Every Saturday, middle-schooler Nora Gupta helps her dad at the farmers market. Saurabh Gupta sells Indian masalas at the Mother’s Kitchen booth, the business that he owns. Saurabh says he invited his daughter to assist him because he enjoys time spent with his daughter. But with experience, Nora is becoming more like a partner in the enterprise. 

Nora meets customers and makes sales. “I handle the money and I package the orders. Dad talks about the product and gives out samples.” Saurabh credits his daughter with knowing the business and having an eye for set up and presentation of the product.

Nora knows her way around a kitchen. “I love cooking. At home, I cook all the time.” But regulations at the commercial kitchen where her father prepares, packages, and freezes the spicy masala sauces do not allow someone as young as Nora to cook, so she assists by packaging the prepared masala sauces. 

Nora also makes social media posts on Instagram and, with her sister Meena, created an I-movie about her dad and Mother’s Kitchen.

Her experiences are inspiring her dreams of working in the culinary arts. “You can create bonding experiences over food. Cooking Indian food is part of who I am, part of my culture.”

She aims to apply to Minuteman, a career technical education high school where she can take workshops in the vocational path she has chosen and get a taste of everything related to that career. 

Currently Mother’s Kitchen sells four types of masala sauce. Each home-cooked batch is simmered to intensify the flavor and then frozen. The ingredients are vegan but are suitable for mixing into any protein dish. Customers can also purchase dry spice mixes.

Mother’s Kitchen | Saurabh and Nora Gupta | (781) 369-9046

“With Mother’s Kitchen Masalas, a home-cooked Indian meal is not a luxury, anyone can do it!”