We were lucky to catch up with Shilpa Tiku recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shilpa thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

Sure. Thank you for reaching out to me. In 1990, Kashmiri Pandits witnessed a genocide in India, and were asked to flee Kashmir, convert or die. Away from their homes in Kashmir and living in different parts of the world, Kashmiri Pandits are striving to keep their language and culture alive. After migration from Kashmir, Kashmiri Pandits lost touch with their roots and got exposed to different cultures. If we distance ourselves from our own roots, our culture, our food, we will lose our identity. Unfortunately, migration did just that for Kashmiri Pandits. My children will never know our culture, and will never see our ancestral home. Kashmiri Pandits are a very small population and migration diluted our population even more. After I moved to the U.S, I realized that the fortification of tradition is much more complex than we can imagine. I moved to the U.S. from India in 2007. After I had kids I recognized that the traditions I grew up with were getting lost, since I was so far away from home. I realized that a perfect way to preserve our cultural traditions is to continue practicing them in my home. Balancing both cultures is essential to conserving our identity as a family, while embracing a new culture. I wanted to make sure I could preserve our roots and heritage for my children. The food and some cultural rituals that I grew up with are important to me and I wanted to keep them unchanged. I truly believe that maintaining culture gives me a sense of security.

Food is often associated with passing along part of our heritage, the exceptional recipes of our ancestors. I wanted to make sure my children knew that the food they eat everyday reminds them of where they come from. I want them to understand that there is a huge relationship between our food and our culture. Food is an integral part of who each of us are.

Traditional cuisine is passed down from one generation to the next. It also operates as an expression of cultural identity. I wanted to preserve our Kashmiri Pandits food culture. Living in America, I knew my children will be informed about other cultures by trying their foods, and so I wanted to make sure they embrace our heritage through our culture’s food.

The initial idea was to document the recipes so that my children could have them. However, I realized that if I document Kashmiri recipes somewhere I could save the Kashmiri food culture for generations to come.

We as a community survived, thrived but our lives were forever changed. Literally every Kashmiri Pandit has witnessed this tragedy is some form or the other. Our next generation has lost a sense of identity and belonging, our entire community is uprooted. Our children have lost a sense of grounding, and a sense of continuity, a home, our culture, that is a unique part of our personal narrative and identity. That’s why I created www.fastcurries.com.

When I started this blog, I really wasn’t thinking about success. I guess, success is something that you have to define for yourself as an individual. For me starting this blog was to really make a difference in preserving our cultural heritage and doing the things I love like cooking and writing recipes. Blogging about Kashmiri food matches the rhythm of my soul. I have had people from all over the world reaching out to me telling me how they enjoy my recipes and how my blog has enabled their children to cook. I am truly grateful for that.

Shilpa, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I am originally from India and moved to the U.S. in 2007. I am a Chief Research Officer and Partner at a market research company. My job enables me to research and write about diverse topics like water, air, consumer products, as well as several nutritional supplements and health products. I always multitasked in my life. I believe multitasking increases efficiency, adaptability, and resilience. While I was doing my MBA, I started modelling as a hobby and was fortunate enough to model for over 100 leading brands in India. Some of those include Kenstar, Asian Paints, Taj Mahal Tea, Clinic Plus Shampoo, Big Bazar, Vaseline, Bournvita, Everest Pav Bhaji Masala, Knorr Soups and many many more. Multitasking and modelling helped me create more social connections, improved my work performance, and enabled me to focus on purpose over productivity.

So with my full time job and responsibilities, food blogging is something I do because I am passionate about it.

I am truly grateful that I have over 500,000 views on my blog. People from all over the world have been trying Kashmiri food and realize how flavorful it is. My girls ages 11 and 9 literally go on to fastcurries.com and whip up food for themselves. In my opinion, that is true success. It is a great feeling to think that I have made a difference when moms email saying that their teenage kids in college are cooking healthy/ home cooked food due to my easy recipes.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Food blogging is very time consuming and challenging and requires several hours a day. I am a hands on mom, and run a market research and consulting business. So, I have been learning on how to prioritize, that is something I owe to myself, my family, and my business. I sometimes blog about food late nights after a long day at work. Managing my time mindfully is something that I implement step by step in my daily life. I work 18 hours on some days and I have learnt to define my priorities and will also not skimp on quality time with my family.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

So my business partner, at my market research company was someone I worked with at my previous job. We hit it off from the get go and she reached out to me when she decided to start her research business.

For my blog my friend Sejal Patel is my business partner. She is a great photographer and is very creative. We were introduced through a common friend. Sejal manages social media, makes videos for the blog, handles the marketing aspect, and brings her creative side to use with her photography skills.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fastcurries.com
• Instagram: fastcurries
• Facebook: fastcurries
• Other: Pinterst – fastcurries