When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But if, like Juhu resident Kavita Uppal, you have a time-tested and perfected recipe of dal maharani or makhani that can be stored for months in the middle of a pandemic, then throw in a few naans and serve comfort on a plate. And take it a notch further, by introducing smoky flavours like apple, hickory and Bourbon woods to the north Indian favourite. That’s what Uppal, a furniture manufacturer for 25 years, did by starting the home delivery venture The Smokin’ Queen, when her business took a backseat during the lockdown last year.

Kitchen queen

“I’ve always been good at cooking; friends and family members have egged me on for years to start my own venture. I started this in the lockdown, because, apart from financial reasons, I was bored. Moreover, delivery platforms like WeFast and Dunzo made the idea seem convenient,” shares Uppal. The 52-year-old started off by offering her traditional, charcoal-smoked dal maharani, made using the dhungar technique, before playing around with wood chips. Also on the menu are cheese-garlic-spice-loaded naans, a meat sauce that’s also available in a vegan option, chilli jam and onion relish, all of which can be stored in the freezer for days. “I don’t add any preservatives. With smoked products, smoking is a natural preservative,” she informs us.