New Delhi, Feb 11: This Valentine’s Day, Depot48 brings Khasta, its modern tandoori kulcha concept, to Joyful Hearts – The Valentine Carnival by Tamana, a community-led lifestyle exhibition in aid of neurodiverse individuals. Taking place on February 14, 2026, at the Belgian Ambassador’s Residence, Shantipath, the one-day carnival brings together food, craft, and conscious brands, foregrounding compassion, inclusivity, and purpose-led living.
For Depot48, the collaboration feels instinctive. Tamana’s work has long focused on building inclusive communities and platforms that prioritise people over products, values that closely mirror Depot48’s decade-long journey as a culture-first, queer-led hospitality space in Delhi. At Joyful Hearts, Khasta arrives not as festival food, but as an idea: one that reflects how Indian food can move beyond celebration into care, warm, portable, generous, and deeply rooted.
Khasta is built around a simple but underexplored thought: a complete Indian meal designed to move with people. At its centre is a tandoori stuffed kulcha, sealed and cooked to hold slow-cooked fillings that can be eaten hot, outdoors, without plates or cutlery. Designed for winter afternoons, shared spaces, and long conversations, the format rethinks street and festival food through a distinctly desi lens, offering familiarity and fullness in equal measure.
For the Valentine’s Day carnival, Khasta presents a compact, comfort-forward offering. Dishes such as a butter chicken kulcha paired with creamy makhni gravy and a slow-simmered Delhi-style mutton kulcha inspired by nihari anchor the menu, food that feels nostalgic yet practical in a setting designed for movement and mingling. Rooted in Punjabi food traditions, the kulchas draw from family-style preparations, carefully adapted to retain structure, warmth, and flavour, with the tandoor remaining central to the crisp, flaky texture that gives Khasta its name.
The Khasta Line-Up
Each kulcha is imagined as a complete meal, not a flavour experiment.
- OG Amritsari Aloo–Pyaz Kulcha with robust, spiced Chholey
- Goan Chorizo Kulcha with a rich, warming Meat Salan
- Delhi Mutton Kulcha served with slow-simmered Nihari
- Mushroom Truffle Kulcha paired with a silky, savoury Salan
- Corn Methi Malai Matar Kulcha with comforting Dal Makhni
- And a rare sweet finish: the Meetha Gur–Dal Halwa Kulcha, a dessert that feels both nostalgic and unexpected
Rather than leaning into the usual spectacle associated with Valentine’s Day, the collaboration takes a more grounded approach. As Vikas Narula, Co-founder, Depot48, reflects, “Valentine’s Day is often framed around indulgence, but this moment felt more meaningful because it centres care and community. Khasta, he notes, has always been about comfort and generosity, food that travels well, feeds properly, and feels familiar.”
Echoing this sentiment, Girjashanker Vohra, Co-founder, Depot48, adds that “Indian food has always been designed to nourish and be shared. With Khasta, the intention was to retain that warmth and fullness in a format that works for how people gather today, making the act of eating both easy and emotionally resonant.
Dr. Shayama Chona, Co-founder, Tamana, says,
“At Joyful Hearts, we wanted Valentine’s Day to feel less about spectacle and more about shared care. The carnival brings together brands and creators who believe in inclusion and giving back, and Depot48’s Khasta fits naturally into that approach. It adds a sense of warmth and generosity to the experience, where food becomes a simple, meaningful way to connect.”
In a setting that celebrates compassion while supporting neurodiverse communities, Khasta quietly reframes Valentine’s Day as an act of care. Here, love is expressed not through extravagance, but through nourishment, familiarity, and food that brings people together, one warm, well-filled kulcha at a time.”
