Chef Ajay Kumar is sitting in a window booth at his newly opened spot Kismet, an upscale Indian restaurant in Old Town Alexandria. But his crisp white chef jacket says Karma, the name of his other Indian restaurant in Penn Quarter with a Michelin Bib Gourmand award. “Supply chain issues,” he shrugs apologetically.
The jacket is symbolic of the struggles he and his business partner, Sachin Mahajan, are working through. They’re still waiting for several handi (copper biryani pots) to be delivered from India.
Due to a shortage of specialty spices, they are cobbling together orders from multiple vendors rather than a single supplier. They only order whole spices, which are toasted and ground in-house daily. “There is a lot of adulteration in spices,” says Kumar, who lists the potential health benefits of key spices on the bottom of the menu. “You cannot trust vendors are giving you the right turmeric powder, so we make our own.”
When Kumar started drawing up the menu for his new venture, he envisioned it full of seafood, micro herbs, and edible flowers. “But when we started ordering, nothing came on time,” he says.
Facing these daunting challenges, Kumar gave the entire menu a makeover just before the opening. The general concept is still the same, representing a swath of dishes from across India. The entrée section reads like a greatest hits setlist. There’s peri-peri-dressed snapper redolent with Kashmiri chile and garam masala from Goa on the southwestern coast; lamb braised in ghee inspired by a dish in Chennai; butter paneer from Punjab, a state on the Pakistan border; tikka masala, which has northern roots.
To complement the mains, there are classic bread options, like garlic naan and whole wheat roti. However, Kumar allowed himself to have a little fun. One naan is topped with olives, while garden naan features the unconventional combination of spring onions, cilantro, and mustard oil. Side dishes stay traditional – palak paneer, mint cucumber raita, and fenugreek forward dahl made with black urad lentils, along with plenty of cream and butter.
The menu begins with a strong selection of appetizers. Chef Kumar has a fondness for the snacky jhaal muri, a jumble of puffed rice and date chutney served in gold paper cones, but his favorite is the picturesque pyramid of pan grilled, cumin dusted sweet potatoes surrounded by dots of mint sauce, tamarind chutney, and sweet yogurt. “When you’re plating, you should think you’re doing artwork,” says Kumar. “The plate is your canvas; the food are your colors.”
Art is an inspiration and an outlet for Kumar, even while not at the restaurant. When he’s stressed – something that happened a fair amount during Kismet’s opening – he retreats to his basement studio at his home in Kingstowne. Working with acrylics, he has a penchant for abstracts and landscapes.
His love of painting carried over to the restaurant’s décor. A couple of modern-minded pieces (none of them his) adorn the walls of space, which relies on nautical-feeling palette of weather white, midnight blue, and ruddy reds. Along the back of the room, there’s a mosaic tiled elevated bar, which offers a handful of beers, a concise wine selection, and a cocktail list split between traditional tipples and house creations – like the honey-sweetened, tequila-powered Autumn Leaves that leans heavily on pumpkin chai shrub for its flavor – and a couple of zero-proof options, including the refreshing, ginger-centric Familiar Faces.
Despite all the pandemic-fueled challenges he continues to grapple with at Kismet, Kumar is already considering opening another restaurant in the next year or two, perhaps in Richmond. “This has been frustrating, but it has made me stronger,” he says.
Kismet is located at 111 N Pitt St., Alexandria, Va. Open Wednesday and Thursday 5 p.m.-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday 12 p.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.-10 p.m., Sunday 12 p.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9 p.m.
