dishes next time and update this description.)
And if the snacks and immense buffet were not enough, by request, Khana Khazana will also prepare a fresh "mini-dosa." A dosa is a thin crepe made from a lentil or rice batter. Here, Khana Khazana's chef was kind enough to create full-sized one for me to photograph.
Below are snapshots of the chef preparing a dosa. Double-click on the images for larger versions.
The dosa batter is spread out in a large circle...
Folding the dosa.....
Wow. Now I'm hungry. Just thinking about their food has me thinking about talking Joe into going back there this Sunday.
Khana Khazana
207 N. Main St.
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
734-302-3711
Hours: Lunch 11:30am-3pm every day
Dinner M-W 5:30-10pm, Th-Sat 5:30-2 am, Sun 5:30-9:30 pm.
Disc, MC, V
Ow! Ow! You twisted my arm! I'll do it!
Anyone else want to join us?
Posted by: Joe | April 28, 2005 at 10:05 AM
kitchen chick.
thanks for the post - i've always been curious about that restaurant!
u.e.
Posted by: the ulterior epicure | April 28, 2005 at 01:04 PM
Do you know if they have take out? I can never off-load the kids at brunch time (and they are picky eaters) but I love Chaat!
Posted by: Kate Remen-Wait | April 28, 2005 at 05:59 PM
I don't see why not. I mean, it is originally road-side food.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | April 30, 2005 at 01:13 PM
Hey, did you know that there's an Indian food site called khanakhazana.com, and food god Sanjeev Kapoor has a tv show called the same? Maybe a little off-topic... Hey, I love your site and two things from your profile had me nodding enthusiastically in agreement: TOO MANY cookbooks, and a passion for Ethiopian food (not enough recipes for that, are there?)!!
Posted by: Melissa | May 06, 2005 at 08:09 AM
sorry, the sanjeev kapoor link didn't post: http://www.sanjeevkapoor.com/khazana/default.asp...
Posted by: Melissa | May 06, 2005 at 08:12 AM
Melissa:
Khana Khazana... must be a popular name for restaurants. I wonder what it translates to in English.
Yes, definitely way too many cookbooks. I've held back on buying many of the nifty looking new cookbooks out there just because we have so many already that we have yet to really explore.
We recently discovered pre-made shiro powder at an Ethiopian grocery store in Toronto. So now we can easily make shiro at home. I love Toronto.
I suspect that the best Ethiopian recipes are well guarded secrets. I've never been able get a restaurant around here to share an explicit list of a dish's ingredients. The store clerk in Toronto shared her shiro recipe with me, though there was a bit reluctance before she took pity on me. And I have to wonder if she left anything out. (But the recipe works well enough.)
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | May 10, 2005 at 10:18 PM
Khana is food or eating or to eat. Khazana is a treasure or a treasure trove.
Posted by: Nemo | May 18, 2005 at 05:30 PM
The site is at
http://www.khanakhazana.com
I was actually very impressed with the site. Don't know if it has any connection to the sanjiv kapur.
Posted by: Desi Anon | September 03, 2005 at 09:19 PM
We have eaten there several times and have loved everything we have had. The staff is very friendly and engaging. I highly recommend!
Posted by: Melanie | September 19, 2005 at 09:45 AM
its not good enough.as no recepies r given in dis website.
Posted by: sonia Goswami | October 06, 2005 at 07:07 AM
hey i think dosa is called thosai in india
Posted by: roxy | November 13, 2005 at 01:32 AM
Dose in Andhra, Dosay in karnataka, Thosai in Tamil Nasu, Dosha in Kerala... but however you spell it, English spellings are just attempts to transliterate the word from one of India's many languages and dialects.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | November 13, 2005 at 05:56 PM
plz mujje dal tikha bataiyena
Posted by: salima | November 21, 2005 at 04:58 AM
this sunday date 4.12.05 you have asked one que.answer is Paneer
Posted by: rajan | December 05, 2005 at 09:16 AM
Frankly, I can see why you guys LOVE Indian food so much... I do too, but I must comment on your ignorance about Bhel Poori and Pani Poori being South India...Na Na :-)
Posted by: Pungi | December 27, 2005 at 09:28 PM
You are right. They aren't South Indian. My bad. These snack foods only started showing up recently at restaurants that serve South Indian dishes, so I made a wrong assumption.
Posted by: Kitchen Chick | January 02, 2006 at 09:05 PM
i want recipes in all types
Posted by: vishesh | October 03, 2006 at 02:47 AM
recipes should be given in detail raj
Posted by: Raj | October 30, 2006 at 05:23 AM
Guys, we don't have recipes -- this is a review of a restaurant, and they didn't share their recipes with us.
Posted by: Joe | October 30, 2006 at 10:08 AM
nice recipeeeessss, i tried a lot of them in snacks
Posted by: richa grover | February 21, 2008 at 03:56 AM
It is just simply tasty, yummy. I enjoyed each & every dish I prepared
Posted by: Emma Watson | March 17, 2008 at 08:12 AM
Thanks a lot for sharing this with all of us you really know what you are speaking about! Bookmarked. Kindly also visit my website =). We could have a link exchange contract between us!
Posted by: acne | May 07, 2013 at 04:38 AM