Photo courtesy Savory Cooking Paste
History: When Nav Swatch immigrated to the United States five years ago from northern India, she knew very little about cooking. Hoping to bring the flavors of home to her kitchen in Richmond, Swatch began trying to re-create her mother’s recipes. Noticing that she often used similar combinations of oils, spices and sauteed vegetables, Swatch’s husband suggested that she create a universal cooking base in order to eliminate having to prep the spice mixture each time she cooked. The result was Savory Cooking Paste. About a year ago, Swatch founded the company to share her product and the flavors of northern India. “All you have to do is add a few teaspoons to anything you are cooking, and you can have a delicious, healthy meal from home,” she says.
Specialties: The paste is vegan, allergen-friendly and gluten-free, and it contains no artificial flavorings or colorings. Recipes featuring the paste are posted online at savoryrva.com.
Production: “Every jar of Savory Cooking Paste has the homemade touch in it,” says Swatch, who chops and sautes onions, tomatoes and cloves of garlic and ginger root by hand, while using fresh, whole dry spices. Her kitchen is inspected biannually to ensure the quality and safety of her product.
Buy: Savory Cooking Paste can be purchased at Ellwood Thompson’s, Good Foods Grocery, West End Farmers Market, Ashland Farmers Market, Libbie Market and The Market at 25th.
