Keeping the authentic Punjabi cuisine alive—Preeti Kalia: The woman who never gave up

Preeti’s first experience with food started pretty early.

"I used to watch my mom cook when I was young. My mother never measured anything," Preeti says, admiration evident in her voice. It was all by feel and experience—and it always turned out perfect." This early exposure brewed in her a love for cooking and a deep respect for home-cooked meals, which evoke comfort and nostalgia.

Preeti has always had a passion for cooking. Her first job in the kitchen was when she was six years old. She was in charge of the salad for every meal. Then, as time passed, she started actively participating in the kitchen. Preeti decided to completely take over the kitchen in the three-month gap between her tenth board examinations and eleventh class. She passed strict instructions at her home that no one else was allowed in, and her family obliged. These three months polished Preeti's skills in the kitchen and made her more confident in her cooking.

After completing her education, Preeti married into a joint family and worked as an English teacher. Despite making this shift from a nuclear family to a big joint family, Preeti and her father were both confident that Preeti would be able to make this transition seamlessly, and they were right.

She loved cooking for her family and would often enjoy cooking different dishes than what she made back at home. However, she did miss those amazing flavours and tastes. As time passed and Preeti became a mother, she realised she wanted to dedicate her full attention to her kids. So she left her job and became a full-time stay-at-home mother, cooking everything that her kids wanted to eat.

Despite this passion, content creation wasn’t part of Preeti’s initial career plan. Like many home cooks, she simply enjoyed making meals for her family. However, during the COVID-19 lockdown, her children, who were busy pursuing their education at the time, encouraged her to document her recipes online. "I had time on my hands and thought, why not share the dishes I make every day?"

So, Preeti started posting recipes online. Initially, she struggled with the technicalities of recording and editing videos. Preeti reveals that creating a single recipe video involves hours of preparation, filming, and editing. "It’s not just about cooking; you have to think about lighting, angles, and presentation," she explains. However, her children came to her rescue and supported her in her journey. Today, Preeti is efficient in not only recording her videos but also editing them. She often films multiple takes to ensure the final video is seamless and visually appealing.

Meet Preeti Kalia, the culinary storyteller reviving lost Punjabi recipes through her heartfelt creations.

Preeti’s maternal family was from Lahore. Preeti enjoyed experiencing some of the most authentic Punjabi dishes that got lost somewhere in the partition. When she started making food content, she also started sharing many authentic Punjabi recipes, as she would cook them for herself anyway. These recipes were an instant hit across the world. People from Pakistan and the UK filled her comments section and DMs, thanking her for sharing these forgotten recipes, which were such an important part of so many childhoods.

What began as a casual hobby quickly became bigger as her videos gained traction.

Preeti’s content stands out for its simplicity and authenticity. She doesn’t chase trends; instead, she focuses on recipes that are easy to recreate, practical, and flavorful. She mentioned how she sees some people completely ruin original recipes for the sake of views, and she strongly dislikes it. She believes in preserving authentic recipes, which is evident in her content.

As our conversation was wrapping up, we asked Preeti what advice she would give to aspiring food content creators. She said, "Just start. Don’t wait for the perfect setup or the right moment. Share what you love with sincerity—the audience will connect with that."

Preeti previously ran a cloud kitchen from her home when she started documenting her cooking. However, she had to pause that as the workload increased and it became harder to manage. Preeti wishes to resume her cloud kitchen in the future.

Additionally, Preeti is a big pickle lover. “If there was nothing and only pickle to eat with rice or bread, I would still enjoy my meal. I love pickles!” she says. She also expressed how she would love to start her own line of pickles. Her pickles are already very popular locally, and she often delivers them to people who live near her house. She mentioned she would love to be able to get more people to try and enjoy the pickles she makes.

Preeti told us she dreams of restarting her cloud kitchen and sharing her love for authentic Punjabi flavors with the world.

She is also adamant about documenting her recipes. She is among the few people who know the value of preservation and the cost of the lack of it. So, Preeti is currently in the process of documenting her recipes with us so that no matter what, these invaluable recipes never get lost again.

Preeti Kalia reminds us of the beauty of authentic recipes and traditional cooking. As we move forward, we must also remember to pack our past. Her passion for cooking and her adoration and sincerity towards her cultural cuisine are admirable. In a rush to gain followers and likes, Preeti remains grounded in her approach to social media and only intends to give rather than vice versa. We are in awe of her skill and admire her honesty. We wish you to keep growing as a creator and continue contributing to keeping Punjabi cuisine alive.

Updated on 10 Dec 2025