This business brings southern Indian food to the Okanagan

Imagine a fresh Indian dish delivered right to your door, hand made by an enthusiastic home cook who is bringing life to recipes passed down through generations.

That’s at the heart of a new small-batch delivery food service that’s launched in Kelowna. It’s introducing Southern Indian flare and flavours to the Okanagan.

Not Just Curries is a family run business by husband-and-wife duo Rahul Jayan, the chef, and Deepa Pillay, who manages the business and marketing aspects.

The couple moved to the city a few years ago and are now offering a unique and tasty menu that changes each month, with new fresh meals served and prepared daily.

“The reason we do meal to deliver service is because freshness is of top priority in India,” Pillay told Kelowna10. “With Indian food, if you freeze it, it breaks down the flavours and you really don’t get the best of it, so that’s why we do it this way.”

The new food service model sees users visit notjustcurries.ca each month to see what meals are going to be available. Users choose a meal – which is typically comprised of three to four dishes - and the food is then delivered right to their door.

As the team do batch cooking out of a licensed kitchen in West Kelowna, they source ingredients from local small businesses such as Dyna’s Fine Meats and Deli, and the Indian grocery store, Fruiticana.

Bringing lesser-known Southern Indian cuisine to Kelowna was important for the couple, as food is their way of sharing memories from home in Bangalore, with their new neighbours.

“Most of the food that we have on our menu consists of dishes that are passed on from my grandmother and my mother,” Jayan said.

“We miss the food we grew up with. … They’re true family recipes that we’ve been able to bring into the community,” Pillay added. “For me, this is a way of giving back to the community we love so much, talking to them, and educating them about our culture through food.”

Jayan was working in financial services when he realized food was his real passion. His wife has plenty of experience in business and marketing, so they decided it was time to start Not Just Curries.

“As a chef, my mother’s been a big inspiration for me and I got into cooking because of her,” Jayan said. “I still have memories of my mom waking up at five in the morning and by six she’s ready to start cooking.”