Laguna Beach’s Kebab Kurry invites guests to spice up life
A well-traveled chef has set his sights on bringing a little bit of his home to Laguna Beach.
Majid Mahkri, who grew up in Hyderabad, India, moved to the artsy town just over a year ago, opening a restaurant at the mouth of the canyon last September.
The local eatery, Kebab Kurry, is tucked in between the city’s art festivals, where Mahkri goes to work on his own culinary creations, introducing a fusion of Indian and Middle Eastern cuisine to the community.
“Laguna has a great culture,” Mahkri said. “Coastal, great food, we got top chefs in Laguna. We got the best seafood, Italian food. My vision was to open something unique.”
Mahkri planned to offer a multi-regional selection of dishes, perhaps a key to success in the city where he cut his teeth in the food industry. He worked under Shafi Mohammed for five years at Shaahi Biryani in Chicago, a veritable melting pot of cultures.
Mohammed returned to Hyderabad in 2017, learning how to produce what he referred to as an authentic flavor profile from local chefs. He would source the ingredients for the spices directly from India.
“Majid had an affinity to understanding at what temperature, how much time will those specific spices need to be kind of simmered in the oil prior to putting the actual content of vegetables, the meat, or some of the other spices,” Mohammed said of Mahkri. “I think it was just a combination of him learning it over the years, having the taste profiles already kind of built in his mind, but once he got in the kitchen, he was a natural.
“It was coming together, understanding different spices, understanding what are the bases for them and what type of combination to put together to bring out the best flavors.”
The attention to detail is the artistry of the culinary profession, and it has become second nature to Mahkri with more practiced hands.
“It takes a lot of time to cook, to get the flavors right,” Mahkri said. “Indian cooking is based off of tomatoes, onions, that’s our base. If you have that right, then all the flavors will come together. Before, I used to scale everything, like one spoon this, one spoon that. Now, it’s just boom, boom, boom. Now, you know how much you need to put in.”
Kebab Kurry was recently scheduled to make its first appearance at the Taste of Laguna, an annual food festival featuring appetizing bites from restaurants all over town. Mahkri was unable to attend after becoming ill.
While his restaurant’s menu features various dishes, from lamb to Lebanese chicken to Moroccan beef, the chef’s recommendation would be that first-time visitors start with Chicken 65, a deep-fried Indian chicken dish. Mahkri said customers have come to call it “Ferrari Red,” based on its appearance from the use of ingredients such as red chilies and tomato sauce.
“Chicken 65, in Indian-style, is a dry chicken, but I make it with a little gravy on it, so that became really popular,” Mahkri said. “That one and the butter chicken.”
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