It was a hopeful Christmas for Malad resident Kermin Sarosh Kakalia, 34. Having lost her husband to cancer in November, she was forced to think of ways to start earning money and provide for her kids — Eric, 11, and Riya, 7. And it was on Christmas Day that she decided to turn her passion for cooking into an avenue for business. She put up a kiosk across her mother's house in Bandra West, selling traditi­onal Parsi snacks and taking up orders for main course dishes.

Her husband, Sarosh, a Merchant Navy officer, was diagnosed with fourth-stage cancer in October 2018. After a year-long battle, he succumbed to it at the age of 42. "All our savings were spent on treatment. I can't take up a full-time job but I had to start earning," Kakalia tells us, when we meet her. "We put up the stall everyday during the holidays, but now are there only on the weekends," she adds.