Hot & spicy! 'OUR RECIPE FOR SUCCESS'

The mother and daughter have cooked up a winning brand

- Kasia Jillings

As a young child growing up in Zanzibar, twice a week Subhadra Odedra would accompany her father to the local leprosy mission to donate milk and bread.

“The most important thing you can do is feed the people,” he counselled her on every trip.

Many decades on, it’s a philosophy the now Auckland-based 71-year-old still lives by every day.

Subhadra, who is known as Sobhna, is renowned among family and friends for her authentic Indian cooking. And her food also proved to be wildly popular at Kiwi markets.

So much so, Sobhna’s curry pastes caught the attention of supermarket chain Countdown, earning a coveted place in its Kete Accelerator Programme.

That’s given them $250,000 in support, including a $20,000 cash grant, marketing assistance and mentoring so they can upscale, which is life-changing for Sobhna and her daughter and business partner Nimeesha Odedra.

“It’s still very surprising to me,” smiles Sobhna. “Sometimes I think it’s a dream, but it’s our dream that has come true.”

The idea for the eponymous range of curry pastes and condiments first began when Sobhna found herself locked out of the job market at 55, after leaving her supermarket job to help raise Nimeesha’s newborn son Shiv. Bored with being at home so much during the week, she jumped at the chance to set up a weekend market stall.