Gowri Nataraj has a unique IG profile and YouTube channel focusing on South Indian food. It is a different take on food. I talk to her about her thought process behind her creative ideas.

Gowri, welcome to my blog, and I want to know something unique about you.

Though an engineer by profession, I’m an artist by passion. I’m a good painter and photographer. I try to achieve what I set my mind on.

I love your IG handle as a food blogger. Every picture of South Indian food is unique, playful, and different. Gowri, talk to me about how your YouTube channel and IG got started? 

Thank you, Jerry, for the kind words. Adding a little creativity to food is fun.

Sornam Kitchen is a mom-daughter team. We focus on healthy dishes for the whole family. The YouTube channel was started by my mother in 2017. She was visiting us (her children) in the USA and was inspired by other cooking channels. She started her own almost immediately. We (daughters & daughter-in-law) helped her set up the channel and taught her to use video editing tools. My mom does not have much knowledge about technology considering her generation, so we were all amazed by how she picked up and was able to work on the channel. All her recipes are traditional South Indian dishes that are famous for their flavors. Most recipes are curated by her. She is such an inspiration for us all.

I started to get involved at the beginning of this year. I contribute some baking recipes and fusion recipes. The Instagram channel was started by me this year in early 2020. I started it to make a statement for our YT channel and for the traditional dishes we make.

Are your meals, vegetarian, or also vegan?

It is vegetarian and we do non-veg dishes also but they are not that many.

My knowledge of South Indian food is Dosa, Idli, Vada Sambhar, and eating on a plantain leaf. Educate me on the intricacies of South Indian food?

You are right! South Indian food is Idli, Dosa, Sambar along with rice, Rasam, Poriyal, and curd. No South Indian meal is complete without these dishes.  Though Dosa and Idli are our staple dishes, we make them using different types of grains/lentils packed with nutrients. So many of our dishes are simple and easy to make. All the ingredients are preservative-free and no artificial flavors.

I want to know about the unique spices and masalas of South Indian food?

Ah! Spices. As far as I know, each household will have their unique homemade spice. We have never brought spices from stores. My Mom grinds all the spices by getting the raw ingredients to name a few spices we use would be turmeric powder, chili powder, and coriander powder. A unique spice we use for gravy is “Kulambu Millagai Podi”. My mom makes this and we now use it literally for all the gravies we make.

What is women’s empowerment to you?

It starts early from our childhood. Being accepted, respected, and valued right from the start. Being taught and allowed to explore their own ideas.

How has the modern Indian woman evolved from your mother’s and grandmother’s generation?

We have come a long way. My grandmother didn’t go to school at all. My mother studied only till 10th grade. She was married at 17.  However, we [her daughters] have finished our undergrad and my sister is working as an engineer. Looking back and seeing how much we have moved forward is pure bliss.

Are Indian men cooking and helping around the home?

Yes, in nuclear families for sure.

Name me your favorite ingredients and least favorite ingredients?

Turmeric and cumin are my favorite ones. Nothing specific as least favorite but I tend to use less of garam masala and poppy seeds.

You are chosen to go to MARS. You can only take 5 ingredients. What are those ingredients?

Turmeric powder, Mustard, Chili Powder, Salt, and Coriander Powder.  With these five I can make about any dish.

Give me your favorite dishes for breakfast, lunch, teatime, and dinner?

Breakfast – Dosa and Cilantro Chutney

Lunch – Rice, Dhal, Rasam, and Potato Fry

Tea Time – Egg Puffs, Bajji

Dinner – Chapathi and Paneer Gravy

The post Gowri Nataraj: South Indian Food Through the eyes of an Artist appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.

I have a deep respect for Girish Minocha. He is humble, down to earth, spiritual, aware of his surroundings, and believes in giving back to society. Girish Minocha started his business, knocking door to door to build clients. He graduated from one of the best engineering schools. Girish follows his passion and has converted it into one of the most successful businesses.  Girsh believes in corporate social responsibility, sustainable farming, respect for nature and he hires convicts. Yes, at any given time a couple of convicts serving a life sentence are working at his enterprise. His products are vegan, amazing, delicious, and are good for you. I give you Girish Minocha of Minchy’s.

Girish Minocha, welcome to my series on entrepreneurs. Please tell me a little about you?

I have always been one to follow my passion. But I hadn’t realized, that I could find my passion for something that had been around me my whole life until I went to college. I went on to graduate from The Delhi College of Engineering in the year 1988, with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

I had never been one to take orders; even as a child. This character trait later transformed into the fire, the spirit, the drive of leadership, and the ‘never say die’ attitude that I channeled and tried to make a positive impact on the society around me.

Walk me down the path you took from being an engineer to starting your own business?

After graduation, I worked with a private switchgear manufacturing company for a few months till the time, on one cold wintry morning, I reached office 5 minutes late, shivering from the cold, only to be confronted by my boss. “what time is it Mr. Minocha?” was the sarcastic question… “time to Quit my Job” was my equally arrogant and stern reply!!!!

My knack for doing something different and out of the box, led me back home, to the serene Hills of Shimla. The situation unfolded in a manner where I saw limitless opportunities beckoning me. I got married to my college sweetheart and along with her and my family’s support, we managed to set up our first production facility as a cottage-scale industry. We immediately received support from the state government via various policies aimed in favor of small and medium-scale food processing industries, and this made us survive through the initial years of struggle.

This was a small but definite step towards a bright future for the small Minchy’s Family. We always had the aim of wanting to give back to society, more than what we took from it and thus our dream of forming a company that makes exceptional quality products from resources within the mountains materialized. Our company’s diverse product-lines use agricultural and horticultural produce as raw material as well as wild fruits and berries collected by tribal villagers from across the state; in turn ensuring a sustainable link between entrepreneurship, society & nature.

Did you bootstrap or raise funds?

My wife, Sonia, and I have contributed equally to taking this business forward. From a small investment of about Rs. 100,000 in 1992 to what it is today.

Did you do any research, realized there was a gap in the market, and were you scared?

Initially, the only research was that there was a lot of market scope in this industry and we were the pioneers in this field from Himachal. The market potential seemed huge. To take the first leap was a risk, but to be able to be successful it is very important to take certain decisions and use them to your advantage by considering them a challenge.

The investment was a question that needed to be answered, but my family including my grandfather, father, and uncle were very supportive of the setting up of the business and helped me raise the funds. The first project is still a partnership concern within the family. 

Help me understand the initial challenges?

The challenges of setting up a new venture can be scary and myriad. From procurement to setting up the unit, to packaging and marketing. Initially, everything was testing. But slowly things started to fall into place, we learned how to streamline and also the experience is what taught us most of what we know. My family members shared whatever knowledge and experience they had but I had a new path to tread on and the obstacles were new. It took time but things ended up being fine-tuned slowly. We still face situations new to us, but the attitude to keep going is what helps us to face those hurdles. 

Tell me about Minchy’s, the vision, mission, goals, values, corporate social responsibility, organic products and you hiring prisoners?

Fruits are considered to be the best desserts in terms of both tastes as well as health and so we offer you a wide range of simple yet unbelievably delectable products that will leave your senses craving for more. Not only this, but we also bring products that have wondrous therapeutic properties, are vegan and can be used as a form of naturopathy like Apple Cider Vinegar, Wild Apricot Kernal Oil, Raw Turmeric Pickle, Bitter Goud Pickle among others.

Nature has always had its way of curing and healing various ailments and we at Minchy’s aim to provide them to you in a bottle so that you have access to nature’s bounty easily. We aim to approach our customers in a holistic manner so as to ensure that not only we satisfy their taste buds, but also ensure that the health of the customer is taken care of. Harnessing the wealth of nature, we develop our products in a way that we have garnered the reputation of a brand whose U.S.P is the maintenance of our unsurpassed quality and to give value for money to our consumers. The ideology behind this company is simplistic yet deep! We believe business demands excellence in the product, and to ensure that the product has been tried and tested for the complete satisfaction of the patron!!

We have always tried to maintain a sustainable approach by involving local farmers to pick their produce from them. Minchy’s has also been very eco-friendly in its approach in terms of setting ETPs etc. We have always taken responsibility for maintaining the environment around our units. Apart from this, we have also started our new range of organic products which is the way forward to be able to identify with our clientele and to encourage more organic production of fruits in the State.

As a part of our CSR initiative, we have been actively involved in hiring life term convicts as a part of their rehabilitation in all activities, depending on their vocational or educational skill set and background. We have got into a tie-up with the State prisons for the same and at any given moment, have a dozen or so murder convicts serving the life sentence term on our rolls. We believe that the best way to reform a person is to help them establish a new life outside of the prison whereby they can support their family and be constructive.

Why is it so important to give back to society and invest your success in it?

To give back to society is like a balancing out measure for me. If I am taking a human resource, material resource, etc. from the society, I strongly believe in giving something back to add to the societal structure since it is a cycle of giving and take like any other relationship which endeavors to thrive in the long run.

Talk to me about your passion for the arts, writing and the living arts?

I have actively been part of various social projects to promote rural development and am an active member of The Art of Living as well. This makes a huge impact on inculcating and instilling an overall positive environment for our company. My other interests include photography and traveling. I have been an avid reader all my life and inevitably also participate in Shimla’s Amateur Dramatics and Club and Theatre groups. I also enjoy playing golf as much as I can to maintain a healthy lifestyle to date.

All these traits, the zeal, the hard work, and most of all the vision have made me what I am today.

How important are food, family, finances, and faith in becoming a successful entrepreneur?

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle, the support, faith, and belief of the family are very important in your success. Financially, the growth needs to be consistent to be able to take you through to the shore. It is necessary to project one’s worth to be able to build brand equity and to realize the worth over time.

All of these things are on one side, but what is needed the most is a deep faith in yourself and the almighty. The belief that you can do it and the devotion that the divinity and the universe will give you what you are working towards. But the faith comes in after your hard work.

What advice would you give young entrepreneurs?

My advice would be to ensure that success has no shortcuts, hard work is a necessity, faith is your strength and ingenuity is your weapon in the fierce field of competition. If you believe, don’t give up.

To cut a long story short, I have given up my entire youth, on this endeavor, to reach where I am today, and have learned a few things: that life is always good, even when you think it is not, God is always kind, even when you think he is not, someone is always ahead of you, but do not kill yourself in the rat race, …. And last of all, the journey is always good. Enjoy the journey, do not wait to get to a destination… the Journey IS the destination…

The post Girish Minocha: Producing Delicious Vegan Products appeared first on Four Columns of a Balanced Life.