Billion dollar curry 🍛
The recipe to a successful business...
Dhaval: Good morning all.
Tarun: Good morning all.
What goes first on a PBJ toast?? Peanut butter or jelly!
Why did we wish you separately today? The PBJ question has stoked a very heated debate between us! Tensions have escalated to such a level that our “Recipe of the week” section is in jeopardy! Please help us by sharing your thoughts on this question. While we try to resolve our differences, if you or anyone you know has a recipe that is as cool as you, do share it with us by either replying to this email or sending one (or both) of us a DM on Instagram!
Simmer Insights: Billion dollar curry
Getting a deal with Kevin O’Leary (maybe not!) or Mark Cuban is great, but not everyone is fortunate enough to air on Shark Tank. The story of Sukhi Singh, founder of Sukhi’s Gourmet Indian Foods (SGIF), is no different. While we fight over a PBJ toast, her family owned business is doing excess of $200m in yearly revenue through partnerships with big box retail stores like Costco! What better way to end Women’s History Month than by sharing her story, focusing on our learnings that we hope will help spice up your next venture!
Find your differentiator: SGIF’s initial story was similar to the couples on Love is Blind. It started out as a deli and it worked great, only to hit rocky roads due to the arrival of a sexier new coffee shop nearby. Pivoting and adding Indian food at that time was key to their growth.
Bootstrap your business: Include friends and family as much as possible in the beginning, before you pay someone.
Take VC money only if needed: You can take “a pill in Ibiza to show aViCi you are cool” but that comes with its own baggage!
Hire out your shortcomings: Hiring right is the key. Anyone you bring on needs to fill a gap that you cannot fill. In SGIF’s case, it was hiring a CEO to help scale operations.
Be agile: Your first product most likely wont be successful long term. SGIF started with Indian food, then bottled curry paste, only to later realize that frozen dinners was the way forward.
Sticky product: Just like Trader Joe’s everything bagel seasoning, identify an offering which will bring customers back more frequently. In SGIF’s case it was the frozen dinner option over the bottled curry paste.
Diversify: Especially in the initial phase of your business. You don’t know which channel will explode on your path to the next fidget spinner equivalent.
Problem solver mentality: There is always a constant stream of problems to deal with. You need to find a solution and move forward. Rock/paper/scissors works best for most problems.
Listen to your customers: Had SGIF not listened to their customers, they would have missed the real star of the business… The frozen dinners. So please do share your feedback with us!
Check out Sukhi’s entire story here. If you know any budding entrepreneurs, do share this article with them!
In the food world
Rise and shine: Bored of Netflix and chill? It’s now time for Blue Apron and commitment as they have added breakfast options to their menu! These options include egg and bell pepper tacos with chipotle sour cream; buttermilk cornmeal pancakes with maple fig syrup and pistachios, to name a few. According to the company, you can have your morning fuel ready within 15 mins and share this newsletter with 5 people while doing so! #truefact
Chippy and guac: Your neighborhood Chipotle may soon look like a set of the next Transformers movie as they have partnered with robotics firm Miso Robotics to create Chippy - a robot to cook and season tortilla chips. Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), Chippy is trained to replicate the Chipotle recipe using corn masa flour, water and sunflower oil, dusting of sea salt and some bad attitude when asked for extra guac.
No more cage free eggs: The recent discovery of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in egg laying flocks has resulted in the destruction of millions of birds. The government is requiring all farmers to keep their birds indoors and follow safety protocols to stop the spread.
Recipe of the week: Green chile pepper enchiladas
Do you know that feeling of wearing clothes right out of a dryer?? We almost fell off to sleep reminiscing the coziness. Well, these enchiladas will give that feeling a good run for it’s money! Loaded with a ton of veggies, along with a Anaheim green chile pepper sauce to fight for, these enchiladas are like a free upgrade to your Spotify membership. So let’s spice things up and give this @greenheartlove recipe a try.. You won’t be disappointed!
Meal plan
Has anyone told you at work that your face always looks like it’s in a deep thought? Whenever I have been told that, 99% of the time there is only one thought in my head…. How can I solve this complex issue? What should I make for dinner today? With our meal plans, you can now make the face and earn your next promotion without actually taking the stress to figure out what to cook everyday!
Eggplant Bharta: Smoky eggplant mash cooked with onion, tomato and peas
Tiktok baked feta pasta: Block of feta baked with pasta and veggies
Tomato soup & grilled cheese: Comfier than the comfiest laZboy
Did you know?
Arachibutyrophobia is the fear of getting peanut butter (had to be peanut butter) stuck to the roof of your mouth and choking. You probably will have to overcome the fear and experience it to pronounce arachibutyrophobia correctly.
Today March 25th, is Waffle day. Did not know such a thing existed but now that we do, time for some Belgian waffles!
One portabella mushroom has more potassium than a banana. Potassium helps the human body maintain normal heart rhythm, fluid balance, and nerve function. The portabella just (chemistry geek alert) K-oed the banana.
Quiz
The feeling of getting a 5/5 in our weekly quiz has been compared to the feeling of cutting open a perfectly ripe avocado… It’s that satisfying, Go ahead and ace this quiz!
Can you guess the food items from these jumbled up words?
Stoat
Rustled
Gable
Filter
Arrogant
*Answers at the bottom
Cooking tips
Crumple the parchment so that it stays in place while baking. A lot of parchments were crumpled and discarded (figuratively) while finalizing this edition.
Tossing teeny baby potatoes in egg whites before roasting means you’ll have crispy-crackly spuds—in record time.
For glossy restaurant quality sauces and beautiful radiating skin (please don’t), add a pat of cold butter at the end.
Media watch
“One of the delights of life is eating with friends, second to that is talking about eating. And, for an unsurpassed double whammy, there is talking about eating while you are eating with friends.”
-Laurie Colwin 'Home Cooking'
Good food with good company is always something to cherish… Unless the topic of a pbj toast is being discussed (yes, the scars are pretty deep). Next time when you have company, we suggest less controversial topics like the weather, the new Marvel movie, what Netlfix show to binge on or our personal favorite… our media watch
Bad Vegan on Netflix: A celebrity restaurateur becomes a fugitive after being conned by her husband, who claimed to hold the key to fulfilling her dreams.
Learn to make sugar decorations for your desserts like the one we shared last week.
Perfect Belgian waffles… Can’t have waffle day without a waffle recipe!
While this simmers….
Do not let your friends/family/colleagues/neighbors/stalkers miss out on all the fun. Share the awesomeness here!
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Answers
Toast
Strudel
Bagel
Trifle
Tarragon