More often than not, sauces or the base of a dish can make or break it. And the newly-unveiled Kitchen Stories, a city-based gourmet startup by Manju Dugar, Rekha Bhandari and Pallak Sancheti understands that really well. Hence they started this enterprise during the lockdown such that people can rustle up delicious food at home easily as the bases and DIY kits prepared! “My aunt, Manju loved hosting for a long time and is passionate about cooking. So is Rekha,” says Pallak, who quit her corporate job to start the venture along with her aunts.
Together, Manju and Rekha have a culinary experience of over 50 years. Their sauces, Pallak claims, reduce cooking time by half thereby making it significantly convenient. All one has to do is keep the veggies chopped or the meat ready so they can mix it, stir for a short while and get ready to serve. The sauces are made fresh once you order and are bottle in such a way that they are easy to use. They are also made from locally sourced ingredients and some of them are even grown in the premises of their kitchen garden.
They are working on adding Mexican and Japanese sauces but they want to explore Indian micro-cuisine DIYs like Chettinad. “We discovered that people wanted to have delicious food at home without venturing out too often and we could provide them with the elements they can use to rustle up a meal at home,” says Pallak.
We recommend you try out their base for the Paneer Butter Masala. Dip the chunks of paneer, stir for a short while before you taste. They also have instructions for those who would like to use chicken. Up next, on their must-try list is the sauce for Siracha Noodle Bowl. We think their Pesto Sauce is best used to make pasta or even a panini sandwich at home. A well-made pesto sauce, in our experience, is slightly difficult to find in the city. But this one hits the spot. The Schezwan Chilli Garlic, Pallak informs has been used by their patrons to make noodles, fried rice and even chilly potatoes with the sauce.
Available via online order.
Rs 150 onwards.