NORTH OLMSTED, Ohio -- A year ago, chef Pauli Kala, former owner of North Olmsted’s Kashmir Palace, started donating his culinary skills to The Baba’s Yard Hot Meal Program.
Twice a month, the Mayfield Heights resident visits a Ridge Road church kitchen to create a plant-based meal featuring authentic Indian cuisine, serving 80 people in need of a healthy meal.
“The meal program is to try to give as much healthy food as possible to people who are less fortunate -- single moms and people in regular life,” Kala said.
“My part is to put more flavor in the veggies. People say veggies are good, but they don’t taste good. Usually when you cook Indian-style, veggies taste good. You don’t miss the flavor.”
The chef serves dishes he created at his former award-winning Indian restaurant.
In addition to the hot meal program, the Northeast Ohio nonprofit organization is providing communities with fresh produce. In just over a year, the Baba’s Yard Hot Meal Program -- in partnership with the Greater Cleveland Food Bank -- has given away more than 200 tons of produce.
“I’m a Sikh; we serve people for free,” Kala said. “You can go to any Sikh temple in any country in any city and you’ll get a fresh, hot meal. That’s real big in the Sikh temples, that there’s a community kitchen.
“Everybody cooks together and eats together. It kind of signifies living in harmony. I was doing that, but this is the first time doing it professionally with a nonprofit organization.”
Baba’s Yard Hot Meal Program founder and Executive Director John Visnauskas described the program as yet another initiative in support of a mission to reduce epidemic diseases by increasing fresh produce consumption.
“Clients pick up plant-based lunches packed to-go for their entire household,” Visnauskas said.
“We combine what fresh vegetables are available that day from the Greater Cleveland Food Bank with the varieties of dal, rice and other ingredients we receive from the Greater Cleveland Shiva Vishnu Temple into our Tuesday feasts. It’s delicious and nutritious.”
As for Kala’s involvement in Baba’s Yard Hot Meal Program, Visnauskas said it played a key role in the nonprofit’s first year of existence.
“Through his many years of personal experience, after learning from his family, Pauli can lead our volunteers in creating what to me is certainly some of the best plant-based or Indian food in town,” Visnauskas said.
“Our outreach is to households with limited income. We offer lunches at no cost to anyone able to pick up at our little garden sanctuary at West 30th and Sackett Avenue in the Clark-Fulton neighborhood. We ask new clients to email us.”
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