Catch Riya live on Saturday Kitchen, BBC One, Sat 7 Nov, 10am
As seen on BBC Saturday Kitchen! Make Riya's Nachodums at home
Catch Riya live on Saturday Kitchen, BBC One, Sat 7 Nov, 10am
As seen on BBC Saturday Kitchen! Make Riya's Nachodums at home
Riya was born into a food-loving British-Indian family. She grew up on fresh, homemade food that brought together the best of the East and the best of the West, and was always, always made with love.
Riya’s love for food was unleashed! At university she fancied herself a fine chef (some people fairly questioned this…). She cooked and ate her way through three years, falling for all types of food on her travels in India, China and Tanzania.
Dreaming of a life in food, Riya hosted her first ever supper club, serving homemade paneer packed with flavour. People LOVED it! So she set out to fill the paneer black hole: delicious, high-quality paneer that people would want to eat every day.
All The Aunties was born, alongside Riya’s full-time job. That November, with retail listings on the way, her brother-in-law Jack jumped on board, fresh from building a social enterprise in South Africa, bringing brains, brawn (lol) and a big love of good food and family.
They went all in, full time, paneer all day long. The dream team was born!
Woohoo, we hit the shelves! First Ocado, then in September, Tesco. Our 100% British, handmade paneer went from Riya’s kitchen to fridges up and down the country. Paneer for everyone, not just curry night!
In April we launched in Sainsbury’s stores. We wrote our very first cookbook, The Paneer Cookbook. And in November, Riya cooked live on BBC Saturday Kitchen! You’ll now find us in over 650 Tesco and Sainsbury’s stores and on Ocado. The journey has only just begun, so let’s get going! One pack at a time.
All The Aunties is a family business inspired by, you guessed it, all of Riya’s Aunties! Riya grew up in a family of strong women who moved countries and raised families while working full time. Food was their language of love and how we held on to our heritage. At times it was the one thing that never changed.
This brand wouldn’t be here without these very, very special Aunties.
Saag Paneer
Sima is my mum (and Jack‘s mother-in-law!). She grew up in Zambia, studied in the US and then settled in the UK.
Despite working full time, she spoilt us with home-cooked food every single day. She collected cookbooks, read them cover to cover on Saturday mornings and was making the viral spaghetti all’assassina years before anyone had heard of it.
We had spiced monkfish for Christmas dinner, homemade dosa for Sunday brunch and delicious Gujarati dishes on weeknights. Mum has always been a feeder. Acts of service is definitely her love language (she’d scoff if she heard me say that).
Just deciding what to have for dinner can send me into a spin, let alone feeding a family of four.
Mum made it look effortless. She’s behind the Patels’ love of food and, crucially, she’s the one who taught me to make paneer from scratch!
That’s why she’s the face of our Original Paneer. Super soft, super creamy, super versatile! Amazing grilled, crumbled, fried or snacked on. The perfect fridge staple.
Ras Malai
She’s a spicy one!
First, a confession. Madhu Aunty isn’t actually my aunty, she’s my grandma. I suppose the black and white photo gives it away?
Madhu is genuinely the greatest cook I’ve ever known. Skilled beyond belief, she makes absolutely everything from scratch, bread and yoghurt included, and thinks Jack and I are terrible cooks.
In her words: “She’s launching an Indian food business and doesn’t even like Indian food!” For the record, I love Indian food. I just fancied Mexican that night.
Paneer in a salad does not fill her with joy. Madhu Aunty is a purist and, honestly, I get it.
She was forced to leave East Africa, set up a video shop in the US and built her family there. Food was how she held on to identity, culture and home.
That’s why our Cumin, Chilli & Turmeric is her recipe, with a whole host of aromatics. One for the traditionalists, the purists and the hungry!
Paneer Bhurji
Our foolproof crowd-pleaser!
Confession number two: she’s not my aunty either, she’s my other grandma, my dad’s mum.
She grew up in Uganda and was forced to leave under the dictatorship. Her English wasn’t fluent, but we talked a lot through food.
Whenever we visited, the fridge was full of our favourite chocolate, sparkling Rubicon and her famous patra (a very skilled, very delicious Gujarati dish). She made the thinnest, roundest, softest rotis and had her own very delicious take on pasta: cumin seeds and red chilli powder in. Purists, look away 🤷♀️
She passed away in 2023 and was cooking right up until the end. Some of her food is still in our freezer.
It’s been such a joy to go back through her recipes, dig out old photos and remember her through the greatest love language of all: food.
So here she is, on the front of our fan favourite flavour, Garlic & Herb! Think fryable Boursin that’s packed with protein. Honestly, I can’t get enough.
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