Chai-Naasto Ltd

OUR STORY

Ours is an unfinished story; it started with our Nani (grandmother), it continues through us and we hope it never ends. Chai Naasto is a labour of love, started by three brothers with one common goal; to share their Nani’s food with the world.

We were inspired to create Chai Naasto as homage to our Nani and it is with her that our story begins. Born in Mogadishu, Somalia to Indian parents, Nani began cooking at the tender age of 10. Fascinated by the wondrous things she could conjure in the kitchen, she would often skip going to the movies just so she could stay and cook a little more.

Influenced by her surroundings and the ingredients immediately available to her, she found that, although India was the heart of all that she made, the soul of Africa seeped into all she created. This was to be a theme that would follow her around the world, throughout her life.

Nani moved to Saudi Arabia in 1958, where she won the heart (and belly!) of our Dada (grandfather). It was here that her Indian/African fusions were further bolstered by exotic Arabian influences. Then, in 1975, she moved to a very cold United Kingdom, where the variety of vegetables and spices were vastly different to those, which she had grown accustomed. Ever adaptable, Nani just saw this as another opportunity to experiment and transform something basic into something delicious.

Nani settled in the U.K. but never content to sit on her laurels, she often flew back to India to explore her homeland and learn about her culinary heritage and that is where she fell in love with Indian street food.

By the time us grandkids came along, our little taste buds knew no different. When we ate at our Indian friends’ houses, we didn’t understand why their food tasted different so to ours. When we ate at restaurants, we didn’t know why the dishes seemed alien to us. Until Nani explained her story.