These Super Moms Are India’s YouTube Food Stars

Nisha Madhulika has over 20 lakh subscribers.

There is nothing in this world that can beat maa ka haath ka khana. Agree?

On Mother’s Day, we are featuring some of India’s YouTube food stars, who have made it big with their entrepreneurial skills and of course passion for food. Some even gave up their full-time jobs to embrace family or mommyhood, however found their stride in cooking on YouTube.

"I didn't become a YouTube sensation overnight" - Nisha Madhulika

Nisha started out with a recipe blog, which found much attention until requests poured in from fans to create videos that would make the cooking process much easier. "I realised it was a logical idea. After all, in a video, I can demonstrate each step properly," she says. The first recipe video was up soon, and it received a tremendous response. Nisha has never looked back since.

A busy cooking and video upload schedule never came in her way performing family duties. She says, "My husband plays a great role in helping me run the YouTube channel and manages a lot of things for me even to this day." Not many know that it was her sons who started her recipe website and still manage it for her. "Everyone in my family is into IT, so whenever I give them some work, they do it for me," she adds. They encourage her and are proud of her achievement, she says.

This Mother's Day, you can watch Nisha Madhulika make cheese packets on her channel. She promises that even kids can make the recipe for their mums.

"I record my videos when my kids are asleep" - Kabita Singh

After moving to the UK post marriage, Kabita decided to make her food dream a reality. Noticing a gap in the YouTube recipe video space, and a move back to India in 2014, saw Kabita take a plunge into video creation on the digital space. She also realised that with motherhood came the challenge to go back to a full-time job. Today, Kabita’s Kitchen is all about simple Indian home cooking, and boasts over 14 lakh subscribers.

As a mother of two young kids, Kabita is today successful in striking a chord with her audience. But, her biggest challenge has been managing time for her channel as well as family. “I usually record late at night so that there isn’t much background noise and my kids are asleep,” she says.

Today, a busy cooking schedule and posting videos on YouTube leave Kabita with little time for her kids. Amidst all this, her 5 & ½ year old son has had an influence on deciding recipes for her YouTube channel. “I have made many recipe videos because of him because he wanted to eat that dish. Some of the recipes that I made for him are extremely popular on my channel,” she adds. This Mother’s Day, Kabita will be working on a video about her journey and how her mother has been an inspiration for her success.

Archana Arte is fondly known as Archana tai.

"I love to cook restaurant-style food only for my kids" - Archana Arte

A Marathi YouTube sensation, Archana has fans across the globe. Archana tai, as fondly called by her fans, began her journey cooking simple Maharashtrian dishes that she would make for her family. "I started my YouTube channel because I wanted to help working women who are pressed for time and are looking for easy recipes to make at home," she says.

With a strong support system and love for food, her journey has been one to look up to. Being the mother of two kids, she always tries new recipes and dishes. "It was for my kids that I took to fusion food. If they liked something that they ate at a restaurant, they would ask me to try making it at home. Honestly, I cook restaurant-style food only because of them," she adds.

Being the digital food sensation that she is, Archana tai's focus has always been simple home-cooked food, which is what connects with her audience as well. "I was travelling with my family in a train when a little girl sitting beside me told me she was a big fan. She also took my autograph. Although I was a little shy, but my family was very proud," she quips.

On Mother's Day, she plans to make chicken tikka as the kids love it.

"I didn't enjoy cooking for a long time" - Seema Gadh

Post an early marriage and without any interest in cooking, Seema entered the kitchen much against her wishes. As time passed and children came into the picture, she started developing an interest with the sole purpose of cooking good food for them.

The journey from since then to cooking for a YouTube channel, Seema has definitely come a long way. "Cooking is just a fear that most people have as I believe that anything cooked with passion is wonderful," she says. After a few initial hiccups, her team helped ease matters for her in front of the camera. "The people that I worked with were very sweet and encouraging, and they helped me get comfortable doing something I never did before," she says.

With her imminent success, she says her kids are the most proud. "They keep asking me why I make such good food on camera and not very often at home," she laughs. This Mother's Day, she plans to make something special for her kids.