Hello, We Are Rasa India
The guiding vision behind Rasa is Das Sreedharan. Born in Kerala, and never far from food being grown, food getting prepared and food building communities, Das moved to London to study accounting.
His infatuation with preparing food and building communities around food, soon became his calling. After starting Rasa, he started cooperative farms, where food is grown naturally, with no interference whatsoever. In London, he hosts 'An Evening with Das'- a series of well-received lectures, where he spreads his addictive cheer and inspires his audience to pay attention to how they eat and what they eat.
He has been featured on Preschard's People and No Reservations with Bourdain. He has hosted superstar chef Jamie Oliver's wedding.
About Rasa
Keeping the magic and tradition of cooking alive Food is profoundly linked to everything important in life; our health, our sense of wellbeing, to those we love and the very world around us. Surrounded by fast food and junk food and supermarkets, it's easy to lose the significance of food.
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Evening with Das
Das Sreedharan grew up in a small village near Cochin, Kerala, on the lush, spice-rich south west tip of India. As a boy, he spent much of his free time helping his mother in their vegetable garden and then in the kitchen, turning the plants they'd grown into sumptuous meals
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Rasa Awards
The firstborn of the Rasa babies, Rasa N16 remains an old favourite for many and has a huge percentage of repeat customers. Small and cosy, it is one of the best known vegetarian restaurants in London and specialises in South Indian food,
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Veg vs non-veg diner war
Black Friday (November 25) never beheld so prominent like this year; probably we missed the usual signs on a festival spell, which attracts huge crowds. Read More
Spirituality of a wizard
It's extremely rare to meet people who leave eternal impression in your life, especially restaurant operators. Long ago when I started our first restaurant and as we became successful, veterans from the restaurant sector used to visit us—Rose Gray, Antonio Carluccio, Terence Conran, et al. Read More
Hunger in a festive season
Like everything has to transmute for some time, a gorgeous summer's just slipping away slowly into a wet and grey autumn. Mid-summer heat still persists, and London's greenery and colours continue to shine even in early October. Read More
How Soulful Indian Cooking Wins The World
India is reaching out and staying in people's mind. With its spiritual flavours, our food is an important ingredient in this journey and needs our attention, realisation and warmth, says Das Sreedharan. Read More
The flow of love in food
Monsoon has never been so erratic in Kerala as this year, much less rainfall to be precise. It wasn't that bad though; early morning outbursts and cooling sunset rains make life virtually comfortable and consistent. The season's ayurveda treatments and diet have become popular with visitors and locals, and it's a time to relax and eat healthy, simple food. Read More
Lessons learnt from a Kerala teashop's past
There are numerous factors common about West Bengal and Kerala, which contributed to the progress and intellect of their people. Among many concurring features, teashop culture was one that we fondly recall, since a beautiful childhood in the village. Read More
The World that Keeps the Kitchen Going
Antony Bourdain's 'Kitchen Confidential' was a revelation and eye-opener to the world of restaurant industry. Sixteen years ago, it exposed real life stories of chefs and kitchens. In 2016, we look at this trade in another way and weave new tales. Read More
Chole Bhature Sprinkled with Nostalgia
Reminiscence of mother's cooking has forever influenced people of our generation as fondness of her dishes and tender care live with us everyday. Read More
Food Wasted is Food Denied to Millions
Autumn months are among the busiest ones in restaurants. Irrespective of any other social or economic changes, the Christmas crowd has never changed. Read More
Indian Flavours Flourish in Lands Far, Far Away
There's no doubt about the influence of Indian food in the UK. Besides high street curry houses, supermarkets, weddings or corporate parties, pubs too promote rice and curry as their speciality. Read More
A New Blend of Indian Flavours in Dubai
Several years ago when oil was discovered in the Middle East, going to Persian gulf for employment was a common trend across South India. Read More
'Food is a source of ultimate happiness'
Das Sreedharan on the long and miraculous journey to setting up the Rasa chain of restaurants, and his plans on rekindling the delights of the farm-to-plate experience Read More
Food, Festivals and Light in London's Eye
The multi-cultural society of Britain and London's Mayor make a genuine effort to reach out to every community possible by celebrating an array of festivals including Diwali, St Patrick's Day, Feast of St George, Eid, and New Year's Eve Fireworks etc. Read More
The Healthy Highs of Monsoon Meals
Monsoon, a feature documentary by Sturla Gunnarsson, was shown as a part of the British India Film Festival. It was really a wonderful cinematic journey into a terrain where nature, belief, science and wonder converge. Read More
Food Becomes the Talk of Speakers' Corner
The city of London would have been so empty without its tourists on Sundays. No Londoner would travel to the city centre for a meal or shopping on weekends. Read More
On a Road to Happiness With Fast and Feast
For celebrity Chef Das Sreedharan, cooking is a philosophical quest.He is set to open his culinaryacademy, Rasa Gurukul,in Chalakudy Read More
Das Capital
For celebrity Chef Das Sreedharan, cooking is a philosophical quest.He is set to open his culinaryacademy, Rasa Gurukul,in Chalakudy Read More
Southern Comfort on a Banana Leaf
It was four in the morning. Routing thin darkness, the soothing comfort of silence and focus within, chef Sasi pushed his long ladle in to the depth of the enormous bronze vessel. Read More
The Great Chettinad Culinary Experience
Over the years, we have been watching the India pavilion at the World Travel Martshow in London. Some states never got the deserved footfall of tourists in spite of having so much history, natural beauty, incredible temples and fabulous cuisine. Read More
Artistes and Their Love for Culinary Experiments
This was a journey to find out people who understand, appreciate and carry the taste of food forever, the experience that sometimes make them better at what they do and we were fortunate to hear several magic words. Read More
For the Sweet Love of Bitter Gourd
A fragrance-filled vegetal orchard always brings back the memories of childhood days I spent with my mother. Her love for nature and cows was legendary; we swayed and merged tastefully with plants and vegetables every time we visited our vegetable garden in the mornings. Read More
Life of a Restaurant Rests on a Waiter
"I have met several waiters who have at least one knife-throwing-chef story in their repertoire. The best way to explain this is to understand that kitchen staff and waiters are like the Palestinians and Israelis, separate and distinct nationalities uncomfortably sharing the same volatile piece of real estate," Read More
Starting a New Season on Valentine's Day
Chef Rajan has been amorously excited about creating a new organic cutlet for the upcoming Valentine's Day, as usual it's a night of drama for us and a new (exclusive) menu counts a lot. While preparing beetroots, carrots and potatoes, he thought about the many 14th February evenings of the past 20 years and our efforts to make meals memorable. Read More
The Good, Bad and Ugly of Mid-air Banquet
Pressing my face against the glass window I gazed at the aircraft, it was my first sight of an airplane. That was the day we were taken to see off our Uncle who was an executive for Indian Airlines. His homecoming meant a prospect to visit the airport—an otherwise rare opportunity to meet famous people. Read More
Thoughts and Dreams for a New Beginning
I had a great experience at a children's home at Palakkad in Kerala once. It was a dazzling Sunday morning—many a time I wake up with the memories of the day and the place. It has been almost three decades since I left home to chase a dream, but fond memories of people and places have always been a great inspiration as I recollect these experiences often. Read More
Curry at a Restored Kings Cross Godown
At the northern interface of London, Kings Cross station presents a majestic design with its new look today. This major railway terminus was erected in 1852 and connects you to the North East, Yorkshire and eastern Scotland. Read More
Culinary Cults Sans the Woman Power
Sunita's 'Gopalan Organics' in Bangalore was a nice surprise last month; vegetables were fetched directly from her farm, fresh and full of flavours. We loved her garden-fresh okra, which grow easily and obtainable most of the time now. Read More
A Colourful Start to Our Winter Season
There's more to Christmas and autumn than an early setting sun, rising moon and blossoming new moods and synergies on Oxford Street's overflowing 2.5 km-long shopping zone. Festival illuminations have been beautifying the street from November every year since 1959, switched on by a celebrity with music. Read More
Seraph of Taste and Food Journalism
All of springtime in 1994 our Krishna was smiling behind a brass lamp. We followed a ritual of sharing ideas, fasting together with determination to face destiny with pleasure.Read More
The Art of Tempering the Fiery Ego Within
It was another blustery midsummer evening, in effect the opening of a valuable table talk season and new stories. We had a hectic day at the restaurant; Andrea and Douglas arrived for their habitual dinner of the week. Read More
The Hundred-Foot Journey to Good Food
We are momentously influenced by films. As children we learned to fantasise essentially by watching them and mysteriously tracking attractive components in stories. Romance, flair, trend, even ecstasy and melancholy gushed out of our village screens. Read More
A Pilgrimage Along the Kabini River
As we unify global cultures and lifestyles, the most obvious change has been the upsurge of sabbatical inclinations in people. Several countries celebrate success though tourism related endeavours and the world population travels across continents to enjoy, explore and educate themselves. Read More
People You Meet On Your Way To Work
Serving people is all about a lot of observation, care and charm. Having been in this profession virtually three decades now, I have taken this task to even outside my restaurants. A novel smile and unsullied chat craft friendships; it's delightful when you observe pleasure as they value your endeavour. Read More
Culinary Cults Sans the Woman Power
Sunita's 'Gopalan Organics' in Bangalore was a nice surprise last month; vegetables were fetched directly from her farm, fresh and full of flavours. We loved her garden-fresh okra, which grow easily and obtainable most of the time now. Read More
The Fiesta of Equality, Bounty and Nostalgia
As we become adult and move away from home, leaving behind beautiful experiences, memories give us strength to outlive, preserve our nostalgia for a whole epoch. People back home may never value preciousness of these pearls that colour our imagination and enrich our personalities. Read More
