Liberty Kitchen PHL, 1400 N. Front St. (at Master Street), will have a completely different look on Dec. 8.
The Kensington and Fishtown deli will hand over its kitchen to items featuring Aaji’s Coastal Indian Tomato Lonsa. Liberty Kitchen will feature four new dishes using the traditional Indian tomato-based sauce. The versatile sauce is made from tomatoes simmered with chili peppers, curry leaves and a proprietary blend of Indian spices.
The featured dishes are a chicken cutlet sandwich with Lonsa aioli, a breakfast sandwich with merguez and spicy garlic, a Lonsa mac and cheese and a Lonsa tomato pie.
Liberty Kitchen PHL chef Beau Neidhardt decided to a host the event not long after discovering the Philadelphia-based brand.
“I took my first bite of Aaji’s Lonsa a few weeks ago, and my face lit up. I knew there were endless possibilities on what we could do with this product,” Neidhardt said. “It’s delicious, it’s unique, and the flavor profiles work so well with almost everything on our menu.”
Aaji’s launched in Philadelphia in July 2021 when husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Poorva and Rajus Korde brought a family recipe to the area. Aaji, which means grandmother, is aptly named for Rajus’s grandmother, who passed on the recipe to Rajus’ mother Vijoo Korde, who is herself Aaji to the Korde children.
“Building on our wonderful collaborations to date, we’re in the process of getting our Lonsa on the menus of some very exciting restaurants and eateries in Philadelphia,” Poorva Korde said. “We always had our eye on Liberty Kitchen as our first comprehensive menu partnership. It’s such a natural pairing, and we respect what they do so much. We’re so grateful for this kitchen takeover and can’t wait for more people to try our product.”
The Korde family will be on hand for the takeover and the first 40 customers, beginning at 10 a.m., will receive sampler bottles of the four Lonsa flavors, Original, Spicy, Garlic and Spicy Garlic. Throughout the event, a tasting area will be available for customers interested in samples.
“I’m excited for this collaboration,” Budenstein said. “If it goes as well as I think it will, I could see Lonsa being a mainstay at the shop.” ••
