Member Spotlight: Little Miss Delhi

From kitchen experiments during lockdown to serving hundreds at Trafalgar Square’s Diwali celebrations, Kav’s journey with Little Miss Delhi is one of passion, persistence, and really good food.

What started as a creative outlet while navigating motherhood has grown into a thriving street-food brand with a simple but powerful mission: Indian food without the bloat. Think roasted spices, homemade chutneys, and dishes that leave you energised rather than reaching for a nap.

In this Q&A, Kav shares the story behind Little Miss Delhi, what makes her menu different, and the highs and lows of running an independent food business while juggling school runs, football matches, and a serious pizza obsession.

How did you get into hospitality and what inspired you to set up a business?

Little Miss Delhi was truly born from motherhood and masalas.

As my family will tell you, I’ve always been a foodie. I love experimenting with new flavours, feeding everyone around me and I love to eat! But it wasn’t until my youngest daughter was born with a cleft lip and struggled with reflux that food took on a whole new meaning for me.

We couldn’t go out to eat and enjoy meals like before. Being at home with two young kids was beautiful but isolating at times, and cooking became my escape, my creative outlet and therapy rolled into one. I’d spend hours experimenting with flavours, roasting spices and creating lighter Indian dishes that still packed a punch.

Before long, my kitchen turned into a mini restaurant. My husband would come home to six or eight different dishes on the table, and we’d laugh wondering who was meant to eat it all.

Then lockdown hit, and he encouraged me to share my food on Instagram. That’s how @KavsKitchen2020 was born, a space where I posted recipes, played with photography and connected with the foodie community. To my surprise, it really took off! Even Bethannie from Hollyoaks recreated some of my dishes, and I was invited to create step-by-step recipe guides for teachers who’d been working tirelessly through COVID.

Having two young girls who play a lot of football, I’m passionate about showing them that food can be both delicious and feel-good. They’re massive foodies too, they love their Indian dishes, just lighter! Everything I create now is built around that idea: real food, real flavour, real fuel.

That passion grew into Little Miss Delhi, my street-food brand serving Indian food without the bloat.

“Indian food without the bloat” – what’s unique about your menu?

Who says Indian food has to leave you in a food coma? At Little Miss Delhi, we roast our spices, mix fresh marinades, and serve lighter, vibrant dishes that actually make you feel good. It’s flavour you can eat and still dance after!

Traditional Indian food is known for being bold and comforting, but it’s often heavy, oily or leaves you needing a nap afterwards! I wanted to flip that idea completely. At Little Miss Delhi, we focus on feel-good flavour, using roasted spices, homemade chutneys, and fresh marinades that deliver all the taste without the tiredness.

Everything on my menu is cooked from scratch, using ingredients that not only taste good but do good. My chicken and paneer tikkas are infused with homemade ghee, it adds a rich, nutty depth of flavour while helping support digestion and overall nourishment. Ghee is celebrated in Indian cooking for its balancing properties, it’s gentle on the stomach and helps food feel lighter on the body.

Our rice isn’t just rice, we serve fragrant cardamom rice and a spicy rice cooked with carom seeds, both known to aid digestion and reduce bloating.

Customers can build their own meal, a wrap, rice bowl or loaded chip box, choosing their fillings, salads and chutneys so it’s fresh and personalised every time.

It’s Indian food that feels lighter, fresher and energising….real food, real flavour, real fuel.

What must I try from your menu?

It has to be the Chicken Tikka Delhi Burrito. 

Fresh off the griddle, the wrap is warm and golden. Inside ghee-infused chicken tikka, tender and full of flavour. A spoonful of spicy rice, a handful of crisp salad, a drizzle of coriander-mango and mint-chilli chutneys each layer adds its own hit of freshness. Rolled tight. Toasted to perfection. Served steaming hot.

You can smell the spices before it even reaches your hands. You can hear the sizzle. You can taste the balance rich, tangy, fresh, and light all at once.

An independent hospitality business that inspires you?

Definitely Baked Bird! They’re doing something really different in the industry, wings cooked without oil, proving that comfort food can still feel light. I love that they’re making space for better food at affordable prices, it’s exactly the kind of change we need more of in hospitality.

Their branding is spot on, and the owners are genuinely some of the nicest people around. They’re always willing to share advice or help if you ask and that says a lot about their character.

I find inspiration in anyone who puts heart into what they serve, because good hospitality is never just about food, it’s about the feeling you leave people with.

Favourite events to trade at?

I absolutely love local community events. My first ever one was a local football tournament, and going back there a year later felt surreal. I love seeing the regulars who’ve followed my journey, especially when they say things like, “We were so happy to see your van pull up!” or “We’ve eaten your food so many times and still don’t feel bloated…..how?!” They always look slightly puzzled when they say it, and it makes me smile every time. Those reactions are the best reminder of why I started Little Miss Delhi in the first place.

This year also marked a huge milestone, debuting at Trafalgar Square for Diwali on the Square. What an experience! From the prep and the sheer volume of people to serving at record speed, it was one of the toughest challenges I’ve faced to date. But it left me feeling like I can logistically plan any event now.

I’m a big believer in pushing yourself. Tony Robbins says you should do at least one hard thing a year to build resilience. Although, if you ask me, I think I’ve done about twenty this year alone! But Diwali on the Square would definitely be the one I’d pick, the growth, learning and sense of achievement were immense.

Something you would change about the sector?

I’d love to see more support and visibility for small independent traders. There’s so much talent and creativity in this industry, but sometimes it’s hard for newer businesses to be seen or get access to the bigger events. That’s why I really admire what Indi Local are doing for small food brands, helping us connect with customers, share our stories and be found.

It would also be amazing to see more support networks for traders, spaces where we can swap tips on things like EHO prep, the best thermometers, systems that make life easier, or just share what’s worked for us. A bit more collaboration between traders would go a long way, because we’re all in the same boat, learning as we go.

The sector is full of passion and hard work, but small independents still need more practical support and fair chances to grow. With the right backing, we could all do even better. NCASS has been a great source of knowledge for me, and I always recommend other small businesses to join their membership , it’s an incredible community to learn from and be part of.

Most important lesson you’ve learned running this business?

That everything can be figured out, even when it feels like it can’t be.

Running Little Miss Delhi has taught me that no plan ever goes exactly to plan, whether it’s power issues, weather chaos, or realising (at 6 a.m., when you’ve reached Trafalgar Square!) that you’ve left your food truck keys back at home… 45 minutes away. There’s always something, but each time, you learn to laugh, adapt, and move forward.

I’ve learnt that I can either live in a state of anxiety or use it to build resilience. Not to say I don’t still get anxious — wondering “Have we got enough produce? Have I forgotten something?!”  but hey, it’s a work in progress! My poor family’s ears and the gym are my best listening buddies.

And if one market, festival or event says no, just keep going, apply for a hundred and one will say yes. That’s honestly been my biggest mindset shift: keep showing up, keep learning, and trust that the right opportunities always come your way.

How do you manage the work–life balance?

If you’ve ever tried answering event emails while packing school lunches, welcome to my version of balance! It’s a work in progress.

I’ll come off a week of prepping, cooking, and standing for what feels like a gazillion hours, the smell of spices still clinging to my t-shirt, then go straight into washing uniforms, cooking fresh lunches for my foodie kids, and driving them to football runs. I squeeze in the gym at 5.30 a.m. just to make sure I don’t lose my mind.

Sometimes I think I’ve gone a little crazy, full working-mum mode, but it’s all part of the story. One minute I’m plating up chicken tikka under the glow of the food-truck lights, the next I’m yelling “Boots! Water bottle! Shin pads!” out the car window. Balance is a generous word, most days it’s about juggling, laughing, and finding calm in the noise of it all.

Seeing my girls watch me build something from scratch keeps me going. They’re so proud of Mum’s food, my eldest even hands out my business cards to all her teachers! Those are the moments that refuel me when I’m tired or feeling that mum guilt creeping in.

Tell us about a highlight from your time trading so far?

It’s hard to pick one, every event teaches you something new, but Diwali on the Square will always stand out. It wasn’t just a highlight, it was a turning point.

We started setting up before sunrise, the air was cold, the city still quiet and then suddenly Trafalgar Square came alive with colour, music and the smell of fresh masala chips frying. Within minutes of opening, there were queues forming, people taking photos, and that hum of energy only big events have.

Somewhere between the drizzle bottles and the samosa chaat rush, I looked up and saw people smiling, filming, dancing and it hit me that we’d brought Little Miss Delhi all the way here. From cooking at home for friends to serving hundreds in one of London’s most iconic spaces. It was surreal.

It wasn’t easy the pace, the pressure, the sheer volume, but it showed me how far I’d come and what my little business was capable of. That day summed up everything I love about this journey: the chaos, the community, and the feeling that even the hardest days turn into proud memories.

Are you more of a breakfast, lunch or dinner person?

Can I say both breakfast and lunch? Since becoming a mum, sometimes the best meal is the one I get to eat in silence…just me, my porridge and five minutes of peace, haha.

Breakfast is my little ritual , warm porridge, quiet kitchen, and a moment to breathe before the day explodes into school runs, prep lists and event messages. But lunch has my heart, especially when I’m at a market and we do swappies with other food vendors. Nothing beats eating someone else’s food for a change, that’s pure trader happiness right there!

One eating experience that always stays with you?

If there’s one dish that takes me straight back to my childhood, it’s my mum’s chilli aloo. She’d cook it with cumin and mustard seeds sizzling in butter, then finish it with a big squeeze of lemon — tangy, spicy, simple perfection. We’d eat it with buttered toast, not chapati pure carbs on carbs and it always made me feel so happy inside. That warmth, that comfort, that “lick-your-fingers” kind of joy is the feeling I still chase when I cook today.

Years later, I ate at Gymkhana, and the flavours were truly inspiring. Every detail was thought through: the aloo papdi chaat had each element seasoned perfectly, even the way the potatoes were cut  small, even chunks changed the texture and gave every bite that flavour bomb moment. And their pani puri was just as impressive; every component, from the filling to the chutneys, had its own seasoning and character.

It reminded me that seasoning is everything, it’s what builds layers, emotion and depth in a dish. That experience reinforced what I love most about food: when every bite tells its own story and makes you feel something.

That’s what I try to bring to Little Miss Delhi, food that makes people smile, feel comforted, and maybe even lick their fingers a little.

And yes… I’m still a carb lover today!

Your ultimate food guilty pleasure?

Italian food….hands down! I’m obsessed with pizza and all things carbs. If I could eat it every day, I would (and honestly, I probably do). Whenever I’m trading, you’ll usually find me sneaking over to the pizza van between customers, pretending it’s “research.”

I know I run an Indian street-food brand, but carbs are my ultimate weakness …hot, cheesy, doughy perfection. Guilty? Maybe. Regretful? Never!

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