Here’s how Natasha Gandhi turned a baking break into a 1.6M-follower food empire

We meet her at her Worli apartment, overlooking the sea on one side and Siddhivinayak temple on the other. Part of the living room has been transformed into a Gram-ready kitchen in soft pinks. Bronze utensils, plants and cookbooks line the shelves behind the island where she now cooks for her 1.6 million followers on Instagram.

A matcha maverick of sorts — she once fixed herself a matcha drink mid-flight — she whips up a fizzy tropical matcha with Yakult and soda, inspired by something she tasted in Bangkok. “I can recreate anything I taste,” she says.

As she waited for the results of her fifth and final attempt at cracking the CA exam, she enrolled in a two-day baking course in 2018 that cost Rs 2,000. From her articleship stipend of Rs 3,000 a month, she had saved about Rs 40,000. She convinced her father to let her invest it in an OTG oven, a high-grade mixer, an electric whisk and some basic supplies. When her sweets-loving father was diagnosed with borderline diabetes, she began experimenting with healthier desserts using millets flour and alternative sweeteners. “It took me six months to crack the recipe,” she recalls. The breakthrough was an almond strawberry tea cake.

In November that year, she put together a small menu of millet-based desserts with Greek yoghurt frostings or a homemade hazelnut-chocolate spread, launched an Instagram page called House of Millets — a Mumbai-based venture specialising in gluten-free, vegan and millet-based — and sent samples to friends and influencers, including Saloni Kukreja, who tagged her in a story. Within weeks, Gandhi had 50-60 orders.

Then came January 15, 2019, the day of results. She had failed. “My parents looked at me and said, ‘At least your cake business is doing well.’” In some ways, she was relieved. The business grew. She began working at FoodHall Cookery Studio in Khar, handling social media while observing chefs such as Manpreet Dhody and visiting names like Vikas Bagul and Vinesh Johnny. Six months later came a call: a television cooking show was auditioning contestants. After several rounds, she discovered it was MasterChef.

Banana leaf paneer biryani (Photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee)

Her audition dish — millet pasta with makhni sauce — earned her the first apron of the season. “It was the first time I was making millet pasta but it turned out just right. The judge appreciated the texture and my life just flipped,” she says. Over the next few months, she aced challenges with dishes such as avocado ice cream, apple froyo and Gujarati kadhi, finishing in the top five.

When the show ended in February 2020, workshops and events followed, and her Instagram following had now jumped from 2,000 to 60,000. Then the pandemic hit. “People began messaging me asking how to make tea, poha, sabudana khichdi. They were stuck at home without help.” With a tripod, a makeshift set-up on the floor of their Mulund home and her sister behind the camera, she began creating recipe videos. The response was immediate. Today, her videos clock millions of views.

Back in her Worli kitchen, the island counter is laid out with ingredients for her coastal-style banana leaf-covered paneer biryani: whole spices, birista (deep-fried thinly sliced onions), blanched vegetables, spiced boiled potatoes, tamarind paste, coconut milk, jaggery powder, curry leaves and cubes of paneer, arranged in kansa bowls.

In a brass handi, she builds the masala with ghee, onions, ginger-garlic paste and tomatoes. Once the oil separates, she adds spices, green chillies and curry leaves, before pouring in coconut milk and finishing with jaggery and tamarind for balance. Banana leaves are softened over flame, layered with rice, masala, paneer, potato and coriander-coconut chutney, sealed and steamed. When opened, the aroma fills the room.

What distinguishes Gandhi are her series-driven explorations. ‘Biryanis from India’ documents dozens of regional variations. ‘Pastas from India’ puts the spotlight on dishes such as Gujarat’s dal dhokli, Bihar’s dal ki dulhan and Kerala’s pidiyum kozhiyum as forms of pasta. “For the longest time, I only made vegetarian recipes,” she says. That changed when her food photographer husband, Vinayak Grover, recovering from a back injury suggested she make biryani. Research led her far beyond the familiar Hyderabadi and Lucknowi versions and into a rabbit hole of regional culinary histories. She put together a list of 50 biryanis, beginning with atterachi biryani by the Syrian Catholics of Kerala. Grover brought his visual sensibility to the shoots. The video went viral. “I started reading more, attending (food anthropologist) Kurush Dalal’s culinary workshops, digging deeper,” she says.

Today, the couple works as a team with two culinary graduates, a videographer and four editors. They shoot three videos a day, from noon to 7 pm, while Gandhi’s sister manages social media.

Does the algorithm-driven world ever overwhelm them? “We balance it well and that’s also why we have such a big team but yes, on some days, it does,” she admits, adding, “That’s when we pack our bags and leave for a short trip.”

Their favourite escape? She grins. “We’re Thailand paglus. We love the country and the food.”

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Recipe for Banana leaf Paneer Biryani

Ingredients:

The paneer
Paneer: 350 g (cubes), red chilli pwd: 1 tsp, turmeric pwd: 1 tsp, ginger-garlic paste: 1½ tbsp, black pepper pwd: ½ tsp, salt: to taste, lemon juice: 1 tbsp, oil/ ghee: 1–2 tsp

The biryani masala
Ghee: 1 tbsp, sliced onions: 1 cup, ginger-garlic paste: 1 tbsp, tomatoes (chopped or puréed): ¾ cup, curry leaves: 2 sprigs, green chillies (slit): 2, coconut milk: ½ cup, tamarind paste: 1 tsp, grated jaggery: 1-1½ tsp, red chilli pwd: 1 tsp, turmeric pwd: ½ tsp, coriander pwd: 2 tsp, cumin pwd: 1 tsp, biryani masala: 1½ tsp

The rice
Basmati rice: 2½ cups, bay leaves: 2, green cardamom: 4, cloves: 4, cinnamon: 1 inch, star anise: 1 (optional) salt: to taste
The coconut chutney
Fresh or desiccated coconut: 1 cup, coriander leaves : ½ cup, green chilli: 1, ginger: ½ inch, sugar: ½-1 tsp, salt: to taste, lemon juice: 1 tsp

The boiled potatoes
Potatoes: 6, oil: 1 tsp, red chilli pwd: ½ tsp, turmeric: ¼ tsp, salt:
a pinch
For assembling Banana leaves: 2 large pieces (or 4 smaller ones), birista: garnish.

Method

• Mix the powdered spices, ginger-garlic paste, salt and lemon juice. Coat the paneer and rest for 15–20 minutes. Sear on medium heat until golden on both sides.
• For the masala, saute onions in ghee. Add ginger-garlic paste, tomatoes and cook until oil separates. Stir in powdered spices, biryani masala and salt; cook 2-3 minutes. Add curry leaves and green chillies. Pour in coconut milk and simmer for 5 minutes. Finish with jaggery and tamarind.
• Wash and soak rice for 30 minutes. Boil water with salt and whole spices. Add rice and cook till 90 per cent done. Drain and spread lightly.
• Grind chutney ingredients to a coarse paste.
• Boil, peel and halve the potatoes. Sprinkle red chilli powder, turmeric and salt and sear until golden.
• Lightly heat banana leaves over a flame until soft. Place two in a cross. Layer: masala, rice, paneer, a spoon of chutney, potato, more rice, and birista. Tie into a tight parcel and steam for 15 minutes on medium heat.