A native of India, and previous resident of Hong Kong, Arpita Chadha started her vegetarian Indian food pop-up restaurant as a twist of COVID-19 fate. A former IT job brought her to Atlanta, but a quick pandemic pivot had her soon sharing some of her family’s favorite recipes, under the name East Atlanta India Company. Chadha’s home cooking is now known as some of the best vegetarian Indian food in the city. “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes spoke with Chadha about her dishes and pop-up restaurant.
Interview Highlights:
About regional cooking in India:
“Some of the foods that I have cooked, and I always write about it, are from different regions that I have learned from other family members who have lived in different regions. When we go to restaurants, we try and go to places which offer more than just authentic cooking. I try to bring all of that into my cooking.”
Why she made the switch from IT to entrepreneur:
“IT is still a part of my life. I’ve always been passionate about technology. So right now, I volunteer with the refugee non-profits in Atlanta where I help some of the refugees there to navigate in the world of IT. However, my life has changed quite a bit,” said Chadha.
She continued, “Life has changed quite a bit by cooking and serving locally. I’ve been able to get out in the community more and for the first time, I can stop and smell the roses. *laughs* There have been improvements with my own relationship with food because my job was just so hectic before this. And the satisfaction that I would get from people when they would say they enjoyed my food, is just incomparable.”
There will be a pop-up event Saturday, June 19 from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. in East Atlanta Village. She will be serving Dum Biryani with Bagara Baigan. More information about pop-up events, recipes, and how to order meals can be found on her Facebook page here.
/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/60d9d6c64cdf3301b06b2dfd/0x0.jpg)
