A small Tulsa restaurant affords home made dishes and a fusion of meals from totally different cultures to its loyal clients.
Tikka Kabab at 41st and Garnett combines Mediterranean meals with a Mexican and Indian twist. The proprietor of Tikka Kabab can be the chef, and every little thing he makes is from the guts and from scratch. He mentioned he loves cooking for his group and hopes individuals attempt his fusion of flavors.
This morning was the beginning of a busy day for Khalid Lak, chopping potato after potato to get the freshest fries potential. Khalid calls himself Kevin, and inside his kitchen at Tikka Kabab, a gyro spit of lamb spins and turns brown and crispy.
Will probably be added to numerous dishes.
“It cooks on the surface for two or three hours and then you definitely begin chopping,” Kevin mentioned.
Tikka Kabab is primarily Mediterranean, however Kevin additionally makes use of Indian and Mexican spices and has fusion recipes.
“Kebab tacos and falafel burritos.”
The concept for the merger was the brainchild of Kevin's enterprise companion, Nadeem Murad. When the 2 met a number of years in the past, Kevin was working a breakfast place right here and Nadeem thought Tulsa wanted one thing totally different.
“It must be totally different, it must be distinctive, that's how the concept of Tikka Kabab took place,” Nadeem mentioned.
The whole lot at Tikka Kabab is Halal licensed and the meat comes from Omaha, Nebraska. Their rooster tikka is marinated in numerous spices in a single day earlier than crisping up on the flat floor.
Kevin additionally has loads of vegetarian choices, like his handmade falafel, and makes all of his sauces from scratch, just like the spicy inexperienced raita sauce or the traditional yogurt sauce, tzatziki, which tops out virtually each dish right here. Kevin's path to opening eating places in Tulsa has not been straightforward.
He’s a Kurd from Iraq and moved to the US three a long time in the past.
“I used to be within the Gulf Warfare. After the battle, I ended up in Saudi Arabia for 2 years and eight months, as a prisoner of battle.”
After years, Kevin was lastly launched and reunited along with his household and five-year-old son, whom he had by no means met.
They moved to New York Metropolis and shortly after took a bus to Oklahoma.
“Thank God I’ve a household of two boys and a lady.”
Kevin's perseverance and onerous work don’t go unnoticed by shoppers.
“The onerous half is making an attempt to determine what you need.”
Randy, an everyday buyer, has been coming right here because it opened 7 years in the past and trusts virtually every little thing.
“Hen Tikka is the perfect,” Randy mentioned. “It has a sauce known as raita, that's one thing you wish to placed on it.”
Kevin made me a sampler of lamb, his rooster tikka, seasoned white rice, pink pepper hummus, and extra. The raita sauce has a spicy contact.
The gyro meat is stuffed with taste and, even higher, it's topped with tzatziki. The dishes listed here are totally customizable. You possibly can accompany the meat of your alternative with toppings similar to corn, rice, sautéed greens, chickpeas and any of the tasty sauces.
Add a slice of baklava for the right candy be aware on the finish.
“Within the critiques, the feedback are: the proprietor is improbable, the proprietor is wonderful,” Nadeem mentioned. “They’re speaking about Khalid as a result of he’s the face right here.”
Kevin loves attending to know his clients and making them take pleasure in his dishes, though by no means taking shortcuts may be onerous work.
“You need to love what you do,” Kevin mentioned. “This isn’t for everybody.”
So whether or not you're craving Mexican meals, a burger, a gyro, or one thing utterly totally different, Tikka Kabab hopes to be the reply to all of your cravings.
“The work we put into the meals reveals it in the long run,” Nadeem mentioned.
We’re all the time in search of distinctive and particular eating places all through Inexperienced Nation.
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