At Roshni Kitchen, we aim to give you two types of food:
- Healthy, home-cooked food that is good for your body, mind and soul, based on ayurvedic principles, and,
- Indian street food and popular traditional Indian foods, created by our South Asian volunteers, and made to recipes handed down through the generations.
Ayurveda: we cook traditional South Asian meals based on the practices of Ayurveda by making small changes to the food to focus on health issues and curing health issues through food. We found that traditional Indian and Pakistani dishes are often rich and oily, but we aim to introduce a menu that balances these flavours with the healing principles of Ayurveda. Our commitment is not just to satisfy taste buds but to also address health concerns through diet.
We've embraced the wisdom of Ayurvedic practices, where diet accounts for more than 50% of one's health regimen. Understanding that many modern health issues are diet-related, we ask, "What do you eat?" This simple question can lead to transformative changes in one’s health through diet adjustments and natural remedies.
Street food and traditional South Asian dishes: To bridge the gap between traditional tastes and healthful eating, our menu offers a unique "half and half" concept: an Ayurvedic plate alongside popular South Asian snacks like samosas, pakoras, pani puri, and biryani.
Seasonal cooking: Roshni Kitchen is also a dynamic culinary hub. We plan to change our menu around four times a year, in rhythm with the seasons, and infused with new recipes that our community bring from their diverse backgrounds. These contributions keep our offerings fresh and culturally rich. Similarly, the changes in the season require changes to our diet. We strive to source local, season produced as much as possible.
Expertise: Our café’s ayurvedic knowledge is steered by our in-house Ayurvedic practitioner, Fouzia Ali. All of our food is cooked to authentic recipes by South Asian women who have been taught by their mothers, aunts and grandmothers.
Supporting Our Community
Our café provides training and work experience opportunities to South Asian women with multiple barriers to employment.
In response to the cost of living crisis, we're committed to supporting women facing challenging circumstances, such as homelessness or inadequate living conditions. Thanks to generous funding, we provide 50 free meals weekly to women in need throughout Sheffield. These meal boxes are a testament to our dedication to nourishment and support.
Currently, Roshni Kitchen opens three days a week, serving both breakfast and lunch, with the ambition to expand our opening days to six in the near future. This expansion reflects our hope to offer more opportunities for community gathering and culinary delight
Sustainable approach:
At Roshni Kitchen we deeply care about people and the planet. All our profits are used in our chartable activities at Roshni. We are making every effort to reduce waste; we have a policy of recycling whatever can be recycled. Our kitchen waste is turned into compost. We avoid throw away crockery and cutlery as far as possible for eating in. For take away meals, we strive to choose fully recyclable containers, and offer reusable stainless-steel tiffins (tiered containers) to regular customers, who can buy them from us.
