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My Life Resume

Published on May 24, 2011 in Existential Ruminations and Kasa Behind The Scenes. 2 Comments Tags: , , .
This post is dedicated to my cousin Namrita.  Namrit is a beautiful, gentle, intelligent woman trying to figure out what she wants to do with her life and is beyond belief frustrated. And of course as a woman, and an Indian woman in particular, there’s always this nagging doubt that you’re expecting too much from life and should simply get on with it.
So I’m sharing this Life Resume that I wrote at the peak of my own frustrations a few years ago.  I had no idea what I should do nor what my skills were, and worst of all I knew I was absolutely HORRIBLE at writing a resume and interviewing!
But I was sure of one thing:  that I had SOME Life Skills that must amount to something.  In hindsight, a lot of these skills are actually really useful in the restaurant world.
Namrit – don’t get offended by the fact that I claim to be my grandma’s fav:)
Personal Specifics
  • Name – Anamika Jiya Tanya Khanna
  • Age – 35 years old
  • An only child (This in itself says a lot)
  • My Grandma’s favourite!
  • Book and Street smart
World Knowledge
  • Lived on three continents (Europe, Asia and America)
  • Speak English, Hindi, Punjabi and a lot of Spanish
  • Dated lots of guys from different cultures, and hence have insight into many cultures
  • Grew up in the projects but went to a very snooty university – hence have both those worlds covered
Core Skills
  • An Idea person
  • A futurist
  • Intuitive
  • A+ Flirt
  • Good cook
  • Great card player – excellent poker face
  • Wrote a children’s book
Physical Attributes
  • Great legs
  • Beautiful hair
Other Skills
  • Can walk well in super high heels
  • Can get ready in 6 mins flat (shower included)
  • Can stay up SUPER late
  • Excellent night vision
  • Good rhythm
  • Can take quick short naps
  • Do not get sick when travelling — stomach of steel, including drinking tap water from 3rd world countries
  • Can be friends with stupid people
  • Can drink scotch neat
  • Can recite the alphabet backwards
  • Can talk myself out of almost any situation involving the police
  • Can solve the Rubiks Cube
Driving
  • Passed my driving test first time in two countries
  • Can drive on both sides of the road
  • Good parallel parker
Computer Skills
  • Can IM and Email at HIGH speed
Temperament
  • Fiery – not easily intimidated
  • Opinionated
  • Loyal
  • Not a gold digger
Affiliations
  • Co-founder of The Shotz Club – whose mission was to try a shot of every kind of alcohol during the members’ lifetime
  • Indie Film Critics
  • Indian Cultural Club
Membership

Our Final Vegan Indian Pop-Up!

Published on April 17, 2011 in Events, Kasa Behind The Scenes and Specials. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

Call 415-690-8512 for reservations or email popup@kasaindian.com for reservations.

Thank you all for coming out the past couple months!  This week will be our final pop-up night at The Corner (2199 Mission St) for now, so you’ll have to come and get the original Kasa food in the Castro for the time being, at least until the Kati Roller truck launches!
Wednesday, April 20 Vegan Prix Fixe Menu
@ The Corner, 2199 Mission St, 6-10pm
$20 per person
~Appetizer~
  • Tomato Shorba – a thin but richly spiced tomato soup
  • Eggplant Bruschetta – roasted spicy eggplant spread over grilled Acme baguette
~Mains~
  • Vegetable Korma – vegetables in a comforting curry made of cashew nut paste
  • Karahi-tossed Brussel Sprouts – wok-tossed brussel sprouts with garlic, chili & lime
  • Sweet & Chili Aloo – potato wedges in a sweet & spicy sauce
  • Fresh Roti – light wholewheat bread cooked on a tawa
  • Rice Pillau – with crispy onions and garlic
~Dessert~
  • Vegan Gajar Halwa – a vegan version of the heavenly carrot pudding dessert
~Accompaniments~
  • Kasa Hot Sauce
  • Housemade Mango Achaar (pickles)
Call 415-690-8512 for reservations or email popup@kasaindian.com for reservations.

This Week’s Vegan Indian Pop-Up Menu

Published on April 4, 2011 in Events, Kasa Behind The Scenes and Specials. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , .
Call 415-690-8512 for reservations or email popup@kasaindian.com for reservations.
I’m excited to be cooking again for this week’s Vegan Indian Pop Up.  Last week was a tremendous success, and we wanted to say a special thank you to Laura from Vegansaurus for her wonderful write up!
April 6 Vegan Menu ($20 Prix Fixe)

Appetizers

~ Sev Puri vs Tostadas ~  crunchy flat breads with fresh vegetables, herbs and chutneys/sauces
  • This dish is inspired by an ongoing comparison between Jose (Kasa’s head cook), and myself of Mexican and Indian food.  Whatever I cook and train him on, there is always a Mexican equivalent to the dish, which of course is better in his unbiased opinion:)  So Jose suggested, that we put a traditional chaat dish, and a Mexican Tostada on the same plate and let you guys decide for yourselves  :)
  • There are many different types of chaat – which really is a generic term for a plate of savoury snacks, typically served at road-side tracks from stalls or carts in India popular in the rest of India. The word derives from the ancient languages to mean, to devour with relish, eat noisily, which I hope you will do, whether it’s the Mexican or Indian flavours you are rooting for.
Mains

~ Palak Aloo ~ a comforting spinach stir fry with potatoes
~ Gajar Matar ~ a  delicious medley of beautiful orange carrots and green peas tossed in Punjabi spices
~ Rawa ~ spicy blackeyed peas with earthy mushrooms.  Black eyed peas are an excellent source of protein and all kinds of minerals!
Dessert
~ Fresh Cut Sweet Mangoes
Accompaniments
  • Papad (crispy lentil wafers)
  • Carrot Salad
  • Coconut Chutney
  • Cilantro Chutney
  • Tamarind Chutney
  • Kasa Hot Sauce

Standard Disclaimer:

These pop-ups are done in a makeshift kitchen without our normal staff.  It’s *tough* to put out a lot of food at the same time, so your experience might be a bit more leisurely than you’d find at Kasa Castro (where we are a MACHINE!).   So have a glass of wine, chill with the candles and Bollywood music and enjoy each other’s company whilst we bring you out some really authentic Indian Vegan food.

Hope to see you out this Wednesday!

Anamika

Call 415-690-8512 for reservations or email popup@kasaindian.com for reservations.

The Marina Experiment is Over

Published on February 26, 2011 in Kasa Behind The Scenes, Marina Neighborhood News and Running A Restaurant. 10 Comments
This Sunday, 2/27 at 10pm, we’re closing the doors on our Marina location for good.  It’s been a long time coming after an extremely difficult year in business.  The original Kasa in the Castro was busy right out of the gate and fortunately has remained that way ever since.  Kasa Castro was the first restaurant venture Anamika, Suresh, and I have ever participated in, and honestly we took its success for granted.  We thought: provide delicious and unique food and good service at a reasonable price, and you’ll make a profit.  And amazingly we were right!
Until we weren’t.  At all.  The Marina store proved us wrong and showed us exactly what everybody kept telling us–that the restaurant business is HARD and fraught with risk.  And that we were lucky to have a success under our belt.  Despite making some classic rookie mistakes in the Marina (the space was too big for our concept so never had that “packed” look we wanted, the color pallet was too dark for the space, no TVs despite the Marina’s sport-obsessed residents), we put everything we had into making that store busier and successful.  The food reviews were really solid, repeat business was strong, but attracting enough interest and ultimately enough trial just never happened.  How could two very similar restaurants with identical food yield such different results? Sometimes it felt like the stores were in two different states!
We spent the last year trying to turn things around and finally decided a few months ago to exit the location.  People usually offer their condolences when we tell them we’re closing, but truthfully at this point it’s a great relief.  We learned many lessons from this failure, but thankfully it didn’t bring down our entire business.  Those lessons turned out to be at a great financial cost (my dad would call it tuition), but hopefully we will use our new knowledge wisely as we continue our quest to get more people eating Kasa’s kati rolls and homestyle Indian food.
On a personal note, I will miss our loyal Marina customers.  You all kept praising our food and thanking us for being in the neighborhood.  You made those not-quite-busy-enough, stressful evenings at the restaurant bearable for me.  You know who you are, and I thank you.  Please come visit me in the Castro.
As for the future, we are still planning to roll out a food truck called The Kati Roller sometime before summer.  There will likely be another (much smaller) location in the works toward the end of this year as well.  Although I’m not allowed to spill the beans yet, there is another operator with an exciting concept taking over our space in the Marina in the coming months.
Goodbye, Marina.
Tim

Kasa’s Punjabi Roots

Published on January 8, 2011 in Indian Culture and Kasa Behind The Scenes. 1 Comment Tags: , , , , , , .

Many Kasa customers ask about the origin of our food and our family roots.   So this post is about Punjabi and Sikh culture and it’s connection to Kasa’s  food.

I am not religious, but I religiously wear a gold necklace (a gift from my grandmother) with a picture of Guru Nanak, the serene founder of the Sikh religion.   I’ve had more people express curiosity about this necklace than any other piece of jewelery I’ve ever worn, and I’m surprised at how few people know about Punjab or the Sikh religion.

Like most religions, Sikhism has its blemishes but there are aspects of it that are simply beautiful.

The premise of ‘Langar‘ – the Sikh community kitchen – is closest to my heart.  The word Langar is Persian for Alms House, but in Punjabi culture, Langar is intended not only for poor people but for everyone to eat together. Implicit in this spirit is a rejection of the caste system and socio-economic class distinctions.

Langar  is served (free of charge) throughout the day at Sikh temples called ‘Gurdwaras’ around the world. Fresh vegetarian meals are served in Thalis just like you see at Kasa, and everyone regardless of religion or social status eats together on the floor.

My comfort in the kitchen and ability to cook for large numbers of people stems directly from years growing up doing ‘seva’ in Gurdwaras.  Seva — which means selfless service for your community — is core to Sikh culture and fuels devotees to donate ingredients, help cook, serve the food and wash dishes during Langar.  Anyone can participate in any part of this process, or they can simply eat and enjoy Langar alongside the community!

I don’t want to present myself as more selfless than I am, and admit that being in the Gurdwara kitchen growing up was a lot more fun than sitting in the prayer hall meditating.  As a 7 year old, I remember walking into the kitchen in Southall (London) and being unsure as to what to do.  A gruff big older woman saw me standing there and shoved me into an area where finished rotis were being buttered (the easiest job in the kitchen!), and gave me a block of butter to get to it.  I was thrilled and buttered away quietly, watching and listening to everyone else.

I was part of a bustling kitchen that would be serving food to hundreds of people within the hour!  The famous Bangla Saab Gurdwara in Delhi (shown here) serves 10,000 meals per day, and the Golden Temple in Amritstar – the holiest of Sikh temples – surely serves even more!  Somehow you’d imagine this to be chaotic but it is not.  The whole Langar process is super smooth and organized, despite being dependent on people randomly showing up to donate ingredients and help out.

It is simply beautiful how it works.

If you’re curious about how authentic Kasa’s food is, or interested in participating in Langar, I suggest a visit to a Bay Area Gurdwara where you’ll always be welcome.  Suresh, me and the kids usually go to the Gurdwaras in El Sobrante or Fremont.

Anamika