The Loaded Rice and Shine comes with basmati rice, your selection of hen, sauce, and desi kimchi.
Kahani Social Group is understood for the fine-dining Indian delicacies that’s impressed diners of Amrina for the reason that restaurant opened in The Woodlands in 2022. Three years later, the workforce has formally made its fast-casual debut within the interior loop.
The group started welcoming Houstonians to its Midtown fried hen spot Pok Pok Po late final yr, and opened Bōl proper subsequent door in January. Chef Jassi Bindra, the mastermind behind the menus, says all of the Houston ideas have been born out of his love for marrying conventional and trendy cooking.
“After we [started] Kahani Social Group, we didn’t wish to do a fine-dining restaurant solely, we needed to do one thing for everybody,” says Bindra, who coleads the corporate with Surpreet and Preet Paul Singh. “So, we now have a fine-dining set-up, now we now have an informal set-up. And, possibly sooner or later, what we open [will be] one thing completely different.”
Surpreet Singh, chef Jassi Bindra, and Preet Paul Singh, are behind the Kahani Social Group.
Bindra started his culinary journey in India on the ripe age of 19. After spending a couple of decade studying the standard recipes of his tradition’s delicacies, he moved to San Francisco, the place he helped open a restaurant as head chef. He later opened his personal restaurant in Washington, DC, Punjab Grill, which acquired a Michelin star.
He arrived in Houston in 2022 to open Amrina, with the intention of luring extra individuals to the suburbs. It’s one in all many latest restaurant openings to have added some pleasure to the eating scene on the outskirts of city, together with Stomach of the Beast in Spring and Xalisko, additionally in The Woodlands. Amrina showcases dishes reminiscent of rara lamb chops, matar paneer, and tandoori stuffed quail, all of that are a mirrored image of Bindra’s childhood that incorporate trendy touches.
At one level, Amrina started experimenting with a Sunday brunch menu, which included a hen and waffles dish. Bindra says the Southern staple’s reputation among the many weekend crowd prompted the choice to debut the primary fast-casual restaurant, Pok Pok Po.
Pok Pok Po and Bol’s buildings are interconnected.
The Kahani workforce then targeted on selecting a location. Bindra says a variety of Amrina’s clientele comes from different locations exterior The Woodlands, just like the interior loop or different suburbs like Katy and Sugar Land. The group needed an area for followers to have simpler entry to the flavors they’ve come to like at Amrina. The group settled on the previous house of French restaurant Artisans in Midtown, a big house that allowed them to arrange two interconnected ideas.
“[We thought] after they [have] supported us a lot, then why can’t we come to them and provides them one thing else?” Bindra says. “So, after they can’t drive again to Amrina, not less than they’ll have our different ideas.”
When the workforce fleshed out Pok Pok Po’s menu, they took into consideration the variety of fried hen locations Houston already has—particularly following the scorching hen craze. They knew the idea needed to be distinctive, so quite than following any kind of spice development, they opted for high quality and taste. Pok Pok Po makes use of cage-free hen (with no hormones or antibiotics) that’s coated with rice flour and cornstarch batter, then seasoned with Indian Kashmiri crimson chile powder, together with a mix of different herbs and spices.
The restaurant provides a hen sandwich made with a pressure-cooked boneless hen thigh topped with a candy and nutty “scrumptious” sauce, in addition to fried hen strips and hen bites. You may also add strips or bites to the Loaded Rice and Shine (with basmati rice) and the Loaded Stylish fries (with Sidewinders fries).
You’ll be able to select from a wide range of elements at Bol to create the right meal for your self.
The identical consideration to taste can be given to its sides. Pok Pok Po’s Balle Balle fries—which get their identify from a sort of northern Indian dance—are sprinkled in its home spice mix, and the desi kimchi provides a sweet-and-spicy seasoning to napa cabbage, crimson peppers, and cucumbers.
“Ultimately, we care about our elements [with] whichever idea we open,” he says.
The thought for Bol got here from Bindra’s recollections of India, the place he says they love to combine and match completely different elements. He and his enterprise companions needed to supply greater than the everyday choices at different build-your-own spots, so that they set out to usher in homestyle, more healthy elements.
Bol’s menu additionally merges completely different world flavors in a extra approachable format. Diners select between a bowl, wrap, or salad, with a selection of brown, basmati, or masala rice. Protein choices embody hen, lamb keema, beef, and paneer. For vegans or vegetarians, Bol provides tawa veggies and cumin potatoes. End it off with toppings reminiscent of Jassi’s hummus, pickled onion, spiced avocado, Bol scorching sauce, and Bol masala yogurt.
“With a minimal of elements, [it’s] not overpowering,” Bindra says. “You’ll be able to eat it and never really feel heavy.”
Though the brand new ideas are fast-casual, the group’s intention is to have every function an area the place individuals can sit down with their associates and benefit from the atmosphere, quite than be simply one other to-go possibility. Mixed, Pok Pok Po and Bol have a complete of 79 seats.
Ultimately, although, it’s all in regards to the cooking. Bindra says a chunk of fried hen and a chunk of a connoisseur hen breast ought to style nice whatever the restaurant’s mannequin.
“I instructed all my workers: Even if you’re fast-casual, the look after the elements and the cooking strategies mustn’t change,” Bindra says.
