God’s messages can be a little challenging to decipher but it doesn’t get any clearer than “samosas”.
This was the word Sabiha Izaks heard as she prayed in her home city of Durban and, today, samosas are precisely what she does.
Well, those and creamy chicken spring rolls, beef curry, breyani and lamb bunny chows, butter chicken and chicken malai, masala chips, garlic naan, koeksisters, half-moons and seekh kebabs.
Five years into filling bellies from her home kitchen in Klein Windhoek, Sabiha is the cheerful cook behind the eponymous Sabiha’s Indian Takeaway. A humble pickup and delivery service specialising in Indian cuisine and built on faith, hope and belief.
“When I came back to Namibia, God spoke to me about these samosas and at first I had no interest but He said He wanted me to start a business so I did,” says Izaks, who is not beyond shipping frozen samosas and spring rolls out in bulk and by the dozen to Indian food lovers at Oranjemund.
Contemplating why Indian food is so popular and worth every penny involved in transporting it 800 kilometres south, Izaks credits two things.
“Everybody loves Indian food because of the aroma and the flavour,” she says and adds that Indian food’s appeal is also in its variety.
“I always say when you have one dish, we Indians have five or six different ways to make it. You really can go to five stalls selling the same dish and it will taste different at each one.”
While Windhoek has a respectable selection of Indian restaurants focused on delicious sit-down meals, Izaks’ partner Dario Izaks highlights the difference between their takeaway format and your favourite Indian spot.
“People have the idea that you have to sit down to eat Indian food. People also think of Indian food as hot but not all of it is. Many people miss out on flavours that will just blow your mind when you taste them because they have an incomplete idea about Indian food.”
He says Sabiha’s makes Indian food simple.
“You have your beef curry and your naan and your butter chicken. I have nothing against other Indian restaurants because the big menus, the variety of food and the traditional names are good. That’s culture. But we try to introduce Indian food to the people of Namibia simply and in a way they can relate to so they get to know and love it.”
Preparing freshly made starters, snack boxes, platters, savouries, main dishes and desserts from Monday to Friday, Sabiha’s Indian Takeaway is a quality operation run primarily through Facebook and WhatsApp.
He recommends the beef curry, butter chicken or a secret sauce doused Gatsby and Izaks, who will adjust the heat to suit your taste buds, says absolutely everybody is welcome.
Follow Sabiha’s Indian Takeaway on Facebook for more information and find them fresh at the Inspire Market every Saturday.
