When Kulwant “Kimi” Sanghu first began selling her famous home-cooked meals in Riverside, she had no idea that what she started out of necessity would eventually snowball into a full business. All being managed and run by her family from the comfort of their casita (home).
Sanghu and her family are behind Cali Tardka, one of Riverside’s first licensed at-home restaurants, where for the past three years, they have been serving up traditional and fusion-style Indian food. But before their creamy chicken tikka masala and butter chicken combo plate became famous on TikTok, the family said they were on the verge of homelessness.
Sanghu shared that the family went through financial struggles for years, often having to go from home to home. The at-home chef and mother of two said their journey to success has been far from easy.
“We didn’t have a stable home, our renter kicked us out of our previous home, and money was just not coming in, and we didn’t want to leave another house and start all over again because it is not easy, we needed to do something to help us out,” said Sanghu. One night Sanghu’s son Manav went up to his mother. He suggested that she start cooking samosas, a baked pastry filled with potatoes, onions, peas, and other vegetables often served with a vibrant green mint-flavored sauce and sweet and tangy tamarind chutney. So they did.