Every Thursday and Friday, the British-Indian couple Swati and Karthikk Kandala can be spotted in a vibrantly painted food truck at the Surrey Street Market. Their food truck venture named 'Curry on Naanstop' serves authentic Indian street food including vegan dishes in Croydon, Orpington, Bromley, Cheam, Wallington, Beckenham, Sutton and nearby areas.
In India, street food is served from mobile carts and the location of the cart becomes a site of socialising for people. This was one of the reasons why Swati and Karthikk chose a mobile food business over a restaurant. Curry on Naanstop runs from a van with a kitchen on board, and as Swati told Asian Voice, their “recipes are authentic home style simple, fresh and healthy and their food hygiene rating, as per FSA UK, is five”.
Swati and Karthikk came to the UK in 2008 and their ambition of owning a food-based business was in the pipeline since the last five years. Swati works in the financial crime team for a high street bank from Mondays to Wednesdays and starts her day at 3.30 am. Karthikk, a chemical engineer by profession, now works full time for the business and the couple have a nine-year-old son. The vibrant artwork adorning the truck is inspired by Indian festivals, such as flying kites representing the harvest festival Pongal, and the assorted colours on the van representing Holi, the festival of colours.
Speaking to Asian Voice, Swati said that since they started Curry on Naanstop in January, the standard fixed menu of Curry on Naanstop offers Mumbai street food Kolkata street wraps, apart from other food items on popular request via social media. Their menus are flexible to include popular dishes such as Kachauri and popular Indo-Chinese food. The food truck also claims to bring the experience of Indian street food, which has flavours and mobility at the core of its heart, to people's doors. For events at home and office is like “hiring a commercial kitchen for a day”, apart from collection services.
Swati and Karthikk felt that since the nostalgia of Indian street food also includes visual aesthetics, they ought to recreate the visual experience to go along with the food. Swati told Asian Voice that their customer base is expanding to include people who were unfamiliar with Indian food beyond 'the curry'.
