The Dal House – Taste the Tantra! – Southern Pakistani Cuisine
Cola Love has partnered with Taimoor, a Southern Pakistani artist and poet with words, food, and herbs, to kick off our experiential restaurant and business popup series as we work to help build Columbia's local economy from a place of love. Beyond delicious food, Cola Love is setting out to test a theory that with a little support, elbow grease and a lot of love, local entrepreneurs, educators, creators, and doers can build their dreams to create one of a kind experiences in our beloved city. Come mingle, meet, eat with and support other Columbia locals at our inaugural event. We can't wait to see you there!
Picture this - it's a cold December weekend and your mouth is watering for cozy comfort food that will warm your body and rejuvenate your soul. You’re in luck! Because we have JUST the thing – traditional South Asian cuisine with a modern twist, and prepared with love, care, precision, and a dash of street grit. But this isn’t your typical Indian-food joint—it is the boutique, art gallery version of it. Come Taste the Tantra! and experience Southern Pakistani cuisine, art, music, and hospitality like never before at The DalHouse pop up restaurant right in the heart of Five Points.
What in the dal is ‘dal,’ you might ask? Well, it's a traditional lentil soup loved by billions—yes you read that right, billions!—in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and beyond! But this isn't your high school cafeteria’s split pea soup either! Dal is a subtle medley of rich and earthy flavors and layered textures achieved by centuries-old techniques of slow, patient simmering of red, green, or other lentils with aromatic spices, herbs, and roots like fresh turmeric, toasted cumin, roasted garlic, and caramelized onions. It is served over steamed basmati rice scented with cloves, bay leaves, and cinnamon, or with flaky fluffy flatbread-paratha hot off the oven to dip in the dal. This royal combination—eaten by all and sundry—is flanked on three sides by a freshly ground mint-chutney, mango pickle, and a tangy kachumbar salad made of cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions, cilantro, and red and green chili pepper hand-squished together in a lemon-vinegar marinade.
What else will you serve? Our menu will also feature aalu-bharta, a savory mash of potatoes made with aromatic spices and herbs like caraway seeds, red chili flakes, cumin, and cilantro and sauteed with mustard, shallots, and maybe curry leaves–depending on the weather, the smell of the season and how they affect the chef’s mood. Equally loved at home and in the streets by a fourth of the world’s population, roll your hot paratha-flatbread around the mash, or have it by itself with a dash of mango chutney and herbed-yogurt raita: whatever you choose, you can’t go wrong!
To round up the experience, we have included another equally loved and delightfully fragrant, but sweet dish: the Suji Halwa. A delicious cream of wheat confection–imagine a sweet finer version of toasty grits–flavored with the scents of cardamom, rose, and saffron and garnished with pistachios, almonds, and rose petals. Eat it alone, or with the paratha–as many traditionally do–and you’ll want your grits to do more!
To pair with this dance of carefully crafted cuisine, we will feature craft cocktails, mocktails, and teas, ranging from dry to sweet, and all especially made for The DalHouse from a modern fusion of traditional Ayurvedic, Ionian and other herbs, spices, and aromas including sandalwood, sarsaparilla, fragrant vetiver grass, and cloves, roses, and rosemary among others.