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Vegan Punjabi Food at The Corner This Thursday

Published on March 1, 2011 in Events and Specials. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

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?
  1. 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…).
  2. 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.
  3. 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!
  4. 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

An Interview with Kasa Marina’s Tom Green

Published on July 31, 2010 in Kasa Behind The Scenes and Staff Spotlight. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

I’ve always wanted to be a talk show host, or interview people for magazines and the like.  We are so lucky to have Tom Green work for Kasa, so I thought I’d start with him.

Me –  Let’s get right into it.  Why such a short marriage to Drew Barrymore?

Tom – (goes red and starts laughing)

Me – Ok maybe too personal.  How was working on the set for Charlie’s Angels compared to here?

Tom – (laughing) I think you have the wrong Tom Green.   I get that a lot.  I get mistaken for him all the time because I look like him. Even Drew Barrymore mistook me for him.

Me – So the name?

Tom – It’s just a coincidence.  I googled it, and THE Tom Green’s real name is Michael Thomas Green, while my name is after my grandpa ‘Thomas Green’.  So my parents did not get inspiration for my name after seeing Road Trip.

Me – Tell me about the suspenders that you ALWAYS wear?

Tom – I bought them for a costume party originally and never stopped wearing them since.  I like them because they people know I’m just a little bit different.  Mot much, but just enough.

Me – And the Oliver Twist cap?

Tom – It works really well with the suspenders. (smile)

Me – Where are you originally from?

Tom – Boise, Idaho!!

Me – Wow,  what brought you all the way here to SF?

Tom – I followed a girl…

Me – Aaaah.  What was your first impression of the City?

Tom – I was pretty overwhelmed at how many PEOPLE there were, and how BIG and congested it was, I’m used to things spread out a lot more.  The cost of living is horrendous too.  But part of me loves living paycheck to paycheck.  I have what I need to just live in the present and not too much out there in the future.  But part of me knows that I should start saving and go to school.

Me – How old are you, Tom?

Tom – Just turned 22!

Me – How long have you worked with Kasa?

Tom – A year and a half now. Kasa hired me a week after I first arrived here.

Me – What do you love and hate about being a server?

Tom – I love talking to really cool customers.  Just today, this older lady told me about this awesome cookbook from the guy who started Momofuku, the ramen noodle place in NY. I also like that this city has a lot of food-conscious people who really want to talk about the food.  I like chatting to them and telling them how we cook the food here.

Me – What do you hate?

Tom – (laughing) I don’t know what it is about alcohol that makes people shout, but the super drunken crowd is not cool.   Other than that, not much.  Oh wait, I hate trying to deal with a customer in line while answering the phone at the same time — that’s a doozy.  And I don’t ask for much, but it’s always a bummer when customers don’t tip.  Even a penny in the tip box is appreciated.

Me – What are you most proud of at Kasa?

Tom – (smiling) I make pretty awesome roti and I’m really proud of my chai.  Anything I make here, I have it to a T.

Me – What’s your personal favourite dish?

Tom – The lamb curry with chutney and onions.  It kills Tim because it’s the most expensive dish! (laughing)

Me – What’s different here compared to your last job as a cook in Boise?

Tom – Everything is cooked fresh at Kasa.  In Boise, everything came frozen in a bag — the onion rings, the burger patties, the fries.  All I had to do was throw everything in the fryer. It was a really easy job.

Me – OK, last question.  What do you think of the handful of yelpers out there dissing on white Kasa servers?

Tom – That’s a tough one.  I always wish they would say it to me in person so I could come back with some sassy remark.  I like people who have fun with it though.  The other day a guy asked me, ‘What province of India are you from?”  I said, “Idaho.”  I also like when Indian customers come in and giggle at a white guy serving them Indian food!

Thanks Tom:)

You can find Tom Green at our Marina location, with his suspenders, cap and super sweet personality, making you awesome roti, amazing chai and serving you with a smile.  Don’t forget the tip though and if you are intoxicated, try and keep your voice to a reasonable tone and it’s all good.

Anamika

Meet Kirsten, one of Kasa’s servers

Published on March 24, 2009 in Kasa Behind The Scenes and Staff Spotlight. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .

Posted by: Kirsten

As the newest addition to the Kasa serving team, I’ll take this moment to reflect on a few things I’ve thought about in my first month of making Kati Rolls and Thalis…..

My body is still getting used to the server’s life (after having spent the past several years sitting in a cubicle at a computer) so I usually get to work feeling a little stiff, butGreen Cardamom leave energized.

To me, spice is the most interesting element at Kasa. It’s what makes our food so special, from the cardamom that I toss into our rice before cooking and the sweet cinnamon steam that wafts out as I scoop it. From the handfuls of fresh mint that I get to scatter over our onions to the mustard seeds that dot the Gobi Aloo.

But spice also complicates things when customers entrust me to steer them towards the dish with the right amount of heat for them. It’s like they’re walking in the door, approaching the counter, and asking me what song they’re in the mood for at that moment. I’ve never met them before, I don’t know a thing about them, and I’m supposed to know what level of spice they will enjoy. I’ve slowly learned to read their faces and tones and to decide pretty easily whether this is a Lamb Curry (mild and safe) or Chicken Tikka Masala (more fiery) kind of diner.

I can tell how hungry I am based on how godly the rotis smell as they’re lifted off the griddle and land in front of me to become a Kati Roll.  Sometimes the scent of the butter (ghee) overwhelms me and reminds me of Dad making pancakes on Sunday mornings growing up.

I love the routine of my mid-day sidework. Zoning and listening to music as I spoon thick dollops of cucumber raita and crunchy bites of salad into to-go containers is a nice antidote to the lunch rush before and the dinner rush that follows.

One little boy comes in after school most days and I help him learn to count money through buying Mango Lassi. He’s recently decided that his favorite dish is the Gobi Aloo.

This week, we were visited twice by a customer who taught me a thing or two about Kati Rolls. Being an Indian, she respectfully instructed me on how to create a special Kati Roll to her tastes: unda (egg) style, with cilantro coconut chutney and onions mixed right into the egg before frying.  Roll it just like that with some salt and a few more onions for crunch. I can handle a customer like that – she knows what she wants but makes me want to give it to her.

I’m heading to work in a couple hours – come visit me on the other side of the counter!

Kirsten