Akasha "Bollywood Monday" sneak peek tonight!

For those looking to get rid of their "case of the Mondays" tonight, Akasha (on my DineLA to try list) is doing a sneak peek event with chef Akasha Richmond cooking up some of her favorite Indian dishes, some with a slightly modern twist, with small plates like northern Indian daal with Punjabi flatbread and baby spinach pakoras with a chutney duo (mint and tamarind-date), complex entrees such as chicken tikka masala served with black cardamom and ginger infused basmati rice and seared okra with tomato chutney, raita and black mustard and spicy sweets like chocolate-cardamom molten cake with chai ice cream and pistachio brittle. Definitely a great way to liven up the palate for the rest of the week.

But even the cocktails alone are worth a stop, since the restaurant has crafted several specialty cocktails ($11-13 each) inspired from flavors of that subcontinent, such as a spiked mango lassi with TRU vanilla vodka blended with mango puree, yogurt, cardmom and sugar, and mint chutney with TRU organic vodka alongside organic mint, jalapeno pepper and lime juice. Of course, the floral and fragrant gewurztraminer is a natural wine pairing for spicy Indian dishes, and Akasha will be serving a 2005 Domaine schlumberger gewurz from Alsace for the occasion too.

The event starts tonight at 5:30 p.m., hopefully this will be the first many successful "Bollywood Mondays" there (considering the lack of Indian food presence in the Culver City area.)

Akasha
9543 Culver Blvd
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 845-1700