From being the children’s favourite aunty, who has magic in her hands, to the home chef who revived treasured recipes of her Awadhi gharana — Sima Ahmed became Sima ji of MasterChef India and a gem of the Gormei line of chefs. This year, for Eid, My Kolkata traces the journey of the owner of Kolkata cloud kitchen Sima’s Kitchen Secrets.
Her ‘shuruwat’
Sima Ahmed came to Kolkata after her marriage from Faizabad, where she grew up. A homemaker and mother of three, she kept busy fulfilling her family duties. Given that she was married into a family of businessmen, they often had visitors come over everyday and leave after enjoying a sumptuous meal. And all credit went to Sima, who made delectable Awadhi food — from biryani and kebabs to desserts. “We always had guests come over and they would love eating the food I made. From my husband's colleagues and friends to my children’s friends, everyone would expect biryani at home, but I went ahead and made my special recipes beyond biryani,” said Sima, taking pride in her Yemeni lineage from which she draws a lot of her cooking inspiration.
Eid was another time when Sima’s home kitchen would smell of Awadhi flavours, most of the recipes that belonged to her gharana like Awadhi-style Biryani, Moti Pulao, Gola Gosht Kebabs, Chaps, etc. It would often be a six- to seven-course meal celebrating the Awadhi legacy. “I think people like my food because Awadhi cuisine is very subtle when it comes to the spices. Unlike Mughlai, the dishes are flavourful, but not heavily spiced,” explained Sima.
Homemaker to home chef
After years of relishing her food, Sima’s daughter and daughter-in-law encouraged her to start her small cloud kitchen for taking orders. Recalling how her home chef’s journey began, Sima said, “They told me bas bohot hogaya free mein sabko khilana, ab sab order karenge (Enough of cooking for free, now people will order from you). We started with a small pop-up at home in 2018 called Shaam-e-Awadh, where our friends, family and acquaintances came over. The two girls coordinated it while I made the food. Overall, I really enjoyed it.”
Whoever ate her food pondered about the secrets of her cooking. That ties in with the name of her cloud kitchen — Sima’s Kitchen Secrets — that began around 2017. While the biryani and haleem were a hit, many of her kebabs like Murgh Balai Kebab, Kakori Kebab, Chapli Kebabs, Resha kebabs became quite popular. Since then the home chef has held several pop-ups and curated special menus. In 2019, she went to Dadagiri and cooked biryani on the set. Sourav Ganguly tasted and appreciated her cooking.
Journey to bigger platforms
The secrets of Sima’s kitchen were uncovered by Gormei, a Hong Kong-based company that curated culinary experiences. Argha Sen, the man behind Gormei, collaborated with Sima for intimate dinners and pop-ups like Awadhi Dastarkhan, Calcutta Christmas etc. Speaking about the home chef, Sen said, “Sima is one of the finest chefs on the Gormei panel and our association spans multiple events in Kolkata, Delhi and Mumbai in the last three years. She simply has magic in her hands! Her heirloom recipes, from the ethereal Moti Pulao to the delicate Chusta Kabab are cooked with refinement and finesse, and are redolent of her Faizabadi nazakat and tehzeeb.”
After garnering accolades for her cooking, it was time for Sima Ahmed to fulfil one of her culinary dreams — that of participating in a cooking reality show. It came true in 2023 when she got a call from MasterChef India.
“I used to watch MasterChef India with my children and wanted to see myself on TV cooking for the esteemed judges. Finally, when I got the call, my family motivated me to go. So it happened and the journey was full of new experiences. I met talented contestants and learnt from the judges,” recalled Sima, who became Sima ji for the entire cast and crew of the show.
Chefs Ranveer Brar, Vikas Khanna and Pooja Dhingra appreciated her cooking and became a fan of her Saalan.
Looking forward
After her return from MasterChef India, she has been back at cooking at her cloud kitchen and collaborating with Gormei. Asked if she would like to open her own restaurant someday, she said, “I don’t think I can manage a restaurant at this age anymore (laughs). But I can definitely keep cooking for those who love eating. I am content with what I do and would love to keep doing better at it — which is feeding people the food I make.”
This Eid, she plans to spend the day with her family over good food and quality time.
