Kasa Indian Eatery Home

Trinidad Night at Kasa Castro, April 7

April 4, 2010 by Anamika

This Wednesday evening, April 7th, we’re going to have some fun with a ‘Trinidad Night’ at Kasa Castro.  Why?  For no other reason than to celebrate the wonderful Trini culture and cuisine with its strong connections to India, Africa and Britain.  We’ll be serving a Trini Plate ($10.95) with:

  • Curried Chicken
  • Aloo Channa
  • Pumpkin Talkari
  • Daal Roti
  • And of course plenty of cold Red Stripes will be at the ready

When slavery was abolished in the British empire in 1838, the colony of Trinidad needed alternative sources of cheap labor. In came the first Indians, who today constitute about 45% of the population.  The dishes that evolved from this emigration are uniquely Trinidadian using produce, spices and herbs native to the island, joined with a strong Indian influence.  I’m so excited to have discovered these new dishes!

Adriel

The idea for Trinidad Night came from chatting with Adriel, one of our favorite Kasa customers, a Princeton alum, McKinsey consultant and most importantly a Trinidadian.  Whilst in the store, he asked me to cook up some Trini food as a special. Since I didn’t know anything about the cuisine, I told him to email me some recipes.  I have since discovered that his interests (other than food) involve ‘coming up with ideas and doing nothing with them’.  I didn’t let him get away with that though — I managed to get some recipes from him AND get him to cook and taste with me on Wednesday to make sure the food is as authentic as possible.

If you want to try these recipes at home, the trick is to find Chief’s Curry Powder (apparently everyone in Trinidad uses this) or green seasoning — not easy even in such a cosmopolitan city as San Francisco.  But my hunt led me to Oriental Lucky Mart in Oakland, where I found not only the curry powder but also the best Jamaican beef patties ever.  Just pop them in the oven and get dreamy!

I’m still working on finding Chadon Beni (aka Culantro, Ngo Gai or Ngo Tai), an herb related to Cilantro.  I need to check out Vietnamese grocery stores for this fresh herb.

Another cool find was a flag from Trinidad.  On Valencia and 24th street, on display at the parking lot, you can practically find ANY flag from around the world.

Look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, and if you have any leads on the Chadon Beni / Culantro / Ngo Gai / Ngo Tai, please let me know.

Anamika

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Smoking Hot Camels

March 29, 2010 by Anamika

India is intriguing in so many ways.  One of my personal fixations with India is the way animals and people interact so closely.

Pushkar Mela, Rajasthan

India is a third of the size of the U.S. but almost four times as populated, a fact that astounds me.  It’s no wonder that wherever you look, you’ll find a sea of humanity and, given this lack of space, the animals and humans are forced to live in close proximity to each other.

They seemed to have worked out some kind of arrangement though that works for both sides.  People don’t blink an eye at the sight of stray dogs, bony cats, skinny cows, brazen monkeys, elephants, rats, peacocks and camels.

A few years ago, I took a trip to Rajasthan and haven’t quite got it out of my system.  The food was amazing,  the people were warm and the desert landscape was stunning.  If you are lucky enough to see one of the famous tigers of Ranthambore, they are magnificently regal.  And the Rajasthani women, with their vibrant-colored clothes against the starkly dry desert, are awe-inspiringly beautiful.

But the camels — the ships of the desert — stole my heart.  I think what made me fall in love with them is their graceful, friendly, loyal nature with a quiet strength and curious sense of humour.

On our travels, a camel herder tried to convince us that we should give him a cigarette because he and his camel were in desperate need of a smoke.  We busted up laughing at this most original line, but I challenged him. “Come on now, your camel doesn’t smoke.”  But I was wrong.  That camel took a coupe looooong drags on the cigarette and truly enjoyed it.  So much so that we gave him another one and filmed it:

Had I known at the time there was a whole festival devoted to camels (the Pushkar Mela), I would have definitely coordinated the dates to be there and hang out with them and the herders some more.  (I’d skip the milk though, even if it is 1/2 the fat and more nutritious than cow milk.)  At some point, I need to get back and check out this festival with it’s camel beauty pageant, camel dance performances, and camel races.

In the meantime, here are some stunning photos by an excellent photographer to remind you why this is a MUST VISIT place (for me at least).

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In Defense of English Food

March 13, 2010 by Anamika

Recently I heard that London was named among the world’s top 5 food cities by Food & Wine Magazine. I have to admit I was suprised, as when I go back home to London, I don’t usually find this amazing food they talk about. For me, San Francisco wins hands down for the best food around.

In London’s defense, I will say that I spend most of my time in Hounslow/Southall, the Indian enclaves of London where I grew up — if you’ve seen the film Bend It Like Beckham, it was filmed round the corner from my house. There is some really good Indian/Pakistani food in Hounslow/Southall, but the rest is just fast food pizza, fried chicken and doner kebab shops. I usually don’t eat out much as I’m busy enjoying my Pinky Aunty’s Indian home cooking. (Most of Kasa’s recipes originated from Pinky Auntie.)

As a result, I’m not really in the know as to which restaurants to try in Central London for amazing food.

Having said that, English food can get a bad rap abroad, and I spend much of my time trying to defend it’s honour. I’ve spent the last two weeks in London visiting my cousin Amars who had a major operation and I took this opportunity to get through my list of ‘MUST EAT’ English food before I head back to San Francisco:

1) English Breakfast

There really isn’t anything as satisfying as this, especially after a hangover. Much as I like American breakfasts, nothing quite hits the spot like pork sausages (with absolutely no hint of apple or anything sweet in it), baked beans (again a lot less sweet), proper bacon (that is bacon with meat on it and not crispy fat), eggs, tomatoes and fried mushrooms. Admittedly the whole thing can be a little greasy and seriously filling, but it is utterly delicious and you don’t have to think about food for many many hours to come!

2) Chicken and Mushroom Pie

This pie is comfort food at it’s best. Shortcrust pastry soaked in the thick gravy of the chicken and mushroom filling… yum! Or even yummier is Steak and Kidney pie… wow! Pot pies in the US just don’t compare.

3) Savoury pastries

  • Sausage rolls – a delicious, basic English sausage covered in a very light flaky pastry… when it’s cold and raining outside and you need a snack, this totally lifts your spirits.
  • Cornish pasties – a thicker pastry filled with minced beef and vegetables.  I crave this from accross the continent constantly.

4) Treacle Pudding with Hot Custard

I might say that sometimes I miss this dessert more than my family in London. It’s a light sponge pudding that has been steamed with a thin layer of sweet treacle and covered with steaming hot custard. The endorphins released when you eat this are unparalleled. I really really wish that I could find this in SF. Has anyone seen it around?  I probably have gained quite a few pounds on this dessert alone.

5) English Roast

Roast Lamb, mint sauce, yorkshire pudding, basic boiled vegetables and roast potatoes (NO MASH) with really rich gravy (very different to American gravy) is divine. Eating this on a Sunday in the pub brings back great memories.

6) A visit to Nandos

No trip to London is complete for me without a trip to this popular South African chain of Chicken and Chips. They are super successful here and on their way to the US soon. Their peri peri marinated grilled chicken with peri peri sauce and wild herb sauce with chips (thick french fries) is superb. The sides are really good too. They have different levels of heat from lemon and herb all the way to xtra hot! I keep mine at the sensible medium heat.

I come back home to San Francisco tomorrow and will have to crave these foods until my next visit. It was funny to hear, though, that my cousin Amar was craving Kasa’s Chicken Tikka Masala Kati Roll from his recovery bed at Kings Hospital!

Get better quickly, Aams, so you can get to San Francisco for your kati roll fix!

Anamika

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The Nepali Sean Paul

February 16, 2010 by Anamika

The saying goes, “You can choose your friends, but not your family.”

In that same vein, you don’t always get to pick the people you work with despite having to spend hours with them.  This fact creates a kind of ‘Work Family’ dynamic where you learn some pretty interesting facts about your co-workers and start to feel comfortable with their unique quirky characteristics.

This staff spotlight is on Kalyan, one of our managers.  Although he would have loved to have written this himself, he informed me that he would need a couple of hours to put pen to paper, and that he simply does not have that kind of time in his day.  Between balancing a busy and demanding work day, a caring wife, a beautiful daughter (he’s a great dad) and a little bit of wine and cards, he has zero time to write!  So I’ll write about him instead.

Whilst you may have already experienced Kalyan’s friendly nature serving you lunch or dinner (or your drunken late night cravings at 2am in the Marina!), and you may have already expected that he is a rock star behind the scenes (hard working, talented and ethical), what you wouldn’t have known is that Kalyan literally is a ROCK STAR!

Allow me to share the latest interesting fact I discovered about Kalyan: introducing (for the first time in North America)………..’K2Z, the Nepali Sean Paul’.  Most definitely check out his video below!

We really do only hire Rock Stars at Kasa!   :)

Anamika

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Punjabi Santa

January 10, 2010 by Anamika

It’s 2010, the holiday season is over, and I’m glad!  Don’t get me wrong, I kind of like the holidays…. using up all my patience putting up lights on the tree, overeating, mandatory time with the family, missing folks back home and shopping (I hate shopping!). The highlights of this holiday season for me were:

  • Suresh’s joke about the ’Punjabi Santa’ (like Santa, he has a beard, is tall and plump, and say Hoy Hoy Hoy)
  • Going to Winter Wonderland in Tilden Park in Berkeley with the kids
  • Dancing to Country, Salsa and Hip Hop at the Kasa Staff Holiday Party

But I couldn’t relax, as in the midst of all this, K2 (aka Kasa Marina) launched and Tim and Mer had their third baby (aka V3).  This should have been a time of only serious hard work for us, and whilst all of us at Kasa put that work in, it had to be so stop and start because of the holidays.  We literally had to force ourselves not to think or do any work on Xmas day and spend it with our families, and try to understand that the government and rest of the country were going slower because of the holidays.

So I’m glad that life is back to normality and we can just steam ahead with work now, as we have a lot more ahead of us.  The pressure is on high, not only because we have a bigger space and higher rent at K2.  We opened around December 19, and these first few weeks have been pretty steady but not that many people in the Marina know that we exist yet and we need customers flooding in.

Whilst it’s exhilarating and satisfying to have a successful restaurant or to get some wonderful press,  margins in our business are slim so we have to be super successful to make it all add up, and that pressure extends all the way through to our staff. Our staff need their hours maxed out (or else we lose them) to make rent, support families here and back home, put themselves through school or, like our Line Cook Extraordinaire Gomez who is about to have his first baby, just survive in SF. The emotional pressure of being successful is intense as our families, staff, vendors and on and on rely on us.  More customers means more hours for our staff, which means more tips (which is vital to their livelihood) and ultimately more raises.

So instead of waiting around for the Punjabi Santa to deliver a bushel of money, we’ve come up with our own Kasa Plan of Action:

  1. Continue to keep the food as excellent as humanly possible
  2. Continue to train our staff to provide warm, wonderful service, even if on occasion you have to deal with a not-so-pleasant customer
  3. Community outreach and education in the Marina — introduce ourselves and turn people on to delicious, homestyle Indian food
  4. Connect with all of our customers as much as possible…like through this blog :)

I’m confident that with a little more time and work, we will all reap the rewards of our hard work, all whilst consistently giving our endless love to Kasa Castro.  In the meanwhile, we thank you all for your continued support and hope that you’ll pass the word to your friends.

Love, Anamika

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