August 26, 2025 • 29 mins
Step into the aromatic world of authentic Indian cuisine on Tasting Arcadia with Karen Mac Nair as she sits down with the Santokh Singh and Harsimran Singh Khinda, father and son, owners of All India Cafe in Downtown Arcadia. Their culinary journey spans continents and generations, starting from farmlands in Punjab, India to establishing three successful restaurant locations across California. They also share what they are bringing to Taste of Arcadia!
For more information and tickets to the Taste of Arcadia visit TasteOfArcadia.com.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
John Villa (00:04):
Welcome to Tasting Arcadia, the official podcast of
Taste of Arcadia.
Taste of Arcadia is anall-inclusive event featuring
food and drinks from the SanGabriel Valley restaurants, all
for one price Sample food, wine,beer and spirits.
Check out our brand new cars,visit our business showcase
booths, smile at our photo boothand shake it on the dance floor
(00:24):
with me, john Villa from DanceSyndicate DJ Entertainment.
Taste of Arcadia is September13th at Santa Anita Park.
The fun goes from 2 to 6 pm,with special VIP entrance at 1
pm.
Don't forget this is a 21 andover event.
Get your tickets today attasteofarcadiacom.
Now let's hear it for our host,Karen Mac Nair.
Karen Mac Nair (00:47):
Thanks, john, for a great introduction to
another Tasting Arcadia episode.
I'm Karen Mac Nair, the CEO atthe Arcadia Chamber of Commerce,
coming to you as we introduceanother great business in
Arcadia.
This is one of our newestrestaurants here in Arcadia I'm
excited to share.
They're located in downtownArcadia.
(01:08):
It's the All India Cafe.
I have the owners in front ofme right now and I'd like them
to introduce themselves.
Gentlemen, so excited to haveyou.
Santokh Singh Khinda (01:18):
Hi, this is Santokh Singh Khinda , the
owner, co-founder of All IndiaCafe.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (01:25):
Hi, my name is , the owner, co-founder
of All India Cafe.
Hi, my name is Harsimran SinghKinda.
I'm actually the son.
I don't have a role, but Iwould say everyone in our family
is always in charge of, ortaking the responsibilities of,
running the business together asa family.
Karen Mac Nair (01:37):
I did get to visit your restaurant already
one time and I do notice thatthat it is a family affair
Definitely everyone in together.
You had said it today.
Like no one has roles, we areall in this to help this
business move forward, so thatwas great to see.
Why don't you tell us a littlebit about your business?
Santokh Singh Khinda (01:53):
the all india cafe.
We started in 1996 in old town,pasadena.
Okay, so then the secondlocation we opened in Santa
Monica in 1999.
Then the third location Iopened in Santa Barbara.
That was, I think, 2006.
Oh wow, I forgot the date, butthen we started in 2017.
(02:18):
2017, in Glendale downtown, andthis is the third one we
started recently.
In May 23rd, started the firstday of all India cafe here in
Arcadia, and I love thislocation oh, thank you.
Karen Mac Nair (02:32):
We're so never heard.
We're so glad to have you inArcadia.
So it sounds like you.
This isn't the first timeyou've started a business.
You sound kind of like anexpert.
It has been so many locationsyou've opened and started.
He's an expert.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (02:44):
He has.
Santokh Singh Khinda (02:46):
I do all my life these things.
I grew up in a farm in IndiaOkay.
And I know how to grow all thecrops.
I know all the vegetables, allgrain, what's good, what's bad,
the seasoning, everything.
Then I went to Germany, Istarted cooking Italian thing.
Then I went to Germany, Istarted
(03:08):
Italian cooking and I love thatcooking.
Then I moved in 1985 here inLos Angeles.
So I started my career inIndian food and I apply all my
experience from all differentcuisine to one cuisine to give
(03:29):
the best shot.
But it works wonderful becauseall my recipe, the beauty of
this restaurant we make like ahome style.
Karen Mac Nair (03:38):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (03:38):
All natural ingredients, nothing
artificial coloring or flavoring.
So you see, my food is verynatural and no food coloring, no
, any artificial flavors, soit's one of the best for the
health, mm-hmm.
And the taste.
We have all different kind foodmeat like a lamb, fish, shrimp,
(04:02):
chicken, all differentvegetables.
We have a lot of vegan dishestoo.
Karen Mac Nair (04:06):
Okay love that Because.
Santokh Singh Khinda (04:07):
Indian popular is very much.
Almost 70% of people arevegetarian.
Karen Mac Nair (04:13):
Okay, yes, that's good to know.
It's good options too forvegetarians locally.
Santokh Singh Khinda (04:16):
We have a lot of options and we have all
different cuisine and onecuisine.
India is a big country thenorth, south, west, east.
We have all different cultures.
One cuisine India is a bigcountry North, south, west, east
.
We have all different cultures,different cuisines.
So I bring the food fromdifferent cultures, the best
dishes.
That's why we name it All IndiaCafe.
Karen Mac Nair (04:36):
That's what I was going to say.
We talked about.
The inspiration of the name isbecause of the cultures and the
different people all in India.
That it's definitely bringingall the food to us here is so
great.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (04:47):
Correct.
India has 1.5 billion people.
Before China was considered themost biggest population.
Now India is.
Now how many cuisines?
There's?
Over hundreds of languages inIndia, Wow, and I believe only
23 are considered nationallanguages, which is different.
National newspapers they haveas well too.
Now we try to focus on as manyregions as we can.
That's why we have such a verybig, broad menu, but what we
(05:10):
keep is all the best-sellingitems, based on what the current
demand we have from ourcustomers, what they're asking,
what they're requesting.
For example, the new streetfood item.
That's where it came out,because there's such a huge
demand for pani puri In hishometown.
It's actually called Gol Gappe.
It was never called Paani Puri,it was actually called Gol
Gappe.
Santokh Singh Khinda (05:23):
Paani Puri is more like a Bombay side.
Karen Mac Nair (05:26):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (05:27):
Not Punjab style.
Where I grew up.
In my culture they call GolGappe.
Gol means round the Gappe isthe ball thing, so they start
with the water.
Karen Mac Nair (05:35):
I'm very excited we're going to get to taste At
the end of the episodes we'regoing to get to.
I don't feel like we've coveredthis.
Where is your exact location?
We know you're in downtownArcadia, but so we're on 48 East
Huntington Drive.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (05:48):
It's right next to Chase Bank.
If you all know where theDenny's Windmill is, we're right
across about a few doors downtowards Chase Bank.
Karen Mac Nair (05:56):
Great, and what hours are you open?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (05:58):
So we're open Monday to Sunday, so seven
days a week.
We open at 11 30 in the morning.
We do close from three to five,um, and we close at 10 during
weekdays, 11 on weekends andSundays, because it's God's day,
so we open at four.
Okay, we all want to go totemple, so it was something that
our mom requested us.
She's like you can always dobusiness, but you can never skip
out on God yeah, you know sobecause we were such a very
(06:20):
we're a tight family and tightfamilies build on relationships,
on fundamentals yes, and that'swhere we got them from.
So we're like we can't forgetwhere we're so grateful where we
came from the farmlands toowning business in the united
states.
You know that's a bigaccomplishment someone from
who's an immigrant family yes sowe want to make sure we stay in
touch with our roots, ourculture, our food, but still
remember this is a the americandream of having our own business
(06:43):
and opening up one.
Karen Mac Nair (06:45):
You guys.
We're so excited to have you inthe community.
Your restaurant is beautifultoo.
When you walk inside beautifulmurals on the walls.
If you haven't gone by yet, youneed to go by and definitely
visit.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (06:55):
And the mural has a little secret story
behind it oh share that.
A lot of people don't knowabout what the real meaning
behind the mural People seepeacocks.
Karen Mac Nair (07:04):
Think of the city of Arcadia.
I agree, we're terrible at that.
We assume it's Arcadia, it'sfine.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (07:07):
But people who live in Arcadia will
soon to know, and I'm going toreveal the secret to you all.
So the lady you see in thebeautiful lady, it's one of our.
It was just one of myimaginations.
What I think.
That's beautiful and the wayshe grew has a traditional
attire.
Hence the food is verytraditional.
It means you'll be getting verytraditional-style food
Cocktails.
We grew up in California.
We're known for our cocktailshere.
(07:27):
Sunglasses, it's LA, you know.
That's Hollywood right there,you know.
And then the peacocks isbecause they're actually Indian
peacocks.
Oh, yes, a lot of people don'tknow where these peacocks came
from.
Actually, lucky Baldwin, whoowned Arcadia, one of the most
beautiful pet and star, breedthem, you know he brought I'm
not sure if it was seven or ten,that's always been a guess,
(07:48):
that's been going on.
But from what I heard wasgrowing up as a kid in arcadia
for a few years, I heard it was10 peacocks he brought from
india and they're actually fromhis hometown, punjab.
Santokh Singh Khinda (07:56):
The state of punjab.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (07:57):
So they're indian peacocks, hence
indian restaurant, indianpeacocks.
It made a complete sense tobring something that's the city
of Peacocks into an Indianrestaurant.
You know, because they're bothare together, it was a great way
to combine the city as a onewhole.
Karen Mac Nair (08:09):
I love that.
It definitely when you walk in,you enjoy the beauty.
And now it's great to know Imean, I love that that is a bird
that comes from your hometown.
That just seems like it's aseal of approval.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (08:18):
You should be here, correct, and I
felt like the city was missingsomething.
It was missing.
Why can't we have a nice,beautiful Indian restaurant?
John Villa (08:26):
in.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (08:26):
Arcadia.
Arcadia is a beautiful city,one of the best cities to live
in.
The schools are fantastic here.
I grew up in Arcadia for alittle bit and Temple City, but
around this neighborhood thiswas one of the best cities to
all live in.
Temple City, arcadia, monrovia,these are all great cities and
I felt like I was telling my dad, let's go to Silver Lake and
he's like man, it's going to betoo far.
And then I was like wait, afterthe fires everyone was leaving
(08:46):
the city.
You know the Meridian was anevacuation center and all
businesses are scared, so itfelt like a way to bring a
beautiful food that ourcustomers drive hours.
We have customers that come allthe way from Orange County.
Karen Mac Nair (09:00):
They come once a month, oh, okay.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (09:01):
They have a specific timing of how
they want to do everything.
But they're like please, wehave people from Arizona, people
from England that stop in LA totry our food, so like, why
don't we give back to our owncity that we kind of grew up in
you?
know, why can't we do somethinglike a little thing, make it
nice so no one has to go to LAfor a nice, fancy restaurant
where you get to spend so muchmoney?
Here you, the deals are great,the food is fantastic and the
(09:23):
ambiance is nice.
Yes, it's like checks off allthe boxes.
Karen Mac Nair (09:25):
It's true, and you get to stay local.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (09:27):
Correct.
Karen Mac Nair (09:28):
Which is wonderful.
You know I feel like alreadyyour stories and please feel
free to add to this, but thatthe inspiration is really your
dad, family recipes, differentthings you love.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (09:40):
So these are all his mom's recipes, okay
, but some of them, of course,from his journey from Germany to
the United States.
He actually was a head chef ofBombay Cafe.
If you know Bombay Cafe, it wasone of the best Indian
restaurants back in the day, buthe was a head chef.
Santokh Singh Khinda (09:53):
Oh nice, I started that one with them
Really 1989.
Karen Mac Nair (09:58):
Wow.
Santokh Singh Khinda (09:59):
Yeah, I worked there seven, seven and a
half years before I started myPasadena one.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (10:04):
Wow, and he wanted to pursue his typical
American dream, you know.
And that's where All India Cafewas born back in 96, you know.
And then, right before that, heactually opened up a Italian
restaurant back in the day,hence why it's similar cuisine.
But unfortunately we justdidn't get the lease.
The leasing, we got pushed overand there was a beautiful brick
wall in Pasadena that kind ofreminded me of his hometown.
He was like man, why don't wegive Indian a chance?
(10:26):
Don't we give indian a chanceback then?
in 96, there was not a singleindian restaurant, especially in
pasadena, right, you know, andthat was like let's do something
so people can share my culture,what she was saying.
So to the people and then, everthen, since then la times,
pasadena star news, pasadenaweekly zagat, which is actually
infatuation.
Now, oh they wrote about it.
Karen Mac Nair (10:44):
Yeah, zagat got bought up by infatuation okay,
well, I did see a couple of yourarticles which wonderful
pictures, by the way, beautifulshot of smiling faces but it is
impressive how, when you justrepresent who you are and who
your family is and what yourculture is, how it's a shining
star.
It's definitely standing outabove the rest.
So we're proud that you're here.
(11:05):
Thank you, it's so exciting.
We're proud that you're here,thank you.
It's so exciting.
Speaking of being proud, whatis something about your business
that you feel really proud ofthat you want people to know?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (11:15):
We are a family business, you know, even
if, like let me give you anexample there's actually a
couple of employees in Pasadena.
They're like family.
It's so hard to say you havepeople that have been working
for you for 20 years yeah, yeah,20 years a long time yeah 20,
22, 23 years, my most of the mystaff.
Santokh Singh Khinda (11:38):
I start straight from the beginning.
Dishwasher to the chef yeah,that is I don't have the chefs
or I don't hide the trainedpeople yeah it's very hard to
make them modify.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (11:50):
One of them is actually a nurse.
Really, she went to go practice.
Santokh Singh Khinda (11:54):
She came with me when she came from Nepal
.
She started the job with me.
During the job she got thetraining.
She's a nurse but she never goto job.
She said no, I love betterworking with you instead of
going to the nursing job.
Her husband he I love betterworking with you instead of
doing the nursing job.
Her husband he go with thehotel.
A couple years.
Then he came back.
He worked with me two, threeyears.
(12:16):
Then he got the license for alicense for truck.
He go for the big truck18-wheeler.
Then he came back again.
So my people don't leaveBecause we treat them like
family.
Karen Mac Nair (12:28):
Yes, well, when you're part of the family, it
makes you not want to leave Likeyou want to stay together.
Santokh Singh Khinda (12:34):
I know how hard to working in the
restaurant.
So I treat them as they alwayssay I'm implied.
You say no, we share thisbusiness.
We all working, I work, youwork.
So the only difference you takeyour portion earlier, I take
the last.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (12:53):
That's awesome.
Yeah, and they take pride in thefood too, which shows that
people like they care about thefood.
Like, for example, we rememberour employees' birthdays.
You know that's been now a newcorporate thing to take care of
employees' birthdays.
He's been doing it since 96.
Like that wasn't back then.
There was no such thing asabout like HR was really caring
about these certain things.
But he, when you work forsomeone, you really then and you
(13:14):
become a boss later on.
Then you realize, hey, workingfor someone is very hard.
You should be very appreciativewhat they're going through.
Karen Mac Nair (13:22):
Right.
So on that note, what is yourfavorite dish that you serve at
the restaurant, so we all knowwhat we can come in and order,
or have you heard this questionjust a million times?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (13:35):
so that's why I was, I had a little
giggle.
I mean him, and I always talkabout this every time, you know,
like, hey, man, what do we do?
We talk about home, like afterbusiness, like what's our
favorite dish, and he's like man, it's hard to say because
everything is so great.
You know, all my favorites, youknow.
Santokh Singh Khinda (13:50):
And depend on what you're craving that day
.
Karen Mac Nair (13:52):
Right, that is true, that is true.
Santokh Singh Khinda (13:54):
What do you fear?
What can I order?
I don't know what you feel likehaving it.
So I give you all the choices.
You tell me what you like,craving more, so then I can tell
you the dish.
It's very hard, we the dish,it's very hard.
We have a basic approach myfood, any dish you touch, you
cannot go wrong.
So I said close your eyes, pick.
Whichever you go, you will behappy.
Karen Mac Nair (14:16):
So that's the new way Close your eyes and just
pick.
Santokh Singh Khinda (14:19):
So don't pay.
John Villa (14:21):
Are you?
Santokh Singh Khinda (14:21):
sure, absolutely Don't pay if you
don't like it.
You should be fully, 100%satisfied with your buying it
yeah, always.
Karen Mac Nair (14:28):
I said you should be fully, 100% satisfied
with your buying it.
Yeah, always, that's so sweet.
Then I opened it.
Santokh Singh Khinda (14:31):
Is that enough?
I said come in.
If you don't like it, don't pay.
Are you sure?
Absolutely.
Then they said what do we think?
I said no, I have to pay it.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (14:40):
I remember when I joined the
family business back in andthere was a couple people
walking in the alley towardsmills alley, and then they're
like asking me because he wasloading some stuff out of the
truck.
And then they're like, hey,what's a good spot?
He's like let me tell you oneplace.
My son, my son, will tell youabout everything, right.
And he's like you don't like it, you don't pay.
And I'm like, dad, you reallysaid that.
And he was like trust me, thefood is.
It speaks for itself, right,you know?
(15:02):
And then there's a basic stepprocess.
I know that's one process thathe'd been doing for so long.
And then something new I cameup with was like hey, man, do
you like curry or do you likekebabs?
you know, or do you like?
Are you here for appetizers?
Or appetizers like doses, youknow, from tandoori wings to
sipri, some pani puri malai?
If you're here for, like the,the snacky food items, we have
those as well, too right.
And so we asked are youvegetarian, not vegetarian
vegetarian?
(15:22):
There's so many options.
Not vegetarian?
Okay, what type of meat do youlike?
Chicken, lamb, fish, shrimp?
Okay, I pick one of them Half asecond.
They say shrimp Okay.
Do you want a curry?
Or a kebab Curry?
Okay, what type of curry?
There's traditional, there's acreamy curry, there's also sag,
which is spinach.
There's a coconut curry, andthen, once you pick, you finally
(15:43):
come down to one.
They're like that's it, so thatjust pick and choose.
Karen Mac Nair (15:45):
Right, and that's so smart.
As you listed everything, Icould see like a checkbox in my
mind like, okay, we're going togo down the checkbox and it gets
narrower and narrower.
And then you're like this isthe perfect item for you.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (15:55):
Correct, because everyone has different
taste buds, like chicken, lamb,fish or shrimp.
No matter what you do, a personwho loves lamb is going.
You try to steer someone andyou just let them person just
guide themselves.
They always hit a home run yeahyeah, I have a lot of customers
.
Santokh Singh Khinda (16:12):
They come say, oh, my husband or my wife,
she never like indian food.
Trust me, bring her in, I makeher love it so then he or she
going to regret why he missingindian food so long.
Well, my food is very differentthan other Indian restaurants.
It's not an other Indianrestaurant, it's one of the
Indian restaurants.
So because it's my own recipes,the way we cook at home, so the
(16:39):
way I cook here, or every mycurry has a people are confused
with the curries Curry.
When I actually, when I came toAmerica the house I was living
Spanish lady, the owner of thehouse she came to me I want some
curry powder.
What's the curry powder?
So then my colleagues, theywere working all the rest and
then they came home I saidwhat's the curry powder?
(16:59):
I never heard of that.
Then we find out the Britishwhen they leave from India.
Much of the spice together, theyname it curry powder.
Oh so curry is not an Indianspice.
People are confused with that,oh, okay.
Karen Mac Nair (17:14):
I didn't know that either.
Still to this day.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (17:16):
Yeah, I had no idea.
Well.
Santokh Singh Khinda (17:17):
I don't like curry.
What do you mean?
You don't like curry?
There's nothing.
The curry, the way we make thecurry, is the different
seasoning.
Karen Mac Nair (17:24):
Okay.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (17:24):
Yeah, so it's like a blend of spices
that's what they call it, soit's not just a spice in and of
itself.
Santokh Singh Khinda (17:29):
I get all my ingredients like a whole
grain Clove, cardamom, cinnamon,you name it.
I grind them myself.
I try to get already grinded.
The powder Doesn't taste likethat, having no aroma.
I don't know what they mix in,so I have to grind all my spices
myself here at the restaurant.
(17:50):
So it's a beauty.
Karen Mac Nair (17:52):
So, on that note , let's talk about the beautiful
food in front of you, and thenI'm going to do some tasting, oh
please.
So what are the dishes youbrought today?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (18:00):
So we got the saag paneer.
We got our signature also aswell.
Pani puri shah.
It's been going crazy aboutthis.
People have been lovingespecially.
Our food is fantastic, but thisis a classic street food item
that, like everyone knows, inIndia.
Karen Mac Nair (18:13):
Okay.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (18:13):
Even in the United States now and when
they're trying like, oh my God,this is even better than what
they had before, Because this iseverything the puri is made at
Fresh and House.
The pani puri juice I make itFresh and House for all three
locations.
And then we also have thechicken tikka masala, we have
the basmati rice and we have ourclassic garlic naan.
Karen Mac Nair (18:29):
Okay, Now Taste of Arcadia.
Let's get back to that for onesecond.
Any of these items you're goingto take to taste.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (18:34):
All of them.
Karen Mac Nair (18:36):
Round of applause.
So if you're watching us onYouTube, you can see these
beautiful items.
If you're listening both groups, we need to go to
tasteofarcadiacom to buy yourtickets.
You can go to the restaurantbeforehand you can always do
that but if you go to Taste,you're going to get tastings of
all of this.
Santokh Singh Khinda (18:54):
Okay, so my food.
You can feel the freshness.
I guarantee that.
Karen Mac Nair (18:59):
I do love that.
Okay, what should I try first?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:03):
Let's try the panipuri first.
So here I'm going to move itforward to you, okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (19:06):
Okay, you fell up with your own hand in
the ball, so grab the baby ball,the baby jug Baby jug yeah,
grab the ball as well.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:14):
Grab one of them in your left hand.
Karen Mac Nair (19:16):
I'm grabbing the ball with my left hand and we
have an adorable display for thecamera.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:20):
Correct.
Now put about halfway of thewater in there.
Okay, it's okay, put halfway.
And here's the tricky part.
Okay, put the whole ball inyour mouth.
Karen Mac Nair (19:31):
Oh my gosh, you guys are killing me, yeah, so we
call them any explosion ball.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:34):
So yeah, If you have a napkin, grab it.
Karen Mac Nair (19:36):
Okay, got a napkin.
Harsimran Singh Khind (19:37):
Excellent , now put the whole ball there
you go, there you go.
That's what we call panipurishots.
Karen Mac Nair (19:41):
I got a lot going on right now.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:46):
Correct.
There's cilantro, there's mint,there's tamarindo, there's
serrano, there's lime juiceabout 15 different spices of
flavors blended in there.
Now, I bet not a lot of Indianrestaurants can name the first
five spices listed for you.
That's why we're so confidentin our food.
Santokh Singh Khinda (20:02):
It sounds cocky but like we're confident
it's speechless.
Karen Mac Nair (20:05):
It is speechless .
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:06):
It's mini explosion balls.
So now you did halfway, try afull loaded one.
Oh, I don't know if I can do itWell because now you know how
to control the water in yourmouth.
Karen Mac Nair (20:14):
Are you sure?
Because I don't think I didvery well.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:17):
That's why I said do half first,
because there's a lot going on.
John Villa (20:20):
It is.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:20):
A person who grew up in American culture
.
They never experienced water,potatoes, spices, spices.
Karen Mac Nair (20:25):
Okay, that was potatoes, I thought.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:28):
Yeah, so there's potatoes, onion
chickpea and the crisp ball.
That's to kind of control thewater.
It's all water.
You can't eat water, so we addtexture to it.
And then the little puff balls.
It's a way to garnish, to addsome texture to the water as
well.
Karen Mac Nair (20:40):
Is it green chilies?
So, serrano chilies.
Serrano chilies there'scilantro, there's many so many,
too many spices.
My mouth is still trying tofigure it out.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:56):
I'm telling you.
There's people that actuallycame inside and just literally
asked can I have a gallon of thepani puri juice like I've had
this couple times?
Karen Mac Nair (21:02):
yeah, what do you put it on?
Something or no, they're likethey take the they want to take
it home.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (21:07):
They're like weird, because people make
cocktails around too.
So that was a new thing.
I came out my other locations.
It's our pani puri cocktail.
I'm actually I call pani purimartini, so you can actually
blend tequila in it, becausecilantro, mint, tamarindo,
serrano, pepper, lime juice, allthose 15 different flavors and
spices, they all go well withtequila.
Like green apple, you get aspicy margarita.
They put jalapenos in them.
(21:28):
You know there's cilantro,there's always a mint, they
always have one of thesegarnishes.
So then for me I was like oh mygod, no brainer, why don't we
put tequila in that thing?
So some people make their owncocktails with them as well too
because, the juice is soflavorful they're like.
Karen Mac Nair (21:41):
That's why they want to store it so I realize
we're on a podcast and everyonecan't see me and I keep saying
look at my eyes, they're so bigignites all your senses at once
it does.
Let me try the others beforefull.
So this is a sack name in frontof you okay we also have a
garlic now.
I put it on the yeah, you can.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:02):
You can break the bed, break it.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:04):
India food is very easy, you do how you
want to okay a lot of people inthe.
They don't even use anyutensils they love with their
hands.
Karen Mac Nair (22:12):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:12):
But I like utensils, the different
cultures.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:16):
That was the Italian way.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:17):
His touch, you know no people do it in
India too, a lot of Indianpeople.
They never touch any utensils.
They all eat with their hand.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:24):
They actually use a banana leaf.
Karen Mac Nair (22:25):
Oh, a banana leaf.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:27):
Oh, so that's more like the Western
culture touch, because as you goyou have to adapt to certain
times as well.
Karen Mac Nair (22:32):
Right, I grew up with tortillas, so I feel like
it's similar oh yeah, correct,like dip in.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:36):
That's why our food blends with the
Mexican culture a lot as well.
Scoop Blend in scoop.
Karen Mac Nair (22:40):
Oh yeah, Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:50):
So I you can put on the rice, you can put
on the yogurt, you can putanything, you can put any sauce.
Indian food is very Spinach,spinach.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:53):
Spinach.
It's a spinach puree With some,of course, lots of onions,
garlic and chilies as well, andthen Indian paneer.
Okay.
Karen Mac Nair (22:59):
That's the like Fourth level.
Yeah, cause it.
I feel so bad Eating andtalking At the same time.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:06):
No, you have.
Karen Mac Nair (23:06):
But you taste the spinach and then it is the
garlic flavor, but like creamy.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (23:11):
But there's no cream.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:12):
There's no cream.
It's vegan.
I actually watch vegan.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (23:15):
before we add the paneer you know, the
naan you're eating is vegan too.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:18):
With the potato or by itself.
The saag is very, very famousin my culture.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (23:25):
dish Very good, especially the state
of Punjab where he's from.
Like it's a farming state.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:31):
You always want to have nice, healthy,
like the southern states and inPunjab you have to have a saag,
because we grow that and a lotof the mustard green.
Karen Mac Nair (23:41):
Do you put this on the white rice?
Oh, you're going to put it.
Is this white rice?
Yeah, it's white rice, bas,that's right basmati rice.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:46):
They call basmati the kind of rice we grow
in India.
Karen Mac Nair (23:49):
I was at your restaurant too, and you could
order brown rice, like therewere other options too.
Yeah, we had other options too.
It was nice.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:54):
And we put the different seasoning for
these rice, but all basicallythe basmati, the basmati, the
rice came from India.
Karen Mac Nair (24:02):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (24:03):
Yeah, they don't grow here.
Karen Mac Nair (24:04):
And now this how do I eat this?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:06):
So that's a classic chicken tikka
masala.
Santokh Singh Khinda (24:08):
You can do the same with the naan, or you
can do with the rice, or you cando by yourself.
Just the chicken.
Only so many options.
Yeah, too many options it is.
They don't want any Is thischicken, that's chicken.
They don't want any carb.
They can go by self A lot ofpeople.
They don't want carb, theydon't want anything.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:26):
I was a two-sport varsity athlete
growing up on Indian stuff, youknow and I was actually
completely vegetarian growing upBecause Indian food was
naturally very vegetarian beforethe British ruled India.
Karen Mac Nair (24:35):
So I took a spoon and I put a little white
rice on it and then I put thechicken on top.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:39):
Look at that Go big or go home right.
Karen Mac Nair (24:40):
Right, oh my gosh.
Okay, here we go.
It's going in.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:49):
Mmm, mmm , really good this has to be so
good so, yeah, people dip itwith the naan.
You can do the rice.
There's no such thing as aright or wrong way how to eat
Indian food.
Indian food is very easy.
Karen Mac Nair (25:00):
Thank you.
I appreciate that because Ithought I haven't had a lot of
exposure they put everythingtogether, they put the salad on
top, they mix together.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:08):
I love that, that's your way, that's
your food.
Karen Mac Nair (25:10):
I love that.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:12):
You never go wrong with Indian food.
Karen Mac Nair (25:14):
Now, I know, I thought that there might be
different standards.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:17):
No, there is something like a I'm still
chewing the chicken Like aFrench food no.
Karen Mac Nair (25:22):
Not like a French food.
Okay, the chicken is so tender,mm is so tender, very, very
tender.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:27):
The chicken we overnight marinate,
then we bake in an Indian clayoven.
They're called tandoor.
Okay, then we chop the chickenagain.
Oh, wow, make the sauce on side, the gravy, Then we add the
little cream there, a littleyogurt there and all different
spices like a fenugreek, allthese things.
Then we mix together again,spices like a fenugreek or these
(25:48):
things.
Then we mix together again.
They cook twice.
Karen Mac Nair (25:50):
Wow, you can definitely tell.
With the chicken, chickenmarinated, it really does melt
in your mouth.
Then you cook with the sauce.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:57):
It's so tender, very soft inside.
You have a flavor all the wayinside the chicken.
Wow, you have to nail all theprocesses.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (26:04):
You have to nail all the processes.
You have to nail the gravy thatwe make in-house.
Since he cooked Italian, a lotof restaurants will put tomato
paste, which is completely wrong.
Because, there's no flavor,it's only tomato.
We make our own tomato saffronsauce.
Santokh Singh Khinda (26:16):
I know why any sauce that he made, like a
tomato sauce or anything?
No, we make everything fromscratch.
This guy is your engineer.
I sent him and he working witha Pepsi.
He said no, I don't want towork with anybody.
He came back no, I have tostart my India restaurant.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (26:31):
Okay, Because I've worked in many
industries.
I've worked for defense.
I wanted to always serve mycountry.
That was the number one thingon my mind.
And then they were like we'rethe only son.
Come on, man.
Santokh Singh Khinda (26:43):
Like let's not do this.
Yeah, I want to sound likeyou're a dog.
Karen Mac Nair (26:45):
Thank you for that desire, though we greatly
appreciate it.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (26:48):
Yeah.
So that's when I was like, okay, why don't I just kind of help
the military out?
So I worked for defense.
Some things I'm not going to beable to disclose at all.
I really wanted to get intothat.
That was the coolest thing.
Karen Mac Nair (26:58):
That's a different podcast.
We'll talk about that later,correct?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (27:04):
And then Pepsi picked me up.
Pepsi, for two years, was incharge of Pacific Northwest site
, so I've done millions ofdollars changes to it because my
whole job was I wanted to makelives better that was my whole
thing.
I want to make food better.
And then when I walked in, likethis is a giant kitchen.
But then I was like why we'redoing all this processing stuff?
Like why can't we make itbetter?
And I told him, why don't wefocus on more healthier items?
(27:24):
Like dude, we've been doingthis for so long.
Like I know, I know you guysare big dogs, but a little dog
like me telling you like let'sgo on healthier items, and
they're like no.
And then the third thing, andI'm telling my dad like you know
, I always had a dream to becomelike my dad.
Karen Mac Nair (27:36):
Oh, I love that.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (27:38):
That was my dream.
And then I literally called himon Thursday.
I still remember this ThursdayI'm coming home.
And he was like sure, why don'tyou go on vacation?
And I was like, no, no, I'mcoming home permanently.
He's like what you serious?
And I'm like, yeah, I'm serious.
He's like why?
He's like dude.
(28:07):
I was age of 10 when I learnedto slap naan in the oven.
I'm telling you, no kid doesthat.
I had a little step stool.
I'll be slapping it backhand,righthand, any direction.
And then I was like man.
I always wanted to be like you.
I want to pursue that truedream.
And plus, you're getting little.
He's great and fit.
He doesn't like to admit it,but he's healthy, he's
everything.
But I feel like it's my job now.
(28:28):
He did all this thing for meover the years, as in getting me
to school, pay for my educationthe typical American dream.
Now I feel like it's my turn topay back him that let's push
your legacy forward.
I can make all this money forpeople in the world, but my true
dream was to serve peoplehappiness.
Karen Mac Nair (28:44):
Oh, I love that.
So, everyone listening, youhave to go taste a little bit of
happiness Correct At the AllIndian Cafe on Huntington in
downtown Arcadia.
Thank you, gentlemen, so muchfor being here.
I can't believe it went soquickly.
Santokh Singh Khinda (28:59):
Thank you very much for having us.
Karen Mac Nair (29:01):
Yes, we're so glad.
Make sure you get your ticketsfor Taste of Arcadia September
13th at the beautiful SantaAnita Park.
All these great tastings, greatrestaurants will be there.
Go to tasteofarcadiacom todayand thank you so much.
It's been wonderful.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (29:18):
No, thank you, guys for letting us
have you and coming us here.
Karen Mac Nair (29:20):
Okay, John, take us away.
John Villa (29:22):
Thank you, Karen, for another great episode.
You can hear us on YouTube,Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon
Music and iHeart Radio.
Don't forget, join us onSeptember 13th at Santa Anita
Park for Taste of Arcadia.
You can get your tickets now attasteofarcadiacom.
Thanks again for joining us forTasting Arcadia.
We'll see you at the Taste.
Welcome to Tasting Arcadia, the official podcast of
Taste of Arcadia.
Taste of Arcadia is anall-inclusive event featuring
food and drinks from the SanGabriel Valley restaurants, all
for one price Sample food, wine,beer and spirits.
Check out our brand new cars,visit our business showcase
booths, smile at our photo boothand shake it on the dance floor
(00:24):
with me, john Villa from DanceSyndicate DJ Entertainment.
Taste of Arcadia is September13th at Santa Anita Park.
The fun goes from 2 to 6 pm,with special VIP entrance at 1
pm.
Don't forget this is a 21 andover event.
Get your tickets today attasteofarcadiacom.
Now let's hear it for our host,Karen Mac Nair.
Karen Mac Nair (00:47):
Thanks, john, for a great introduction to
another Tasting Arcadia episode.
I'm Karen Mac Nair, the CEO atthe Arcadia Chamber of Commerce,
coming to you as we introduceanother great business in
Arcadia.
This is one of our newestrestaurants here in Arcadia I'm
excited to share.
They're located in downtownArcadia.
(01:08):
It's the All India Cafe.
I have the owners in front ofme right now and I'd like them
to introduce themselves.
Gentlemen, so excited to haveyou.
Santokh Singh Khinda (01:18):
Hi, this is Santokh Singh Khinda , the
owner, co-founder of All IndiaCafe.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (01:25):
Hi, my name is , the owner, co-founder
of All India Cafe.
Hi, my name is Harsimran SinghKinda.
I'm actually the son.
I don't have a role, but Iwould say everyone in our family
is always in charge of, ortaking the responsibilities of,
running the business together asa family.
Karen Mac Nair (01:37):
I did get to visit your restaurant already
one time and I do notice thatthat it is a family affair
Definitely everyone in together.
You had said it today.
Like no one has roles, we areall in this to help this
business move forward, so thatwas great to see.
Why don't you tell us a littlebit about your business?
Santokh Singh Khinda (01:53):
the all india cafe.
We started in 1996 in old town,pasadena.
Okay, so then the secondlocation we opened in Santa
Monica in 1999.
Then the third location Iopened in Santa Barbara.
That was, I think, 2006.
Oh wow, I forgot the date, butthen we started in 2017.
(02:18):
2017, in Glendale downtown, andthis is the third one we
started recently.
In May 23rd, started the firstday of all India cafe here in
Arcadia, and I love thislocation oh, thank you.
Karen Mac Nair (02:32):
We're so never heard.
We're so glad to have you inArcadia.
So it sounds like you.
This isn't the first timeyou've started a business.
You sound kind of like anexpert.
It has been so many locationsyou've opened and started.
He's an expert.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (02:44):
He has.
Santokh Singh Khinda (02:46):
I do all my life these things.
I grew up in a farm in IndiaOkay.
And I know how to grow all thecrops.
I know all the vegetables, allgrain, what's good, what's bad,
the seasoning, everything.
Then I went to Germany, Istarted cooking Italian thing.
Then I went to Germany, Istarted
(03:08):
Italian cooking and I love thatcooking.
Then I moved in 1985 here inLos Angeles.
So I started my career inIndian food and I apply all my
experience from all differentcuisine to one cuisine to give
(03:29):
the best shot.
But it works wonderful becauseall my recipe, the beauty of
this restaurant we make like ahome style.
Karen Mac Nair (03:38):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (03:38):
All natural ingredients, nothing
artificial coloring or flavoring.
So you see, my food is verynatural and no food coloring, no
, any artificial flavors, soit's one of the best for the
health, mm-hmm.
And the taste.
We have all different kind foodmeat like a lamb, fish, shrimp,
(04:02):
chicken, all differentvegetables.
We have a lot of vegan dishestoo.
Karen Mac Nair (04:06):
Okay love that Because.
Santokh Singh Khinda (04:07):
Indian popular is very much.
Almost 70% of people arevegetarian.
Karen Mac Nair (04:13):
Okay, yes, that's good to know.
It's good options too forvegetarians locally.
Santokh Singh Khinda (04:16):
We have a lot of options and we have all
different cuisine and onecuisine.
India is a big country thenorth, south, west, east.
We have all different cultures.
One cuisine India is a bigcountry North, south, west, east
.
We have all different cultures,different cuisines.
So I bring the food fromdifferent cultures, the best
dishes.
That's why we name it All IndiaCafe.
Karen Mac Nair (04:36):
That's what I was going to say.
We talked about.
The inspiration of the name isbecause of the cultures and the
different people all in India.
That it's definitely bringingall the food to us here is so
great.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (04:47):
Correct.
India has 1.5 billion people.
Before China was considered themost biggest population.
Now India is.
Now how many cuisines?
There's?
Over hundreds of languages inIndia, Wow, and I believe only
23 are considered nationallanguages, which is different.
National newspapers they haveas well too.
Now we try to focus on as manyregions as we can.
That's why we have such a verybig, broad menu, but what we
(05:10):
keep is all the best-sellingitems, based on what the current
demand we have from ourcustomers, what they're asking,
what they're requesting.
For example, the new streetfood item.
That's where it came out,because there's such a huge
demand for pani puri In hishometown.
It's actually called Gol Gappe.
It was never called Paani Puri,it was actually called Gol
Gappe.
Santokh Singh Khinda (05:23):
Paani Puri is more like a Bombay side.
Karen Mac Nair (05:26):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (05:27):
Not Punjab style.
Where I grew up.
In my culture they call GolGappe.
Gol means round the Gappe isthe ball thing, so they start
with the water.
Karen Mac Nair (05:35):
I'm very excited we're going to get to taste At
the end of the episodes we'regoing to get to.
I don't feel like we've coveredthis.
Where is your exact location?
We know you're in downtownArcadia, but so we're on 48 East
Huntington Drive.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (05:48):
It's right next to Chase Bank.
If you all know where theDenny's Windmill is, we're right
across about a few doors downtowards Chase Bank.
Karen Mac Nair (05:56):
Great, and what hours are you open?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (05:58):
So we're open Monday to Sunday, so seven
days a week.
We open at 11 30 in the morning.
We do close from three to five,um, and we close at 10 during
weekdays, 11 on weekends andSundays, because it's God's day,
so we open at four.
Okay, we all want to go totemple, so it was something that
our mom requested us.
She's like you can always dobusiness, but you can never skip
out on God yeah, you know sobecause we were such a very
(06:20):
we're a tight family and tightfamilies build on relationships,
on fundamentals yes, and that'swhere we got them from.
So we're like we can't forgetwhere we're so grateful where we
came from the farmlands toowning business in the united
states.
You know that's a bigaccomplishment someone from
who's an immigrant family yes sowe want to make sure we stay in
touch with our roots, ourculture, our food, but still
remember this is a the americandream of having our own business
(06:43):
and opening up one.
Karen Mac Nair (06:45):
You guys.
We're so excited to have you inthe community.
Your restaurant is beautifultoo.
When you walk inside beautifulmurals on the walls.
If you haven't gone by yet, youneed to go by and definitely
visit.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (06:55):
And the mural has a little secret story
behind it oh share that.
A lot of people don't knowabout what the real meaning
behind the mural People seepeacocks.
Karen Mac Nair (07:04):
Think of the city of Arcadia.
I agree, we're terrible at that.
We assume it's Arcadia, it'sfine.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (07:07):
But people who live in Arcadia will
soon to know, and I'm going toreveal the secret to you all.
So the lady you see in thebeautiful lady, it's one of our.
It was just one of myimaginations.
What I think.
That's beautiful and the wayshe grew has a traditional
attire.
Hence the food is verytraditional.
It means you'll be getting verytraditional-style food
Cocktails.
We grew up in California.
We're known for our cocktailshere.
(07:27):
Sunglasses, it's LA, you know.
That's Hollywood right there,you know.
And then the peacocks isbecause they're actually Indian
peacocks.
Oh, yes, a lot of people don'tknow where these peacocks came
from.
Actually, lucky Baldwin, whoowned Arcadia, one of the most
beautiful pet and star, breedthem, you know he brought I'm
not sure if it was seven or ten,that's always been a guess,
(07:48):
that's been going on.
But from what I heard wasgrowing up as a kid in arcadia
for a few years, I heard it was10 peacocks he brought from
india and they're actually fromhis hometown, punjab.
Santokh Singh Khinda (07:56):
The state of punjab.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (07:57):
So they're indian peacocks, hence
indian restaurant, indianpeacocks.
It made a complete sense tobring something that's the city
of Peacocks into an Indianrestaurant.
You know, because they're bothare together, it was a great way
to combine the city as a onewhole.
Karen Mac Nair (08:09):
I love that.
It definitely when you walk in,you enjoy the beauty.
And now it's great to know Imean, I love that that is a bird
that comes from your hometown.
That just seems like it's aseal of approval.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (08:18):
You should be here, correct, and I
felt like the city was missingsomething.
It was missing.
Why can't we have a nice,beautiful Indian restaurant?
John Villa (08:26):
in.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (08:26):
Arcadia.
Arcadia is a beautiful city,one of the best cities to live
in.
The schools are fantastic here.
I grew up in Arcadia for alittle bit and Temple City, but
around this neighborhood thiswas one of the best cities to
all live in.
Temple City, arcadia, monrovia,these are all great cities and
I felt like I was telling my dad, let's go to Silver Lake and
he's like man, it's going to betoo far.
And then I was like wait, afterthe fires everyone was leaving
(08:46):
the city.
You know the Meridian was anevacuation center and all
businesses are scared, so itfelt like a way to bring a
beautiful food that ourcustomers drive hours.
We have customers that come allthe way from Orange County.
Karen Mac Nair (09:00):
They come once a month, oh, okay.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (09:01):
They have a specific timing of how
they want to do everything.
But they're like please, wehave people from Arizona, people
from England that stop in LA totry our food, so like, why
don't we give back to our owncity that we kind of grew up in
you?
know, why can't we do somethinglike a little thing, make it
nice so no one has to go to LAfor a nice, fancy restaurant
where you get to spend so muchmoney?
Here you, the deals are great,the food is fantastic and the
(09:23):
ambiance is nice.
Yes, it's like checks off allthe boxes.
Karen Mac Nair (09:25):
It's true, and you get to stay local.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (09:27):
Correct.
Karen Mac Nair (09:28):
Which is wonderful.
You know I feel like alreadyyour stories and please feel
free to add to this, but thatthe inspiration is really your
dad, family recipes, differentthings you love.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (09:40):
So these are all his mom's recipes, okay
, but some of them, of course,from his journey from Germany to
the United States.
He actually was a head chef ofBombay Cafe.
If you know Bombay Cafe, it wasone of the best Indian
restaurants back in the day, buthe was a head chef.
Santokh Singh Khinda (09:53):
Oh nice, I started that one with them
Really 1989.
Karen Mac Nair (09:58):
Wow.
Santokh Singh Khinda (09:59):
Yeah, I worked there seven, seven and a
half years before I started myPasadena one.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (10:04):
Wow, and he wanted to pursue his typical
American dream, you know.
And that's where All India Cafewas born back in 96, you know.
And then, right before that, heactually opened up a Italian
restaurant back in the day,hence why it's similar cuisine.
But unfortunately we justdidn't get the lease.
The leasing, we got pushed overand there was a beautiful brick
wall in Pasadena that kind ofreminded me of his hometown.
He was like man, why don't wegive Indian a chance?
(10:26):
Don't we give indian a chanceback then?
in 96, there was not a singleindian restaurant, especially in
pasadena, right, you know, andthat was like let's do something
so people can share my culture,what she was saying.
So to the people and then, everthen, since then la times,
pasadena star news, pasadenaweekly zagat, which is actually
infatuation.
Now, oh they wrote about it.
Karen Mac Nair (10:44):
Yeah, zagat got bought up by infatuation okay,
well, I did see a couple of yourarticles which wonderful
pictures, by the way, beautifulshot of smiling faces but it is
impressive how, when you justrepresent who you are and who
your family is and what yourculture is, how it's a shining
star.
It's definitely standing outabove the rest.
So we're proud that you're here.
(11:05):
Thank you, it's so exciting.
We're proud that you're here,thank you.
It's so exciting.
Speaking of being proud, whatis something about your business
that you feel really proud ofthat you want people to know?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (11:15):
We are a family business, you know, even
if, like let me give you anexample there's actually a
couple of employees in Pasadena.
They're like family.
It's so hard to say you havepeople that have been working
for you for 20 years yeah, yeah,20 years a long time yeah 20,
22, 23 years, my most of the mystaff.
Santokh Singh Khinda (11:38):
I start straight from the beginning.
Dishwasher to the chef yeah,that is I don't have the chefs
or I don't hide the trainedpeople yeah it's very hard to
make them modify.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (11:50):
One of them is actually a nurse.
Really, she went to go practice.
Santokh Singh Khinda (11:54):
She came with me when she came from Nepal
.
She started the job with me.
During the job she got thetraining.
She's a nurse but she never goto job.
She said no, I love betterworking with you instead of
going to the nursing job.
Her husband he I love betterworking with you instead of
doing the nursing job.
Her husband he go with thehotel.
A couple years.
Then he came back.
He worked with me two, threeyears.
(12:16):
Then he got the license for alicense for truck.
He go for the big truck18-wheeler.
Then he came back again.
So my people don't leaveBecause we treat them like
family.
Karen Mac Nair (12:28):
Yes, well, when you're part of the family, it
makes you not want to leave Likeyou want to stay together.
Santokh Singh Khinda (12:34):
I know how hard to working in the
restaurant.
So I treat them as they alwayssay I'm implied.
You say no, we share thisbusiness.
We all working, I work, youwork.
So the only difference you takeyour portion earlier, I take
the last.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (12:53):
That's awesome.
Yeah, and they take pride in thefood too, which shows that
people like they care about thefood.
Like, for example, we rememberour employees' birthdays.
You know that's been now a newcorporate thing to take care of
employees' birthdays.
He's been doing it since 96.
Like that wasn't back then.
There was no such thing asabout like HR was really caring
about these certain things.
But he, when you work forsomeone, you really then and you
(13:14):
become a boss later on.
Then you realize, hey, workingfor someone is very hard.
You should be very appreciativewhat they're going through.
Karen Mac Nair (13:22):
Right.
So on that note, what is yourfavorite dish that you serve at
the restaurant, so we all knowwhat we can come in and order,
or have you heard this questionjust a million times?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (13:35):
so that's why I was, I had a little
giggle.
I mean him, and I always talkabout this every time, you know,
like, hey, man, what do we do?
We talk about home, like afterbusiness, like what's our
favorite dish, and he's like man, it's hard to say because
everything is so great.
You know, all my favorites, youknow.
Santokh Singh Khinda (13:50):
And depend on what you're craving that day
.
Karen Mac Nair (13:52):
Right, that is true, that is true.
Santokh Singh Khinda (13:54):
What do you fear?
What can I order?
I don't know what you feel likehaving it.
So I give you all the choices.
You tell me what you like,craving more, so then I can tell
you the dish.
It's very hard, we the dish,it's very hard.
We have a basic approach myfood, any dish you touch, you
cannot go wrong.
So I said close your eyes, pick.
Whichever you go, you will behappy.
Karen Mac Nair (14:16):
So that's the new way Close your eyes and just
pick.
Santokh Singh Khinda (14:19):
So don't pay.
John Villa (14:21):
Are you?
Santokh Singh Khinda (14:21):
sure, absolutely Don't pay if you
don't like it.
You should be fully, 100%satisfied with your buying it
yeah, always.
Karen Mac Nair (14:28):
I said you should be fully, 100% satisfied
with your buying it.
Yeah, always, that's so sweet.
Then I opened it.
Santokh Singh Khinda (14:31):
Is that enough?
I said come in.
If you don't like it, don't pay.
Are you sure?
Absolutely.
Then they said what do we think?
I said no, I have to pay it.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (14:40):
I remember when I joined the
family business back in andthere was a couple people
walking in the alley towardsmills alley, and then they're
like asking me because he wasloading some stuff out of the
truck.
And then they're like, hey,what's a good spot?
He's like let me tell you oneplace.
My son, my son, will tell youabout everything, right.
And he's like you don't like it, you don't pay.
And I'm like, dad, you reallysaid that.
And he was like trust me, thefood is.
It speaks for itself, right,you know?
(15:02):
And then there's a basic stepprocess.
I know that's one process thathe'd been doing for so long.
And then something new I cameup with was like hey, man, do
you like curry or do you likekebabs?
you know, or do you like?
Are you here for appetizers?
Or appetizers like doses, youknow, from tandoori wings to
sipri, some pani puri malai?
If you're here for, like the,the snacky food items, we have
those as well, too right.
And so we asked are youvegetarian, not vegetarian
vegetarian?
(15:22):
There's so many options.
Not vegetarian?
Okay, what type of meat do youlike?
Chicken, lamb, fish, shrimp?
Okay, I pick one of them Half asecond.
They say shrimp Okay.
Do you want a curry?
Or a kebab Curry?
Okay, what type of curry?
There's traditional, there's acreamy curry, there's also sag,
which is spinach.
There's a coconut curry, andthen, once you pick, you finally
(15:43):
come down to one.
They're like that's it, so thatjust pick and choose.
Karen Mac Nair (15:45):
Right, and that's so smart.
As you listed everything, Icould see like a checkbox in my
mind like, okay, we're going togo down the checkbox and it gets
narrower and narrower.
And then you're like this isthe perfect item for you.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (15:55):
Correct, because everyone has different
taste buds, like chicken, lamb,fish or shrimp.
No matter what you do, a personwho loves lamb is going.
You try to steer someone andyou just let them person just
guide themselves.
They always hit a home run yeahyeah, I have a lot of customers
.
Santokh Singh Khinda (16:12):
They come say, oh, my husband or my wife,
she never like indian food.
Trust me, bring her in, I makeher love it so then he or she
going to regret why he missingindian food so long.
Well, my food is very differentthan other Indian restaurants.
It's not an other Indianrestaurant, it's one of the
Indian restaurants.
So because it's my own recipes,the way we cook at home, so the
(16:39):
way I cook here, or every mycurry has a people are confused
with the curries Curry.
When I actually, when I came toAmerica the house I was living
Spanish lady, the owner of thehouse she came to me I want some
curry powder.
What's the curry powder?
So then my colleagues, theywere working all the rest and
then they came home I saidwhat's the curry powder?
(16:59):
I never heard of that.
Then we find out the Britishwhen they leave from India.
Much of the spice together, theyname it curry powder.
Oh so curry is not an Indianspice.
People are confused with that,oh, okay.
Karen Mac Nair (17:14):
I didn't know that either.
Still to this day.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (17:16):
Yeah, I had no idea.
Well.
Santokh Singh Khinda (17:17):
I don't like curry.
What do you mean?
You don't like curry?
There's nothing.
The curry, the way we make thecurry, is the different
seasoning.
Karen Mac Nair (17:24):
Okay.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (17:24):
Yeah, so it's like a blend of spices
that's what they call it, soit's not just a spice in and of
itself.
Santokh Singh Khinda (17:29):
I get all my ingredients like a whole
grain Clove, cardamom, cinnamon,you name it.
I grind them myself.
I try to get already grinded.
The powder Doesn't taste likethat, having no aroma.
I don't know what they mix in,so I have to grind all my spices
myself here at the restaurant.
(17:50):
So it's a beauty.
Karen Mac Nair (17:52):
So, on that note , let's talk about the beautiful
food in front of you, and thenI'm going to do some tasting, oh
please.
So what are the dishes youbrought today?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (18:00):
So we got the saag paneer.
We got our signature also aswell.
Pani puri shah.
It's been going crazy aboutthis.
People have been lovingespecially.
Our food is fantastic, but thisis a classic street food item
that, like everyone knows, inIndia.
Karen Mac Nair (18:13):
Okay.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (18:13):
Even in the United States now and when
they're trying like, oh my God,this is even better than what
they had before, Because this iseverything the puri is made at
Fresh and House.
The pani puri juice I make itFresh and House for all three
locations.
And then we also have thechicken tikka masala, we have
the basmati rice and we have ourclassic garlic naan.
Karen Mac Nair (18:29):
Okay, Now Taste of Arcadia.
Let's get back to that for onesecond.
Any of these items you're goingto take to taste.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (18:34):
All of them.
Karen Mac Nair (18:36):
Round of applause.
So if you're watching us onYouTube, you can see these
beautiful items.
If you're listening both groups, we need to go to
tasteofarcadiacom to buy yourtickets.
You can go to the restaurantbeforehand you can always do
that but if you go to Taste,you're going to get tastings of
all of this.
Santokh Singh Khinda (18:54):
Okay, so my food.
You can feel the freshness.
I guarantee that.
Karen Mac Nair (18:59):
I do love that.
Okay, what should I try first?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:03):
Let's try the panipuri first.
So here I'm going to move itforward to you, okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (19:06):
Okay, you fell up with your own hand in
the ball, so grab the baby ball,the baby jug Baby jug yeah,
grab the ball as well.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:14):
Grab one of them in your left hand.
Karen Mac Nair (19:16):
I'm grabbing the ball with my left hand and we
have an adorable display for thecamera.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:20):
Correct.
Now put about halfway of thewater in there.
Okay, it's okay, put halfway.
And here's the tricky part.
Okay, put the whole ball inyour mouth.
Karen Mac Nair (19:31):
Oh my gosh, you guys are killing me, yeah, so we
call them any explosion ball.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:34):
So yeah, If you have a napkin, grab it.
Karen Mac Nair (19:36):
Okay, got a napkin.
Harsimran Singh Khind (19:37):
Excellent , now put the whole ball there
you go, there you go.
That's what we call panipurishots.
Karen Mac Nair (19:41):
I got a lot going on right now.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (19:46):
Correct.
There's cilantro, there's mint,there's tamarindo, there's
serrano, there's lime juiceabout 15 different spices of
flavors blended in there.
Now, I bet not a lot of Indianrestaurants can name the first
five spices listed for you.
That's why we're so confidentin our food.
Santokh Singh Khinda (20:02):
It sounds cocky but like we're confident
it's speechless.
Karen Mac Nair (20:05):
It is speechless .
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:06):
It's mini explosion balls.
So now you did halfway, try afull loaded one.
Oh, I don't know if I can do itWell because now you know how
to control the water in yourmouth.
Karen Mac Nair (20:14):
Are you sure?
Because I don't think I didvery well.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:17):
That's why I said do half first,
because there's a lot going on.
John Villa (20:20):
It is.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:20):
A person who grew up in American culture
.
They never experienced water,potatoes, spices, spices.
Karen Mac Nair (20:25):
Okay, that was potatoes, I thought.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:28):
Yeah, so there's potatoes, onion
chickpea and the crisp ball.
That's to kind of control thewater.
It's all water.
You can't eat water, so we addtexture to it.
And then the little puff balls.
It's a way to garnish, to addsome texture to the water as
well.
Karen Mac Nair (20:40):
Is it green chilies?
So, serrano chilies.
Serrano chilies there'scilantro, there's many so many,
too many spices.
My mouth is still trying tofigure it out.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (20:56):
I'm telling you.
There's people that actuallycame inside and just literally
asked can I have a gallon of thepani puri juice like I've had
this couple times?
Karen Mac Nair (21:02):
yeah, what do you put it on?
Something or no, they're likethey take the they want to take
it home.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (21:07):
They're like weird, because people make
cocktails around too.
So that was a new thing.
I came out my other locations.
It's our pani puri cocktail.
I'm actually I call pani purimartini, so you can actually
blend tequila in it, becausecilantro, mint, tamarindo,
serrano, pepper, lime juice, allthose 15 different flavors and
spices, they all go well withtequila.
Like green apple, you get aspicy margarita.
They put jalapenos in them.
(21:28):
You know there's cilantro,there's always a mint, they
always have one of thesegarnishes.
So then for me I was like oh mygod, no brainer, why don't we
put tequila in that thing?
So some people make their owncocktails with them as well too
because, the juice is soflavorful they're like.
Karen Mac Nair (21:41):
That's why they want to store it so I realize
we're on a podcast and everyonecan't see me and I keep saying
look at my eyes, they're so bigignites all your senses at once
it does.
Let me try the others beforefull.
So this is a sack name in frontof you okay we also have a
garlic now.
I put it on the yeah, you can.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:02):
You can break the bed, break it.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:04):
India food is very easy, you do how you
want to okay a lot of people inthe.
They don't even use anyutensils they love with their
hands.
Karen Mac Nair (22:12):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:12):
But I like utensils, the different
cultures.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:16):
That was the Italian way.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:17):
His touch, you know no people do it in
India too, a lot of Indianpeople.
They never touch any utensils.
They all eat with their hand.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:24):
They actually use a banana leaf.
Karen Mac Nair (22:25):
Oh, a banana leaf.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:27):
Oh, so that's more like the Western
culture touch, because as you goyou have to adapt to certain
times as well.
Karen Mac Nair (22:32):
Right, I grew up with tortillas, so I feel like
it's similar oh yeah, correct,like dip in.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:36):
That's why our food blends with the
Mexican culture a lot as well.
Scoop Blend in scoop.
Karen Mac Nair (22:40):
Oh yeah, Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (22:50):
So I you can put on the rice, you can put
on the yogurt, you can putanything, you can put any sauce.
Indian food is very Spinach,spinach.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (22:53):
Spinach.
It's a spinach puree With some,of course, lots of onions,
garlic and chilies as well, andthen Indian paneer.
Okay.
Karen Mac Nair (22:59):
That's the like Fourth level.
Yeah, cause it.
I feel so bad Eating andtalking At the same time.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:06):
No, you have.
Karen Mac Nair (23:06):
But you taste the spinach and then it is the
garlic flavor, but like creamy.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (23:11):
But there's no cream.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:12):
There's no cream.
It's vegan.
I actually watch vegan.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (23:15):
before we add the paneer you know, the
naan you're eating is vegan too.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:18):
With the potato or by itself.
The saag is very, very famousin my culture.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (23:25):
dish Very good, especially the state
of Punjab where he's from.
Like it's a farming state.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:31):
You always want to have nice, healthy,
like the southern states and inPunjab you have to have a saag,
because we grow that and a lotof the mustard green.
Karen Mac Nair (23:41):
Do you put this on the white rice?
Oh, you're going to put it.
Is this white rice?
Yeah, it's white rice, bas,that's right basmati rice.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:46):
They call basmati the kind of rice we grow
in India.
Karen Mac Nair (23:49):
I was at your restaurant too, and you could
order brown rice, like therewere other options too.
Yeah, we had other options too.
It was nice.
Santokh Singh Khinda (23:54):
And we put the different seasoning for
these rice, but all basicallythe basmati, the basmati, the
rice came from India.
Karen Mac Nair (24:02):
Okay.
Santokh Singh Khinda (24:03):
Yeah, they don't grow here.
Karen Mac Nair (24:04):
And now this how do I eat this?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:06):
So that's a classic chicken tikka
masala.
Santokh Singh Khinda (24:08):
You can do the same with the naan, or you
can do with the rice, or you cando by yourself.
Just the chicken.
Only so many options.
Yeah, too many options it is.
They don't want any Is thischicken, that's chicken.
They don't want any carb.
They can go by self A lot ofpeople.
They don't want carb, theydon't want anything.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:26):
I was a two-sport varsity athlete
growing up on Indian stuff, youknow and I was actually
completely vegetarian growing upBecause Indian food was
naturally very vegetarian beforethe British ruled India.
Karen Mac Nair (24:35):
So I took a spoon and I put a little white
rice on it and then I put thechicken on top.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:39):
Look at that Go big or go home right.
Karen Mac Nair (24:40):
Right, oh my gosh.
Okay, here we go.
It's going in.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (24:49):
Mmm, mmm , really good this has to be so
good so, yeah, people dip itwith the naan.
You can do the rice.
There's no such thing as aright or wrong way how to eat
Indian food.
Indian food is very easy.
Karen Mac Nair (25:00):
Thank you.
I appreciate that because Ithought I haven't had a lot of
exposure they put everythingtogether, they put the salad on
top, they mix together.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:08):
I love that, that's your way, that's
your food.
Karen Mac Nair (25:10):
I love that.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:12):
You never go wrong with Indian food.
Karen Mac Nair (25:14):
Now, I know, I thought that there might be
different standards.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:17):
No, there is something like a I'm still
chewing the chicken Like aFrench food no.
Karen Mac Nair (25:22):
Not like a French food.
Okay, the chicken is so tender,mm is so tender, very, very
tender.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:27):
The chicken we overnight marinate,
then we bake in an Indian clayoven.
They're called tandoor.
Okay, then we chop the chickenagain.
Oh, wow, make the sauce on side, the gravy, Then we add the
little cream there, a littleyogurt there and all different
spices like a fenugreek, allthese things.
Then we mix together again,spices like a fenugreek or these
(25:48):
things.
Then we mix together again.
They cook twice.
Karen Mac Nair (25:50):
Wow, you can definitely tell.
With the chicken, chickenmarinated, it really does melt
in your mouth.
Then you cook with the sauce.
Santokh Singh Khinda (25:57):
It's so tender, very soft inside.
You have a flavor all the wayinside the chicken.
Wow, you have to nail all theprocesses.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (26:04):
You have to nail all the processes.
You have to nail the gravy thatwe make in-house.
Since he cooked Italian, a lotof restaurants will put tomato
paste, which is completely wrong.
Because, there's no flavor,it's only tomato.
We make our own tomato saffronsauce.
Santokh Singh Khinda (26:16):
I know why any sauce that he made, like a
tomato sauce or anything?
No, we make everything fromscratch.
This guy is your engineer.
I sent him and he working witha Pepsi.
He said no, I don't want towork with anybody.
He came back no, I have tostart my India restaurant.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (26:31):
Okay, Because I've worked in many
industries.
I've worked for defense.
I wanted to always serve mycountry.
That was the number one thingon my mind.
And then they were like we'rethe only son.
Come on, man.
Santokh Singh Khinda (26:43):
Like let's not do this.
Yeah, I want to sound likeyou're a dog.
Karen Mac Nair (26:45):
Thank you for that desire, though we greatly
appreciate it.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (26:48):
Yeah.
So that's when I was like, okay, why don't I just kind of help
the military out?
So I worked for defense.
Some things I'm not going to beable to disclose at all.
I really wanted to get intothat.
That was the coolest thing.
Karen Mac Nair (26:58):
That's a different podcast.
We'll talk about that later,correct?
Harsimran Singh Khinda (27:04):
And then Pepsi picked me up.
Pepsi, for two years, was incharge of Pacific Northwest site
, so I've done millions ofdollars changes to it because my
whole job was I wanted to makelives better that was my whole
thing.
I want to make food better.
And then when I walked in, likethis is a giant kitchen.
But then I was like why we'redoing all this processing stuff?
Like why can't we make itbetter?
And I told him, why don't wefocus on more healthier items?
(27:24):
Like dude, we've been doingthis for so long.
Like I know, I know you guysare big dogs, but a little dog
like me telling you like let'sgo on healthier items, and
they're like no.
And then the third thing, andI'm telling my dad like you know
, I always had a dream to becomelike my dad.
Karen Mac Nair (27:36):
Oh, I love that.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (27:38):
That was my dream.
And then I literally called himon Thursday.
I still remember this ThursdayI'm coming home.
And he was like sure, why don'tyou go on vacation?
And I was like, no, no, I'mcoming home permanently.
He's like what you serious?
And I'm like, yeah, I'm serious.
He's like why?
He's like dude.
(28:07):
I was age of 10 when I learnedto slap naan in the oven.
I'm telling you, no kid doesthat.
I had a little step stool.
I'll be slapping it backhand,righthand, any direction.
And then I was like man.
I always wanted to be like you.
I want to pursue that truedream.
And plus, you're getting little.
He's great and fit.
He doesn't like to admit it,but he's healthy, he's
everything.
But I feel like it's my job now.
(28:28):
He did all this thing for meover the years, as in getting me
to school, pay for my educationthe typical American dream.
Now I feel like it's my turn topay back him that let's push
your legacy forward.
I can make all this money forpeople in the world, but my true
dream was to serve peoplehappiness.
Karen Mac Nair (28:44):
Oh, I love that.
So, everyone listening, youhave to go taste a little bit of
happiness Correct At the AllIndian Cafe on Huntington in
downtown Arcadia.
Thank you, gentlemen, so muchfor being here.
I can't believe it went soquickly.
Santokh Singh Khinda (28:59):
Thank you very much for having us.
Karen Mac Nair (29:01):
Yes, we're so glad.
Make sure you get your ticketsfor Taste of Arcadia September
13th at the beautiful SantaAnita Park.
All these great tastings, greatrestaurants will be there.
Go to tasteofarcadiacom todayand thank you so much.
It's been wonderful.
Harsimran Singh Khinda (29:18):
No, thank you, guys for letting us
have you and coming us here.
Karen Mac Nair (29:20):
Okay, John, take us away.
John Villa (29:22):
Thank you, Karen, for another great episode.
You can hear us on YouTube,Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon
Music and iHeart Radio.
Don't forget, join us onSeptember 13th at Santa Anita
Park for Taste of Arcadia.
You can get your tickets now attasteofarcadiacom.
Thanks again for joining us forTasting Arcadia.
We'll see you at the Taste.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!