Mera naam Raji hai! Main Bengaluru ke top engineers ke ghar pe khana banati hoon, but inka khana bohot alag hai!” It’s likely you stayed, watching a few seconds more as Rajshree Manger Thapa, aka Raji ((@homefoodswithraji on Insta), introduced herself and cooked ‘ghar ka khana’. With her innocence and no-nonsense kitchen updates, the Darjeeling-born cook has emerged as the new face quietly building an audience on Instagram, offering insight into what Bengaluru professionals are eating and what they actually should eat.
Raji’s first reel went live earlier this month, on Feb 14. The videos are simple in format – steady shots, minimal editing and a focus on the food, its nutritional values and the process of cooking. By Friday (Feb 27), her page had crossed a whopping 91k followers. “I didn’t expect something like this to happen. We’re working hard as well,” Raji says, describing the sudden attention and steady work that have followed, adding, “Madam told me before starting the page that I might get famous, but this feels unreal.”
The ‘madam’ she refers to is Aishwarya Sunil, co-founder and CEO of a marketing agency, the mind shaping the page. She first noticed Raji on WhatsApp, where short, playful cooking videos hinted at a natural comfort with the camera. “She used to post TikTok-style stories. That’s when I knew this could work,” Sunil reminisces.
The idea followed soon after. Sunil wanted to create a nutrition-focused page and asked Raji if she would be the face of it, and the answer was ‘yes’. This simple exchange turned into a format and is now resonating with thousands of young professionals. “I started making meal plans that were nutritious but didn’t feel like restriction – food that people would actually want to eat,” Sunil shares, adding, “Raji brings those plans to life,” while Raji asserts, “Madam does more hard work than me.”
Cooking daily for ‘IT professionals’ has given Raji a front-row view into their eating habits. “Most ask about protein. In many houses, meals follow a fixed schedule,” the 35-year-old shares, innocence evident in her voice, further revealing, “In other homes, groceries arrive at the last minute. Then I cook based on whatever is available that day.”
The seed of the idea was a common thread she found through research: regularly eating out. On a personal level, they observed lives around them: long workdays, fatigue and convenience-first choices. On a professional level, Sunil’s background in marketing revealed worrying trends – rising cases of fatty liver and prediabetes among young folks, along with an increase in liver-care supplement consumption.
One major misconception about home food, they both agree, is that it lacks variety or flavour. Balancing taste and nutrition comes down to ensuring all macros are present and pairing meals with something flavour-forward, often as simple as a chutney. The journey itself hasn’t felt particularly challenging for Raji. Cooking became part of her life after moving to Bengaluru in 2023.
For young professionals struggling to find the time or motivation to eat better, Raji leaves a gentle reminder. “People should try eating home-style food. It’s hard to find that outside,” she ends with a laugh.