Kasa Indian Eatery Blog

New Kasa truck locations..a new Kasa truck..and some of our 2012 priorities

Anamika — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 22:54:40 +0000

Happy New Year to all our Kasa customers!

Here’s some of what we’re working on in the early parts of this year:

**Launching our second Kasa Truck

After being granted six locations for the Kasa food truck, and the subsequent Appeals hearing with its hotly debated issues (and tempers rising high in some cases) of restaurants vs food trucks and trying to interpret poorly written legislation, we are happy to have secured four spots out of the six that we applied for in the Financial District, Union Square and South Beach.

Our new spots include:

Weekday lunches at 2nd/Mission and California/Sansome
Weekend lunches outside the Apple Store at Ellis/Stockton
Weeknight dinners in South Beach at 2nd and Townsend

** More Vegan Specials

** More street food specials on the truck (Pav Bhaji and Indian Nachos in particular)

** Possibly putting out a couple of Fish Curry specials

** Indian Cooking Classes, possibly via 18 Reasons and Bi-Rite

** Writing more blogs to introduce the reader to all that goes with running Kasa as well more on Indian Culture and Food generally.

Anamika

Chicken Kofte Star in Monday Meatball Mania!

Anamika — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 07:41:36 +0000

As many of you know, we take great pride at Kasa in our daily vegetable specials. But Chicken Kofte, those delicately spiced chicken meatballs in a tangy tomato-based sauce, are so delicious that we make an exception and have served the dish sporadically over the past year.

(Sincere apologies to our much respected Vegetarians for listing the dish on our Vegetable board — we are simply tight on chalkboard space!)

I’m excited to announce that due to countless requests, we’ve finally committed to a regular schedule for Chicken Kofte and will now offer Monday Meatball Mania every Monday dinner starting this Monday!

I can’t mention Chicken Kofte without also expressing my deep gratitude to Zaida, who works for my mum in the Indian Fashion industry in London. Zaida first fed me this dish and shared the recipe with me. As so often is true with food, there are memories and emotions so closely tied together with a dish that it becomes tough to separate the two. In this case, it is impossible for me to think of Kofte without also always thinking of Zaida.

When Zaida finds out that folk here in San Francisco are eating, demanding and loving her Kofte, I know it will bring her immense pride and joy. And if you knew what a gem of a woman she is, the Kofte would bring a deeper fulfillment than just their delicious taste for you too.

Thanks Zaida for everything. Your calm, humble and dignified manner inspires everyone: genuinely visiting my grandma in the nursing home, working with my mum and dealing with all her diva clients with grace, and most of all for always feeding me and making me feel special.

Donating 10% of Proceeds on Dec 1 to Paint the Castro Red

Anamika — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 04:10:28 +0000

I am insanely passionate about my personal mission (and Kasa’s) to introduce my larger community to Delicious Indian Food from Scratch. I’m coming to realize that I may be driven by this passion for my entire life, whether I like it or not. I envision myself introducing people to the wonders of Gobi Aloo and Saag Paneer for eons.

Thank goodness there are noble people tackling MUCH more important issues, and we at Kasa want to highlight and support them.

December 1st is World AIDS day and 16 dedicated organizations are going to ‘Paint the Castro Red’ to raise awareness about this 30 year old global epidemic.

Their goal is to to educate about the need to protect ourselves and continually get tested, to help those who have been affected, to remember those we have lost and also to highlight the advancements that have been made in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS.

We are VERY proud to support their efforts and will donate 10% of our proceeds on December 1 to this cause. Many of our fellow Castro business owners are also participating.

So please come to the Castro — which will be adorned with red lights, red ribbons and red balloons — and shop, drink and eat delicious Indian food from scratch at Kasa and participating merchants tomorrow. There will also be free HIV testing and a candlelight vigil at 6:30pm in Harvey Milk Plaza. Here’s the Facebook event link.

We look forward to seeing you and are yet again proud to be a part of the Castro Community.

Anamika

FiDi, come and get your Indian food from scratch!

Anamika — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:51:24 +0000

If you work near Mission St between 1st and 2nd, get ready to get your Kati Roll fix regularly starting tomorrow from 11-2pm!

After many months of scouting locations, filling out applications, sleeping in the rain and debating in public hearings, we are officially approved by the City of San Francisco to serve lunch from the Kasa Indian Truck on Mission St between 1st and 2nd on Wednesdays!

So starting tomorrow, put your computer to sleep, push off that boring lunchtime meeting, break away from your regular lunch routine…and stroll down to that beautiful bright pink and brown Kasa truck on Mission St! We’ll be slinging Kati Rolls and Rice Plates with Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Curry and Gobi Aloo, as well as yummy Samosas with Mint and Tamarind chutneys, plus our famous Chai and Mango Lassi and more!

We promise to be smiling while keeping the lines moving quickly, so you can get back to your office routine!

Look forward to serving you all! And don’t forget to follow us @kasaindian on Twitter to find out where the truck is each week. (Early scoop: expect to see us in several more FiDi locations in the not too distant future!)

Anamika

Horn Ok Please!

Anamika — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 18:48:50 +0000

I have not written forever because things have been CRAZY! And crazy is a state that we are grateful for at Kasa, even if it does mean that we have been worked to our bones.

After months, I am finally able to breathe calmly after having gone back to back with:

Dealing with the city extensively for truck permits
The launch of the Kasa Indian Truck, aka The Kati Roller aka KIT
Three grueling days of vending at Outside Lands in Golden Gate Park
The sheer and utter madness of the SF Street Food Festival

In the midst of all this chaos, we’ve thankfully hired some great new additions to our team. Welcome Charles, Mike, Sarah and Juan!

This post is a quick update to share that I am madly in love with the truck. It is beautiful and bright and brings a smile to my face. As an added bonus, being only 5′ 2″, I also love being taller than everyone else on the street for a change. It’s still blowing my mind that we’re able to simply load up and drive down to Berkeley or the Financial District or outside of a wine bar and further Kasa’s mission of serving up simple, delicious, Indian food from scratch.

People have been asking me about the phrase ‘Horn Ok Please’ on the back of our truck. This was a nod to India and its many many trucks. If you’ve ever visited India, it would be hard to miss this phrase painted colourfully on most trucks and commercial vehicles. The origin of the phrase is not clear, but there are some interesting theories (Wikipedia):

In WW2, trucks ran on kerosene engines. Kerosene, being highly unstable in nature, would cause the trucks to explode at the slightest accident. Hence a warning would be painted on the back saying “Horn Please, OnKerosene”.
Most trucks in India are manufactured by TATA. In India, when wishing someone goodbye, one commonly says, “OK TATA!”, where TATA means goodbye. Since most trucks had the TATA logo on them, truck owners often painted the word OK above it. The HORN PLEASE phrase surrounds the OK TATA vertical combination. Thus, a person reading just the first line would read, “HORN OK PLEASE”.
The Tata Oil Mills unveiled an economy detergent powder called OK. This brand had a symbol in a shape of a lotus flower. To market this detergent better, it is believed that the symbols were painted on trucks and lorries. Since the trucks had HORN PLEASE already painted on the left and right edges of the back flap, the lotus flower symbol and OK were painted in the center of the flap. That is what got OK in between HORN PLEASE, making it HORN OK PLEASE.

I believe the current use, other than for pomp and circumstance, is also to let cars know that they simply can’t see them and so they should horn if they want to overtake. Either way, if you are a Kasa fan and the bright pink colour brightens up your day, give us a horn too!

Roti and Naan Acrobatics

Anamika — Sat, 23 Jul 2011 03:07:34 +0000

This is an amazing ‘must watch’ short video from India featuring some serious pros making naan. Their skills are unparalleled. If they didn’t make naan, they would have a career in baseball or frisbee!

I’d love to see the Health Department’s reaction to this here in the US! I reckon the health inspector would have a heart attack! Although I can’t see any particular rule being broken.

As for the customers, they would either love it or be appalled. The customer in this video does’t even blink an eye You got to love India for this kind of stuff.

I’m dedicating this post to our seriously hard working and skilled roti makers at Kasa. Day in, day out, they are at our roti station labouring away at making freshly rolled rotis at high speed. Our guys are machines, rolling out around 800 rotis or more per shift.

Having watched this video though, hmmmm. Roti guys watch out. It might become a job requirement to entertain us in this manner too!!

We’re on a boat (and soon we’ll be on a truck too!)

Tim — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 06:05:25 +0000

We have LOTS to share in the next couple days as this is Kasa Indian Truck launch week! The truck wrap is done, permits are completed and events are locked down.

We’ll do a small test run for the kitchen on Tuesday night and will tweet out the location earlier in the day. Free food for anyone that shows up! Bring your friends, kids, neighbors, whatever. Probably 50 people’s worth of food will be cooked.

Separately, we’ve been catering these fun Bollywood sunset cruises in the Bay with the Red & White Fleet. Yes, it is touristy, but you know it’s still breathtaking to be out on a boat in that magnificent setting. Plus you get Kasa food, Indian dance performances by our dear friends at Cree8 Productions and you can have a few drinks before busting a move yourself. Check the details here and email cruise@kasaindian.com as we may be able to get you an insider’s hookup!

Kasa Indian Food Truck “Squared”

Suresh — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 06:36:41 +0000

We’re in the final sprint preparing for next week’s Off the Grid launch for the Kasa Indian Food Truck. The truck is completely built out, the wrap is being wrapped as we speak, our Public Hearing is this Wed Jun 29 to secure our FiDi locations (not too late to help!), the initial menu is more or less decided and the operating plan is operating.

One of our goals is speed — we want to keep our (hopefully long) lines moving quickly!

At first, we figured we should keep it simple and launch the truck as cash only. But that didn’t sit right with us for a few reasons:

We pride ourselves on being tech savvy. You can’t have a Kasa co-founder from Google and be behind on this stuff!
We always try to do right by our customers. You don’t always have cash, ATM fees suck and credit cards are more convenient.
Square made it so damn simple to accept credit cards on a truck! Square is this super cool startup in SOMA designing beautifully simple transaction systems for local merchants. We signed up on Friday, got a free square fob in the mail on Tuesday and were up and running swiping credit cards within minutes.
Even better, we shamelessly begged the Square team and got into the beta test for their new Square Register point of sale app on the iPad. This hopefully will allow our truck customers to set up tabs where they can order and pay for our classic Indian street food without having to even take their credit card out of their wallet!

So…beta Indian food truck, beta point of sale system running on a 4G iPad 2. Only in San Francisco!

Help Launch the Kasa Indian Truck in the Financial District!

Tim — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 22:40:59 +0000

Friends –

We’re within weeks of launching the Kasa Indian Truck in early July! Where will the truck be rolling to? That’s what we need your help on!

For our initial launch, we’ll be at various Off the Grid events. (Follow us @kasaindian for details!)

We’re also in the final stretch of trying to secure permits to serve our Kati Rolls and other delicious Indian street food at specific locations in the Financial District. We’re one of the first local businesses trying to get permitted through the new Food Truck legislation which was passed in SF earlier this year.

We have a public hearing on June 29 where supporters and opponents to our truck can make their case to the City. The City needs to know that people support us!

There are two ways you can help:

1) Send an email to the Dept of Public Works — if you work in the FiDi or visit there on occasion, please email the note at the bottom of this email to truck@kasaindian.com before June 27. Every email will help! Feel free to modify the note however you’d like and pass this along to friends.

2) Come to the hearing — the hearing is on June 29 at 9am at City Hall, Room 400. Having a large crowd of supporters present can’t hurt!

With your help, we’ll have have our Kati Roller rolling soon!

Much love from Tim, Anamika & Suresh

SAMPLE EMAIL — SEND TO TRUCK@KASAINDIAN.COM

————————–

To: Mr. Edward D. Reiskin, Director, SF Dept of Public Works

Re: Support for the Kasa Indian Truck in the FiDi

Dear Mr. Reiskin,

I am writing to express my excitement and support for having Kasa’s truck near my building in the FiDi. Like other workers in San Francisco’s financial district, I eat out very frequently for lunch. The FiDi needs additional interesting, ethnic food options. Kasa’s truck will add diversity and balance to the existing food options in this area and will make the overall dining scene here more exciting.

Sincerely,

INSERT YOUR NAME

INSERT YOUR FIDI WORK ADDRESS IF APPLICABLE

Free Kasa Chai and Anthony’s Cookies on June 18!

Anamika — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 01:10:30 +0000

Kasa turns 3 years old on June 18!

We’ve been thinking through how to celebrate and show how much we appreciate you.

Giving out sweets for special occasions is a wonderful tradition in India. Endless amounts of mithai, gulab jamun, jalebis, halwas and ladoos are purchased from specialized artisanal mithai stores. They are often covered with pure leaf silver, boxed beautifully, exchanged among friends and families, displayed lavishly, and fed in small bites to whomever the celebration is in honour of. Then of course they are consumed by everyone else too. When Suresh and I got married, we both had major sugar overload as hundreds of people shoved mithai in our mouths!

We don’t make traditional Indian sweets at Kasa, but we still wanted to pass out sweets for our anniversary. And we offer two of the best sweet treats in San Francisco at Kasa, so…..

On June 18th, we’ll be giving out complementary Kasa Chai and cookies from our friends at Anthony’s Cookies!

No crazy purchases required or anything. Supplies may run out at some point so come early.

Much love for all of your continued support of Kasa!

Anamika, Tim & Suresh

P.S. Thank you to Anthony’s for providing cookies for this special event!

My Life Resume

Anamika — Tue, 24 May 2011 18:27:32 +0000

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

Book Club
The Westin Casino
The Gutshot Poker Club

Our Final Vegan Indian Pop-Up!

Anamika — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 05:36:10 +0000

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.

Literally Going Green at This Week’s Vegan Indian Pop-Up Night

Anamika — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 22:03:13 +0000

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

~Appetizer~

Arbi Salad – taro root salad with roasted jalapenos, limes, cucumbers, green beans and green peppers.

~Mains~

Stuffed green peppers simmered in a coconut flavoured sauce
Stir fried Gingered Asparagus
Bhindi Masala – sauteed okra with dried pomegranate seeds and green mango powder
Saag Daal – lentil stew with a combination of aromatic spices and rich green spinach
Green Rice – a green tomato and cilantro rice pillau

~Dessert~

Fresh fruit sprinkled with pistachios and jaggery (Indian cane sugar)

~Accompaniments~

Papad
Kasa’s lethal (green) hot sauce
Kasa’s addictive (green) cilantro and coconut chutney
Fresh green onion and cucumber salad
Fresh garlic and green chili pickles

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

This Week’s Vegan Indian Pop-Up Menu

Anamika — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 02:04:57 +0000

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.

Vegan / South Indian Cuisine At This Week’s Pop-Up

Anamika — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 17:18:57 +0000

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

We’ve decided to extend our pop-ups at The Corner (2199 Mission) through April and we’re going to stick with Vegan Indian cuisine every week!

This week’s menu has a South Indian focus.

March 30 Vegan Menu ($20 Prix Fixe)

Appetizers

~ Bhandang: a crunchy snack made with Puffed Rice, Peanuts, Cashews and spices

~ Sambar over Vada: crispy South Indian lentil doughnuts (Vada) served over a spicy lentil chowder (Sambar), served with a traditional Coconut chutney (Theeyal)

Mains

~ Coconut Vegetable Curry: hearty coconut curry, with tender cauliflower, carrots, asparagus and green beans

~ Braised Baby Turnips: delicious, bitter baby turnips braised with their greens, with a unique Indian touch. I’ve never seen this dish in India, but that’s the beauty of San Francisco and the amazing produce we get here.

~ Lemon Curry Leaf Rice: the first time I had this South Indian staple, I was blown away by the unique combination of citrus and spices in basmati rice. So simple but perfect!

Dessert

~ Bi-Rite Creamery Vegan Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream!

Accompaniments

Papads (crispy lentil wafers)
Lime relish
Pickled chillies
Red Onions with mint and lime
Kasa Hot Sauce

Standard Disclaimer:

Hope to see you out this Wednesday!

Anamika

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

The Perfect Indian Wedding: Vegan Indian Food

Anamika — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 00:25:48 +0000

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

I’m sticking with Vegan this week! The demand is intense and it is personally fulfilling as Vegan and Indian homestyle cooking are a match made in heaven! The beauty of Indian cuisine is that it delivers all the taste, flavour and nutrients that delicious food should while offering a huge variety of Vegan choices.

March 23 Vegan Menu ($20 Prix Fixe)

Appetizer

~ Dhokla ~

A fermented batter made of seasoned chickpea flour steamed into a spongy cake, then drizzled over with a spicy tempering mixture and served with a sweet tamarind chutney.
In snack shops in Bombay, a very prominent sight is a huge tray on the counter piled high with squares of a delicate and spongy yellow savoury cake called Dhokla. They disappear just as fast as a tray of gooey fudgey brownies would in the U.S. Dhokla comes from the Gujarati tradition and are one of the icons of that snack-loving cuisine.

Mains

~ ‘Sarson’ Greens with Garbanzo Beans ~

Sauteed mustard greens in garlic, spiced with fennel, cumin and coriander seeds
Beautiful mustard green (“Sarson”) fields adorn the Indian state of Punjab (my homeland!). During the Sarson season, Punjabis will eat a puree of mustard greens and spinach literally every day for lunch. These greens have a deliciously addictive bitter taste that is insanely good for you. This particular recipe is inspired by my love of Chinese stir-fried greens with garlic.

~ Bombay Aloo ~

A comforting, divine dish of potatoes in a tangy tomato and mustard seed curry

~ Punjabi Kale Channe ~

A fantastic Punjabi dish of curried black chickpeas.
This is my Pinky auntie’s recipe. Pinky auntie remains one of the most amazing home cooks I’ve ever come across.
Black chickpeas are a super-healthy, nutrient packed, rich in protein food with a unique flavour.

Dessert

~ Fresh orange slices with vanilla and vegan chocolate shavings ~

Accompaniments

Fresh wholewheat phulkas – light, wholewheat bread cooked on a tawa
Basmati Rice
Papads
Mango Chutney
Mint and Apple chutney
Cucumbers in a curry leaf and lime vinagrette
Pickled chillies
Kasa Hot Sauce

One common thread throughout the regional cooking styles in India is that no meal is complete without accompaniments. They take an already complex meal to the next level. The way to use them is limitless. Use different chutneys with every bite and feel the change of that particular bite. Eat a tiny piece of chilly, feel some of the burn and see if you like it. Change the texture up a little with a crunchy piece of papad. Freshen up the next bite with a cool piece of fresh vegetable. You don’t have to eat them all, but it’s more about having a variety to cater to everyone’s individual quirky likes.

As an aside, I wanted to remind everyone that 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.

Vegan Punjabi Night Part 2 at This Wednesday’s Pop-Up!

Anamika — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 06:06:13 +0000

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

I’m sincerely thankful and touched by all who have been coming and filling up ‘The Corner’ these past couple of weeks. We’ve had our loyal regular customers, industry folk, South Asians excited by the traditional homestyle options and of course new faces from the Mission.

This week I was torn between my options for Wednesday. Street Food? A different regional cuisine? Indian-Chinese?

I ended up deciding on a new Vegan Night menu, as we had such a strong turnout two weeks ago and vegetarian cuisine is my passion!

$20 Prix Fixe Vegan Menu

Appetizer

Aloo Tikki and Channa — fried potato patties with garbanzo beans, drizzled with tamarind sauce

Mains

Sindhi Tomato Kadi — ginger tomato broth with green beans and okra
Bund Gobi Aloo — braised red and green cabbage with potatoes
Cardamom Basmati Rice
Fresh Wholewheat Phulkas — light, wholewheat bread cooked on a tawa

Dessert

Ginger Pineapple Salad — chilled pineapple with fresh ginger and chili flakes

Accompaniments

Cucumber / Red Onion Kachumbar – fresh cucumbers and red onions
Papad — lentil chips with crushed black pepper
Chilli Chutney — Kasa’s famous Hot Sauce
Achaar — spicy pickled vegetables

Reservations are highly recommended. Email popup@kasaindian.com or call 415-690-8512 for reservations.

Wednesday March 9: All Star Punjabi Night Pop-Up at The Corner

Suresh — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 04:24:46 +0000

Thanks to everyone for a fantastic first pop-up event last Thursday at The Corner. Our next event is this Wednesday, March 9 at The Corner (18th St and Mission) from 6 – 10pm.

This week’s menu is an All Star Punjabi Night featuring some of our all-time favorite dishes. We highly recommend reservations — please email popup@kasaindian.com or leave a message at 415-690-8512.

All Star Punjabi Night Menu

Option 1: Non-Vegetarian Course ($25 prix fixe)

Amritsari Fish — tangy fish pakoras from the home of the Golden Temple, served with mint chutney
Sarson Ka Saag – mustard greens with a dollop of butter, this is the heart of Punjab
Rajma – red kidney bean curry served by grandmothers across Punjab on Sunday afternoons
Karahi Chicken — wok-cooked chicken in a tomato-garlic sauce, because Punjabis love their chicken!
Phirni – a lovely almond custard dessert with rosewater and a fresh fruit topping

Option 2: Vegetarian Course ($20 prix fixe)

Vegetarian Pakoras — the ultimate punjabi snack food, served with mint chutney
Sarson Ka Saag – mustard greens with a dollop of butter, this is the heart of Punjab
Rajma – red kidney bean curry served by grandmothers across Punjab on Sunday afternoons
Phirni – a lovely almond custard dessert with rosewater and a fresh fruit topping

Accompaniments for both courses include:

Phirni with fresh cut strawberries and rosewater

Fresh Chapatis – light, whole wheat bread cooked on a tawa
Basmati Rice
Fresh Mooli salad — daikon served with lime and chaat masala
Lime-marinated onions
Cucumber Raita
Chili Chutney – super sonically hot but flavorful sauce for those who always want it hotter. This is Kasa’s “Hot Sauce” if you’ve tried it in the restaurant

Vegan Punjabi Food at The Corner This Thursday

Anamika — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 07:01:54 +0000

Join us this Thursday, March 3 for the first of a weekly Pop-Up dinner where I’ll be cooking sit-down style fare at The Corner at 18th and Mission. (Email popup@kasaindian.com for reservations.)

This Thursday’s $20 prix fixe menu kicks off with a bang with a ‘Vegan Punjabi Meal’ that even meat lovers will love:

Chote Baingan — from South India, this delicious rich baby eggplant dish is stuffed with spices and curry leaves.
Gobi Manchurian — a wildly popular concoction found all over India consisting of cauliflower fritters in a tangy, spicy Chinese-inspired sauce.
Toor Daal — a regular on the dinner table from the region of Gujurat, this is a light, sweet and savoury lentil dish delicately spiced.
Fresh Wholewheat Phulkas – light, wholewheat bread cooked on a tawa.
Peas Pillau – fragrant steamed basmati rice with beautiful green peas.
Accompaniments for the table:
- Karela Chips – sun-dried, fried bitter gourd chips. An addictive bitter touch.
- Cucumber/Red Onion Kachumbar – fresh cucumbers and onions for a fresh crunch.
- Chilli Chutney – super sonically hot but flavorful sauce for those who always want it hotter. This is Kasa’s “Hot Sauce” if you’ve tried it in the restaurant.
- Cilantro Coconut Chutney – Kasa’s popular sweet and spicy chutney.
- Achaar – traditional pickles that you are going to either love or hate!

Why am I so excited for this series?

I am in love with the idea of Pop Ups. It allows cooks like me to experiment with food without the risk of bankruptcy (particularly noteworthy since we just closed Kasa Marina…).
I can focus on nothing but the food and test new dishes and flavors without committing to a full-on concept or expensive build out.
Unlike our typical service at Kasa, we get to feed a small number of people in table service format. This means I’ll be able to put out even more traditional homestyle food that I can personally cook!
I can show my fellow Mission folk why they should leave our wonderful neighborhood and trek across Dolores Park to the edge of the Castro for a delicious Indian meal at Kasa!

Along with all this excitement comes nerves. I don’t come from a classic chef background and haven’t cooked in a table service format. But this is a wonderful opportunity for me to pursue my passion and expose more people to very authentic Indian homestyle dishes.

To make a reservation, please email popup@kasaindian.com before Thursday. Walk-ins are of course welcome, the seating is very limited!

Let me know what you think after!

Anamika

The Marina Experiment is Over

Tim — Sat, 26 Feb 2011 19:30:09 +0000

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