How it began
As a child, my mom, a home maker, never let us in the kitchen as she wanted us to focus more on our education. She would always say that education and making ones career is more important for a women than spend time in the kitchen. When I moved to the U.K. for my post-graduation studies, I had to now how to cook. I still remember the time I had to make Mysore bonda (potato-based fritter) for 25 odd people for an event. Thanks to my mom who gave me her first recipe to me. It was a huge hit! This was my first attempt to cook for a group of people. Slowly, I develop a liking to cooking, and this became my therapy after a hectic day form my PhD research work. You heard it right, I have a PhD in plant Science and I have worked in several biotech companies as a scientist. I loved working in a research lab. Lot of discoveries were done either finding a therapy for cancer, Covid or Alzheimers. It was challenging but truly enjoyed it.
Falling in love with Hawaii
One such job was in Hawaii in 2007, where I had to work on using microalgae for biofuel. There were not too many Indian those days and hardly any good Indian restaurants in Honolulu. There was a need for a more authentic Indian food. Being a foodie, I loved Indian street food called ‘Chaats’, and none of the restaurants were serving Panipuri. I would make this myself, and share the same with house mates, friends and colleagues. Never had an iota of a clue then that I would be making this for a living…haha I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Hawaii, and was becoming a special place in my heart. Hawaii was becoming a very special place in my heart. I made lot of friends, ran several half marathon and full marathon races here. I had developed a deep sense of rooting here in Hawaii. But due to inflation, the company I worked for were not able to get funds and I had to move to the Bay Area for my next career move. I had decided deep in my heart that I will come back to my favorite place one day.
Career Progression
I continued to boost my career as a scientist. I definitely missed my life style that I had in Hawaii. I wanted to get back to it but Bay Area being a fast paced city, I had to focus more on my research work. Life became very mundane. Here is where my brother, I and our friend started thinking of a food truck selling authentic South Indian food that people have never tasted before. We wanted to bring some of the flavors and dishes that the restaurants were not selling, like Akki Rotti, different kinds of dosa, puliyogare, pongal, Raagi mudde, Chaats etc., We always talked about it but never got to implement it.
The beginning of something special
I had to resign from my scientist job to take care of personal issues. God always have something in store for everyone. I truly believe in this and sure enough, an opportunity came where I had to move to Hawaii. This was the best day of my life where I felt I am coming back to my hometown. This is when I decided to start my own food business to bring in some of the untapped Indian dishes to the Hawaiian community, my community! This was the birth of SIMPLY INDULGE in 2023 June. My goal was to get people to enjoy some authentic vegetarian/vegan, family recipes. To mark my niche, I started selling my food at Farmers Markets. The first Farmer market opportunity was with Onogrids Makeke at Ewa. People at this market had never had Masala dosa or chaats like Panipiuri or Masala puri. I felt proud in what I was doing when people really enjoyed what I made. Felt I had made the right decision. I wanted to do more on weekends, here reached out to Farmlovers Farmers Markets, got a chance to show case my food at two markets, one at Kaka’ako on Saturdays from 8 am to 12 pm and the second on Sundays at Kailua town ( by Castle hospital) from 8 am to 12 pm. I also do the Tuesdays afternoon market from 4 pm to 6 pm at Kaiser High school in Hawaii Kai. My journey so far has been great, deep sense of satisfaction and a proud feeling that I am making a difference in showcasing Indian culture via food to people in Hawaii, tourists visiting Hawaii- Japan, Canada, Australia etc.
The Future
My future plan is to open a restaurant where I could sell more unexposed food from different parts of India to Hawaii, and provide more jobs to people in need. I want o add wellness to my cooking to create healthy life style in people.