Kasa Indian Eatery Blog

Fundraiser at the Women’s Building in the Mission

Anamika — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 00:03:14 +0000

The mural on the Women’s Building on 18th Street adds a magical element to the entire street. I walk past it everyday and never lose appreciation for its size and artistry. I’m not the only one in awe — there are always photographers and tourists clicking away at its magnificence.

This Friday evening, we are proud to parter with The Women’s Building to serve food from the Kasa Indian Truck along with a live performance of Yoni Ki Baat, which translates to ‘Talks of the Vagina’ (think Indian Vagina Monologues). Part of the proceeds from the event will go towards restoring the mural.

The performance is put on by the South Asian Sisters, a diverse collection of progressive South Asian women dedicated to empowering the community to resist all forms of oppression through art, dialogue, conscious alliance and grass roots political action. The show has been touring the country for the last 8 years very successfully. This weekend’s shows have a funny, touching new script that is not to be missed!

I am honoured to be able to give to this cause. Whilst I am busy convincing people to eat more vegetables, it warms my heart to learn of the various organizations working on such important and complicated issues such as women and their place in our community. I was raised by a single mother and am very aware of the strength of women and the struggles they endure, in particular the many ingrained and subtle oppressions of South Asian women.

Please come out, watch a great show, support The Women’s Building organization in the Mission and of course eat wholesome Indian food from the Kasa Truck. We’ll be out there Friday night only (tickets), but the show is also playing Saturday and Sunday (Saturday night is sold out).

Thanks and look forward to seeing you all. You can purchase Friday night tickets here, and Sunday tickets here.

The REAL issue with school lunchs

Anamika — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 03:34:09 +0000

This week’s local news is rife with lively discussions around Food Trucks and their vicinity to Public and Private schools. The debate centers around a proposed state law that would enforce a 1,500-foot ban of food trucks around schools throughout California.

San Francisco Supervisor Scott Wiener is working hard to oppose the proposed law, arguing that this would effectively wipe out food trucks from the vast majority of SF without solving the root issues related to kids eating habits.

On the other hand, and what I’m super curious about since I have two children in San Francisco public schools, is the rationale behind this proposed law. Assemblyman Bill Monning (D-Carmel), who introduced the legislation, believes this works on his goal of reducing childhood obesity and associated health risks AND would also keep food trucks from competing financially with the school districts’ lunch programs.

Parent groups say the plan will just make it easier for kids to snack on unhealthy meals.

The result, in my opinion, is that we tighten the noose even more around small businesses, another knock down against people’s entrepreneurial spirits and greatly reduce the vitality and diversity of food in SF.

This legislation is not in touch with the reality of the situation. For one, most kids (including all elementary school kids) are not even allowed out for lunch. Then the assumptions that all food trucks serve junk food are not based in reality. And how does this legislation deal with the fact that there are already corner stores, fast food restaurants and liquor stores right next to schools with no bans?

On school lunches, wow, that program really really is an absolute farce to be called healthy food. Mr Bill so and so, you have a LONG way to go. Focus on improving school lunch instead of wasting your time on meaningless bans.

I asked my kids to write me a short blog about their experiences with school lunch at their public school. They of course are utterly unaware of all the legislation going on. Check them out.

My 10 year old son’s blog about school lunch

I think that my school really needs to change and improve their school lunch. First of all the lunches are never made at the school. It’s always made by some big company. The school doesn’t even have a kitchen, just a room where they store all the food.

Also the food is very unhealthy. 60% of the time, it’s a lunch heavy on cheese, such as pizza and macaroni and cheese this food called pizza strips. Pizza strips are basically a giant amount of melted cheese and a thin layer of bread wrapping around the cheese. The other 40% of the time it’s meals heavy on carbs and processed meat. Such as hot dogs, burgers and bagel dogs. Bagel dogs are basically bagel bread wrapped around a hot dog.

A lot of the lunch is in bad shape. Like the lunch is always cold. Once my milk came out in chunks. Another time the cheese was so hard, I could take the cheese off.

I think that no-body should eat school lunch. If nobody had school lunch a lot of people would save money. With the three dollars they spend on lunch they could walk across the street and buy a nice roast beef sandwich or a bit of mediterranean food and a drink. My main point is that schools need to improve their lunch.

My 7-year old daughter’s blog about School Lunch

Sometimes I wonder why people get excited for school lunch? I don’t, do you? It’s often unhealthy too. Once my cheese on my pizza wasn’t there and another time it looked really fake. Another time my milk had ice in it. I think they should maybe make the food the night before so it’s more fresh. Or they could make the food more healthier. I like my home lunch better because I know someone actully put an effort into it. When mama gives me money for school lunch I sometimes say ”awww’ and ‘Mamaaa’ and last but not least ‘please don’t make me’. And that’s all I’ve got to say.

Charles the Enigma

Anamika — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 07:22:49 +0000

If you’re a regular at Kasa, then you’ve probably met Charles, our ultra calm, handsome, beautifully mannered manager. What you may not know is that he is leaving us, heading off to Morocco for an art internship.

It’s our loss, because his personality shines through his work. Every Kati Roll is rolled to perfection, artistically placed on a plate at speed, while he gives his undivided attention to his customer, all whilst looking like he just got off the catwalk!

The insanity of the Mission Street Food Festival did not show an iota on him. He remained precise and well mannered no matter how much of a tornado we were all in! He was able to effortlessly make things look a beautiful dance, and (I know I’m repeating myself) all whilst looking like he had just finished a photo shoot.

And behind the scenes, the Kasa team adores Charles too! Case in point, when he walked into our holiday party, a spontaneous round of applause broke out for him. He simply has a way of making everyone feel understood and completely at ease in his presence.

I’ve been meaning to shine the spotlight on Charles forever, but have had some difficulty really capturing his depths and contradictions, and he is not an easy read!

So instead, since he is an artist and entertainer to the core, his visuals and videos may do far more justice than my words.

Check Charles out on the right as a fashion model, in drop dead gorgeous drag!

And here in his own music video:

Good luck and much love to Charles as your exotic Morrocan Art adventure awaits you. We will all miss you here in SF and especially at Kasa.

A Very Punjabi Weekend – Lohri, Non-Stop Bhangra and an Akhand Path

Anamika — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:19:53 +0000

We want to make Indian Food that would make our grandmothers proud. That is a line from the Heart of Kasa, and it truly is the very center of what Kasa means to me. Kasa makes my grandma proud not only because our food tastes good, but because it is bridging the larger community to the Punjabi community, a community my grandmother left behind and I know missed dearly.

So in the vein of making her and her generation who moved to London and America in the 50s and 60s proud, I write this post to introduce a little more of Punjabi culture and invite you all to join me and my family in three fun Punjabi events this weekend.

Festival, Lohri | Forward this Picture

1) This Saturday evening is a massive Lohri celebration at Stanford. I’m super excited for it, as it’s a harvest festival celebration which includes a giant bonfire, Dhol drums, Bhangra performances and DJs and dancing. The event is totally free to encourage community celebration, so bring a mat, food to share and shoes to dance in. Here’s the events page with location and time details.

2) Later Saturday night back in the Mission is Non Stop Bhangra night with the Kasa Indian Truck at Public Works. NSB has become so wildly popular with their Bhangra classes and club night that they had to move to a bigger spot at Public Works! There’s a great line up of DJ’s so put on some bangles, bindis or anything Indian you have and plan to dance the night away. Look out for the Kasa Truck with Tim rocking his Desi dance moves until 1am outside the event too! Details here, tickets here. Huge props to Jimmie Love of NSB from the Kasa crew and all of our grandmothers for developing such a fantastic tradition!

3) And finally for those who really want an insiders peek into authentic Sikh culture, this Friday thru Sunday afternoon please stop by the Hayward Gurdwara as my family and I host a 3 day ceremony called an Akhand Path to celebrate my son’s 10th and niece’s 21st bdays. Everyone is welcome, and the best part is they want to serve you some of the most authentic and best vegetarian food ever. The food is cooked by members of the community in the communal kitchen, which is why it tastes extra delicious.

We will be cooking and serving food all through the day from Friday morning to the grand finale on Sunday lunch. Some of the highlights on the menu:

Suresh’s mum’s Gulab Jamun — the absolute best in the Bay Area
Kadi — a yogurt curry with vegetable fritters
Poori Aloo — yummy fried poori (bread) with potatoes and mango pickles
Maki ki Roti and Saag — a real winter treat of cornmeal-based roti with fresh spinach
Phirni — rice almond custard with pomegranate seeds that some of you may have seen at Kasa occassionally

If anyone is interested in attending and wants the low down, feel free to email me for tips at anamika@kasaindian.com. I’m already laughing as I imagine how the Gurdwara people might be a little confused when a large crew of Chowhounders or Yelpers show up! :)

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.