In conversation with Zareen, the creator and namesake of the beloved Peninsula Pakistani-Indian mini-chain
For many Peninsula residents, Zareen’s is one of the first restaurants that come to mind when craving Pakistani or Indian cuisine. Established in Mountain View in 2014, it has grown to three locations and is known for its affordable and quality food. In 2020, Michelin listed it as a Top 100 restaurant in the Bay Area.
So it might come as a surprise that Zareen Khan initially wasn’t interested in cooking growing up.
The Six Fifty editor Julia Brown interviewed Zareen and her husband Umair about their journey with Zareen’s restaurants and their new cookbook, which shares accessible South Asian recipes using ingredients that are easier to find in America. Included are recipes for her signature dishes from Zareen’s, like Memoni samosas, chicken tikka masala, Desi-Paleo Salad and masala fries.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
Recreate Zareen’s chicken tikka masala and more signature dishes with the new cookbook ‘Zareen’s Pakistani Kitchen: Recipes from a Well-Fed Childhood’
Zareen and Umair Khan discuss the book’s theme of women’s empowerment, its most nostalgic recipes and making Pakistani food accessible for everyone.
A new cafe from the team behind Mazra, a cookbook from the ‘Dad’ of Dad’s Luncheonette and options for kids curious about cooking
- The James Beard-nominated brothers behind Mazra discuss plans for their soon-to-open Levantine cafe in San Bruno.
- Local cooking camps and classes aim to give kids confidence in the kitchen.
- Chef Scott Clark of Dad’s Luncheonette in Half Moon Bay has published a new cookbook, “Coastal.”
- Members of the San Jose Barracuda hockey team will be serving guests at Telefèric Barcelona in Los Gatos from 2-4 p.m. Thursday. The event will include a raffle for Barracuda merch and a special lunchtime cocktail.
- Redwood City’s Fireside Books and More will host a pop-up from craft chai purveyor The Chai Lab on Saturday.
- After 15 years in business, The Office Bar & Grill in San Carlos closed its doors March 9 “due to rising costs and shifting business dynamics,” according to a recent Instagram post.
- Silicon Valley fast-food workers are facing parental rights violations.
- Federal funding has been frozen for a Mountain View food pantry program.
All-you-can-eat dining at Rajbhong Thali
All you can eat for only $22 sounds too good to be true in Silicon Valley. But at Rajbhong Thali in Sunnyvale, it’s real and there’s no catch – unless you count eating vegetarian as the catch.
This all-vegetarian restaurant has been open since December, and it offers different menus depending on the day of the week. Each menu comes with a welcome drink, multiple starters, dal, kadhi, a variety of vegetable dishes, rice, raita, salad, papad, roti and multiple desserts – and the refills are limited only by the room in your stomach.
On the night I went, Rajbhong Thali was serving Punjabi thali, with a welcome drink of chaas (spiced yogurt drink), starter of gobi manchurian (deep-fried cauliflower) and paneer pakora (deep-fried paneer), dal fry (a lentil dish), kadhi pakora (onion-yogurt dish), tawa fry sabzi (fried vegetables), chana masala (chickpea curry), paneer tikki masala, sarson ka saag with makki ki roti (stewed mustard greens with cornmeal roti), raita and salad. Unlimited starches included jeera rice, kathal biryani, papad (cracker-like bread), fresh tawa phulka (a type of roti) and bhatura (fluffy deep-fried bread).
For dessert, there was gajar ka halwa (carrot pudding) and my absolute favorite (I had way too many refills of it), the jalebi with rabdi, a crispy sugar-soaked dessert sitting in a bath of a spiced condensed milk-based dessert.
The service is extremely quick, with waiters coming by every few minutes to refill your plates and dole out more bread. I wasn’t even able to deplete one dish before another waiter would come by asking if I wanted more. I enjoyed this style of service more than a buffet, as I didn’t have to keep getting up to refill my plate or stand in line.
Rajbhong Thali, 1028 E. El Camino Real, Sunnyvale; 408-854-5383, Instagram: @rajbhongthali.sunnyvale. Open Wednesday to Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5:30-9:30 p.m.
Ed Correa’s adapted menu reflects his culinary journey.
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