They’re paneer and dear to her heart!

By Aiden Jewelle Gonzales

Cooking has always been my passion. It gives me a great sense of satisfaction to make others happy through my food,” Rama Kedia tells me with a smile as warm as many of her comfort-food specialities from the North of India. “My cooking was always appreciated by my friends and relatives, giving me the inspiration to start this business.” The founder of vegetarian cloud kitchen Namkeenz and More, Rama tells me how, like many other home businesses, it started during the COVID lockdown: “My husband and both my children, who are my biggest strength and support, were the ones who encouraged me to start it, and they handle the marketing, logistics and packaging. The latter, especially, we are very famous for, aside from the taste of our food, as we aim to always minimise our use of plastic in our packaging. We also heavily emphasise hygiene in our packaging measures in order to ensure our food items are delivered safely to our customers.”

Despite their recent start, their business has grown, not only specialising in Northern delicacies – from daal-bati churma, to kachoris, to gajar halwa tarts – but also adding fusion twists, such as their basil-pesto khandvi. They have also, she tells me, introduced seasonal menus such as their recent Navratri fasting menu, and their upcoming Diwali menu in customisable boxes, featuring speciality mithais and, of course, namkeens. Sweets, she reveals, are a particular favourite with her – “being from Kolkata, I was brought up having sweets every day,” she reveals with a sheepish laugh. “But being Marwari, I aim to always utilise the flavours of Rajasthan and Kolkata in my cuisine.”

As their business has grown, so have the size of their orders, and Rama admits that she often feels like she can’t have done it without her late father-in-law. “He played a big role in encouraging me to cook, and I learned a lot from him after marriage about how to cook,” she tells me. “Although he’s no longer with us, I always feel that he’s around me, and he’s giving me the energy to do better – sometimes I feel like I’m only able to execute big orders because he’s there with me.”

Finally, she gives this advice to other aspiring home businesses: “Whether it’s food you’re selling or another product or service, ensuring quality is most important. I believe that the customer should always feel like they are getting value for money, which is what we aim to do here at Namkeenz and More – that and make people happy through food.”

PANEER & CHEESE CIGARS ROLL

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES 
COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES 
SERVING: 4-6 PEOPLE

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsps grated cottage cheese (paneer)
• 4 tbsps grated processed cheese
• 4 spring roll sheets
• 2-3 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1 tsp crushed red chillies
• 3-4 sprigs fresh curly parsley or 1tsp chopped coriander leaves
• 2 tbsps corn starch
• 1⁄2 cup refined flour (maida)
• oil to deep fry
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat sufficient oil in a pan
2. Put the cottage cheese, processed cheese, green chillies, crushed red chillies, salt, parsley (or coriander leaves), and corn starch into a bowl, and mix well with your hands, pressing as you mix
3. Divide into four equal portions and shape into long croquettes 
4. Mix the refined flour with sufficient water to make a thick paste. Apply this on the spring roll sheets with a brush
5. Place a cheese croquette at one end and roll tightly into a long cylinder and seal the open edge, ensuring that you leave about 1⁄2 inch empty space at the two ends
6. Slide into hot oil and deep-fry till golden and crisp. Drain on absorbent paper
7. Halve and serve hot with spicy sauce or ketchup, and enjoy!

VANILLA SHRIKHAND BROWNIE TART

PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES 
COOK TIME: 10 MINUTES 
SERVING: 4 PEOPLE

Ingredients:

• 500g homemade hung curd
• 1⁄2 cup powdered sugar
• 2 tbsp vanilla essence
• chocolate brownie (homemade or store-bought)
• tart shell
• chopped almonds

Instructions:

1. Put the hung curd into a large bowl and mix well
2. Add in the powdered sugar and vanilla essence and mix well, making sure everything is well combined
3. Add crumbled chunks of brownie at the bottom of a tart shell
4. Top the tart with shrikhand, and garnish with chopped almonds, then repeat steps 3-4 with the other tart shells
5. Refrigerate for 2-3 hours and enjoy!