Rasa is a Sanskrit word meaning taste and flavor. Now, for those with a taste for the flavor of Indian cooking, there's Rasa Indian Cuisine in Painters Crossing shopping center.
Chadds Ford residents Dell and Sudha Joshi opened the restaurant last week. It's in the spot Ming Village vacated. With them is Dell Joshi's longtime friend Chef Zamin who has more than 25 years of experience in the restaurant business. He trained in India and the United States, and worked in Germany, the Czech Republic and at Rasika and Bombay Club in Washington DC where he cooked for former U.S. Presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton.
The restaurant features cuisine from both north and south India, and Zamin modifies the spiciness to cater to patrons' tastes. Those who like it hot can get it hot. Patrons who want it milder can have it that way.
They serve no beef, but there is chicken, lamb, goat, and seafood as well as vegetarian and vegan dishes. Menu items are marked with a V for vegan and RS for those specialties unique to Rasa. It stands for Rasa Special.
Dell Joshi said he wants Rasa to serve the community. There's a rear banquet room for parties, they do catering and serve takeout. Soups and appetizers start at $6; main dinner dishes start at $10 and go up from there.
Rasa serves a lunch buffet for $11.95 from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and for $14.95 on the weekends, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Dinner is 5-9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 5 to 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
There are 20 to 24 items on the weekday buffet and 24 to 30 on weekends, but Dell Joshi said the items are not the same every time. Zamin changes things up so regular patrons will have a chance to sample a wider variety of tastes.
He is also eager for feedback. "If there's something you don't like, tell us. We always want to improve," Dell Joshi said.
While Dell Joshi has a master's degree in chemistry, a master's in business administration and works as the business director for DuPont Sustainable Solutions, he's been thinking about opening a restaurant for the past several years. However, it's his wife Sudha who has the passion for the restaurant business.
"I've always loved to cook and host parties," she said. "My grandfather had a restaurant in India and taught me to cook. I was very close to him. And my father started out selling food as a street vendor."
Her husband confirmed her passion for cooking and hosting, saying she tends to spend more time in the kitchen when hosting parties at home than socializing.
For more information, visit www.rasaus.com or phone 484-800-8109.
About Rich Schwartzman
Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.
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