As Chef Salil Bhandari moved from New Delhi to Chicago at the age of 20, he carried with him the flavors of home but not the traditional path of an Indian chef. Instead of mastering curry bases and spice blends in India, Bhandari learned the craft of cooking in America, rooted in French, Italian, and Spanish techniques. That unconventional start, combined with a deeply personal journey toward health, would later shape the foundation of his restaurant, Haldi Chowk, a place where cultural fusion and wellness harmoniously meet.
"I didn't learn cooking in India," Bhandari says. "I learned it in Chicago, through French techniques. But I grew up eating Indian food, and a lot of it. So I know the essence of our flavors. My approach is to merge both words."
Bhandari's culinary story began with a personal transformation. At 320 pounds, he enrolled in culinary school not to become a chef but to understand food itself. A mandatory course in nutrition became the turning point of his life. He began experimenting on himself, cutting out processed sugars, oils, and unhealthy fats, and within a year and a half, he lost 150 pounds.
This self-discovery powered his path to building Haldi Chowk. "What I serve today is what I started cooking for myself, food that's flavorful, wholesome, and health-conscious, and this is the philosophy that now defines Haldi Chowk."
The restaurant's menu is a tapestry of rich Indian flavors prepared with global precision, including butter chicken layered into lasagna sheets made from thinly stretched naan, or tacos filled with spiced paneer and chutneys. Everything is made from scratch, from hand-whipped paneer to freshly rendered fats, such as chicken, beef, mutton, and plant-tallow, made from butter.
"We don't cross-contaminate," he explains. "Chicken tallow is for chicken dishes, lamb for lamb, beef for beef. And for our vegetarian food, we make our own ghee. Everything has its place. It's how we remain respectful of different cultures as well."
Another aspect that differentiates Haldi Chowk from its competitors is Bhandari's vision of eliminating refined sugar. Instead, the restaurant uses dates and jaggery, natural sweeteners that contain nutritional value and contribute to its taste. "A lot of people who are diabetic come here and tell me how relieved they are," Bhandari says. "They can enjoy dessert again. We make our own date syrup, and it goes into everything sweet, from drinks to desserts."
Since taking over the restaurant two years ago, Bhandari has transformed Haldi Chowk's reputation, increasing its ratings online. That leap, he says, comes from creating food where guests feel understood and appreciated. "We talk to everyone who walks in," he says. "We ask how they heard about us, and almost always, it's word of mouth. People come because someone they trust told them about us."
Haldi Chowk's charm also lies in its sense of community. From crediting its growth to word-of-mouth to creating spaces for celebrations and events, the restaurant holds its customers in the utmost importance. The restaurant hosts themed events, Taco Day, Dessert Day, World Pasta Day, and even Sandwich Day, as well as Christmas events, celebrations that encourage guests to explore the creativity and cultural amalgamation behind the menu.
For the future, Bhandari's ambitions are far from local. "The concept can travel anywhere," he says. "Wherever you go, tacos, lasagna, enchiladas, people know those dishes. We just give them an Indian soul. This isn't limited to one place or Culture."
With plans to expand Haldi Chowk's franchise to new locations, Bhandari envisions a global footprint for his genre-bending cuisine, one that blends health, heritage, and hospitality. It's a reflection of his 12-year journey that embodies the story of transformation, innovation, and the courage to defy culinary boundaries.
"This is personal," he says softly. "It's twelve years of learning, of growing, of putting everything I've lived through on a plate. And we're only getting started."
