What began as a move to make friends has now flourished into a business venture — The Brooklyn Curry Project.
Swetha and Venkat Raju launched their business venture in 2021. (Supplied)
What happens when two foodies — both die-hard fans of South Indian cuisine — move from Bengaluru to Brooklyn?
In the case of Swetha and her husband Venkat Raju, they whipped up a storm with a distinct South Indian flavour! Or at least it is what we think of their exciting desi experiment in videsh: the Brooklyn Curry Project.
The couple loves to travel, cook and meet new people. “We are blessed with two beautiful and kind-hearted kids who share our tastes,” beams Swetha, a software engineer. The couple, both aged 40, relocated to Brooklyn in New York City in 2016.
“We moved due to my wife’s work,” Venkat tells South First. Swetha’s company had offered her a transfer and Venkat was happy to accompany her.
“It was hard for me to get a new job as I had to start from the beginner’s level in law,” says Venkat, an LLB graduate. And they had no friends in NYC and they missed the social life they had in Namma Bengaluru.
“Venkat had to stay at home for a while and it took us some time to adapt to the new way of life,” recalls Swetha. “Thankfully, our kids got used to the new place and their school. So everything else was smooth.”
Well, almost smooth! The couple missed the food they grew up eating.
“It was hard to find good South Indian food in NYC. It is still hard to find the perfect pani puri, dahi puri, churumuri, or our street food-style gobi manchurian,” adds Swetha.
“We missed eating dosas at CTR (Central Tiffin Room in Malleshwaram), shavige bath (vermicelli) from Veena Stores, and so much more,” she adds.
Since they both love to cook, Swetha and Venkat decided to treat their neighbours to some South Indian fare so that they could meet new people. The plan worked. They now have friends — and homemade food that they cook themselves.
The couple’s initiative t make friends led to the founding of Brooklyn Curry Project. (Supplied)
The Brooklyn Curry Project that offers soft idlis and crispy dosas is “Swetha’s brainchild”, says a proud Venkat. “She wanted to introduce South Indian food and share a part of our culture with the community here.”
Swetha, on the other hand, credits her husband. “Venkat had the experience of running a restaurant in India. He owned one South Indian eatery and I wanted to share a part of our culture here. Everything aligned with the project.”
The couple launched the business in 2021. Brooklyn Curry Project serves dosas — masala, ghee, or vegan cheese — idlis, combo lunch platters with khichdi, sprout salad, and pickles, as well as uttapam (rice and lentil crepe) and poornam boorelu (a sweet made of rice flour stuff with jaggery and dry fruits).
The couple operates their food stand in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene neighbourhood. The spot is perfect, especially since the place hosts a farmers’ market on weekends, and they get more customers.
“We love the Fort Greene community,” says Swetha. “This is where our kids started their schooling, played in the park for hours, watched the neighborhood dogs run around during mornings, set up their lemonade stands, visited the farmers market, and much more.”
The Brooklyn Curry Project stall is open only on Saturdays. “It is the busiest day of the week and the market is on too. Additionally, we live close by, so it’s convenient,” says Venkat.
Even as their venture is nearing the two-year mark, the duo feels they have managed to please a large number of people, who now frequent the stall.
“We share stories every time we meet and we feel they are all part of a big extended family. It is satisfying to see them happy,” he adds.
While New York is home to several desi food outlets specialising in different Indian cuisines, how does the Brooklyn Curry Project stay afloat?
“New York and many other places outside India, in general, serve tikka masala and other common stereotyped Indian food. We wanted to show the people of Brooklyn that Indian food is more than just spicy curries,” says Swetha.
The Brooklyn Curry Project has now gone beyond dosas and idlis. It offers several other South Indian fare as well. (Supplied)
“Dosas and idlis are part of our language of love. They are rich in probiotics, wholesome, nutritious, naturally vegan, and gluten-free. We make the batter and pudi from scratch and follow the traditional fermentation practice which makes the meal healthy and easy to digest. The response has been great so far.”
Apart from idlis and dosas, they also serve masala chai, shunti chai (ginger tea), and during summer, dragon fruit lemonade and mango lassi.
“We also sell paddu (dumplings made of fermented rice) and akki roti (rice bread) and other specials made with seasonal produce.”
The couple sources masalas and spices from Indian farmers to ensure the food they serve is authentic.
“We make a conscious effort to source (produce) directly from farmers and growers who follow sustainable farming practices. This not only allows us to include their products in our recipes, but also encourages farmers by providing them with competitive prices,” says Swetha. “We want to do our bit to help farmers so that we can grow together.”
Both Swetha and Venkat’s parents have an agricultural background. “We used to grow paddy, finger millet, vegetables, and fruits and our house was always filled with seasonal produce,” she tells us about her farm in her hometown Solur, some 32 kilometres from Bengaluru.
“As a child, I remember walking in the paddy fields trying to scare away ‘those white birds’, waiting for the watering hours and playing under the water channel, rolling in the mud, making clay pots, playing with touch-me-nots, climbing mango trees to pluck raw totapuri mangoes and the huge jamun tree on the farm. I loved riding tractors and bullock carts,” Swetha goes down memory lane.
In the evenings, she was treated with fresh warm milk from their cows. “We drank fresh coconut water every day during summers with papaya leaf stems as natural straws!” Her father has an MSc in Agriculture.
The couple source masalas and spices directly from Indian farmers. (Supplied)
Other than playing around and following him “like a puppy”, Swetha says she was also his helper. “I was helpful (or I like to think so) by gathering/plucking fresh flowers which all the women in the family liked to wear, harvesting farm produce and also helping in making pickles.”
Her mother taught her the importance of heirloom crops and to save seeds for the next season.
“My favourite crops are pumpkin, turmeric, and chilli, which have been passed down several generations. I relish all the delicacies made by my mom using them, but the ele ada (pancake steamed after covering the dough in leaves) steamed in fresh turmeric leaves can never be forgotten!”
So does she consider a career in farming? “Yes, I want to and I am working towards it,” she replies. “For now, I am a proud urban farmer who grows microgreens in my NY apartment.”
The nature-loving couple also emphasises on sustainability. They request their customers to bring their own food containers to win a small discount.
The couple expanded their business by launching a new line of products. (Supplied)
“We are consciously trying to avoid single-use plastics,” says Swetha. “The tea cups and lids, and that of chutney packs, are the biggest challenges. Initially, we sourced kullad (earthen) cups from India, but it got a bit expensive. Hence, we started offering 10 percent off to customers bringing their own containers. It is great to see people bringing their thermos for chai,” adds Swetha.
This passion project is completely bootstrapped. Recently, the couple expanded their business by launching a new line of products as well. For instance, the ellu bella (a mixture of sesame and jaggery) butter infused with ashwagandha (Indian winter cherry).
“This spread is nutritious, does not contain refined sugar, but is sweetened with jaggery, and it imparts great health benefits and is rich in iron and calcium,” she informs. “We also have started to sell pre-made lentil-dal mix. We have also introduced turmeric and moringa (drumstick tree) powders which are sourced from our farm in India.
”Food brings people together. Swetha and Venkat are glad that they could meet so many Kannadigas ever since they launched the Brooklyn Curry Project.
“It brings us so much joy to meet people from namma ooru (our land),” says Venkat.
“In the future, we want to turn this into a full-time project, have a small farm, and grow our food for the true farm-to-table experience. For now, we have to see where this venture takes us,” he adds.
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