Sopore, June 3: It began with two stars on a family stove — Harissa and Gajar ka Halwa. Today, those stars light up a full-fledged cloud kitchen in Sopore, run by a woman who once worried more about whispers than about profit margins.
“My daughter and my friend told me — this is a skill, you should go ahead. My husband and in-laws also supported me,” says Tabinda, who has quietly built a food business from her home kitchen in a small Kashmir town.
She started small. Very small. “I began from a family kitchen. Slowly my name came out. Repeat clients came. I decided I will serve people with purity — no adulteration, nothing,” she told Kashmir Convener in an interview.
The challenge of ‘log kya kahenge’
In a town like Sopore, any new venture — especially by a woman — comes with its own set of unspoken questions.
“I had a lot of challenges. What will people say about me? People will talk a lot,” she recalls. “But Alhamdulillah, no negative thought came. People here gave me appreciation. I did not hear a single negative comment.”
The early days were logistically brutal. I hired a local boy for delivery, managed disposables myself, and stepped into an unfamiliar market with little capital. “Going to an event in Srinagar for two days felt very difficult. Will people like my food or not?”
Why cloud kitchen when cafes already exist?
“Look, there are a lot of famous restaurants here. But people prefer home-cooked food,” she says. “Whatever I make at home for my family, I deliver the same to people. Every positive review gave me confidence. Sometimes I thought I can’t do this. Then I told myself — once I make a mistake, next time it will be fine.”
What’s on her menu
In winter, it is traditional delicacies: Harissa, Gajar ka Halwa, and Sopore’s local specialities. Round the year, she offers desserts like kheer — balanced for diabetic patients — along with Chicken Korma, Butter Chicken, Chicken Chapli Kebabs, Fish Kebabs, and Turkish Adana Kebabs.
“First, I feed my family. Then I buy those things for the market,” she says.
‘My daughter is my backbone’
Growing up and working in a male-dominated society remains a reality, but Tabinda sees a shift.
“It is very dominating. But today’s generation is not like that. Today men and women are equal. We should move forward. My family supported me — my daughter especially, she is my backbone.”
“Bring your skill forward and move forward. These days, we are following men. Whatever capabilities you have, move forward. For women, it is very important to be independent.”
‘Sopore gave me love’
Though she originally belongs to Srinagar, Sopore never made her feel like an outsider. “I did not feel I belong to a different stream. People of Sopore gave me a lot of love. They liked my food. It was very difficult for me to adjust here, but they supported me.”
“This is just the beginning. Being a woman, I will move forward. I will not stop. As far as God has brought me — from my family kitchen to a separate kitchen — I will keep going.”
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