Living In Food Paradise - Batasha And SID Mathur

HELLO! MEETS THE ÜBER STYLISH GLOBAL COUPLE WHO BRING THE DIVERSE FLAVOURS OF LIFE TO THEIR HOME AND HEARTH

- Sanghita Singh

We arrive at Batasha and Sid Mathur’s home smackdab in the midst of Diwali festivities within and all around us. Inside their home at Sid’s cosy office, neat packets in fancy pastel and pop colours are stacked up in a corner, waiting to be used as packaging for Khoya – their range of organic and designer mithais. Two years ago, when Sid launched the brand, he didn’t quite know he would be setting off a mini revolution in revival. The mithai that was on its way to extinction amongst health conscious Indians, is slowly making its second coming of sorts. “I was on a ski holiday in France with a friend, where we were discussing among other things, Indian mithais. We realised that the mithai had lost its place in our tradition and culture. People were sending cupcakes with wedding invites, which was ridiculous. And, we thought to ourselves, what if we were to open a really cool mithai place! So, when I came back to India, I worked on the idea and decided to launch a range that was to be made with organic ingredients, was fresh, pure and came in the most attractive and sophisticated packaging,” says Sid.

Sid’s wife, Batasha, a former journalist who worked with The Sunday Times in London and is now a full-time mom and an avid home-cook, chipped in. “Khoya started in my kitchen. We did about nine months of research – planning and ingredient sourcing before we launched formally. I didn’t really work professionally on this but we both love food and bounce ideas off each other and it was natural for me to be part of this,” says Batasha about their endeavour.