Two vendors at Sammamish Farmers Market feature flavors from India
The Sammamish Farmers Market has welcomed two vendors this year that both offer authentic flavors from India.
Soul Kitchen was founded in 2021 by Vidhi Modi, a resident of Redmond. Prior to starting her business, Modi worked as an investment banker. After moving to the Seattle area in 2017, Modi felt she was not able to find authentic Rajasthani and Indian street style food.
“There was a gap. I could not find good, authentic food with high quality ingredients,” Modi said.
She initially started her business through an online platform called Shef.com that connects local chefs to customers. She catered a variety of home-made North Indian dishes including bedmi poori with aloo sabji, which is fried bread with potato curry. Within a few months, she was receiving a lot of personal orders, and decided to leave the platform to run her own catering business.
“I don’t have a storefront and I had no means to connect with the community or my customers or people directly,” Modi said.
This year, she decided to join the Sammamish Farmers Market, which provides her with a venue to reach customers and introduce them to her Indian street food dishes including pani puri (a crispy fried dough that is filled with potatoes, chickpeas and flavorful water), bhel puri (a mixture of puffed rice, vegetables, think fried noodles, and sauces), and vada pav (a deep fried potato fritter that is placed inside a bread). She rotates the dishes every week so that customers can experience multiple flavors.
Soul Kitchen’s dishes are made using fresh herbs, spices, homemade chutneys and masalas. The masalas, which are a blend of herbs and spices to provide distinct flavors in cooking, are made from scratch. Modi believes this brings out bolder flavors in her dishes.
Aside from farmers markets, Modi offers food through her catering business where she also offers weekly meals. These weekly meals are cooked in avocado oil, olive oil, or ghee to make them healthier.
“I don’t want [the customers] to compromise their health for the sake of work or their busy schedule,” Modi said.
She hopes to own her own storefront someday.
Chai Tapri, the second Indian vendor at the farmers market, was founded by Neha Jain, a resident of Redmond, in 2025. Jain said she was not able to find authentic Indian chai, or tea, in the Seattle area. Jain previously worked for both Microsoft and Amazon, but was always passionate about starting her own business.
“In India, a chai tapri is a small roadside tea stall, where people gather throughout the day. It’s much more than a place to drink tea, it’s like where friends meet, coworkers take a break, neighbors go and chat and have a cup of chai,” Jain said.
Three yogurt dishes from Chai Tapri, a vendor at the Sammamish Farmers Market. (courtesy)
She wanted her business to serve that purpose, allowing for others to experience the sense of hospitality and community that a chai tapri brings. Jain found that farmers markets often replicated this vibe. This pushed her to start selling at farmers markets in both Sammamish and Woodinville.
“I went to a few farmers markets and I felt that kind of people coming there, sitting, chatting,” Jain said.
She notes that there is a coffee culture here, but hopes that she can cultivate a new chai culture.
Chai Tapri specializes in a variety of chai including ginger cardamom chai, vegan chai, ice chai lattes, and other Indian beverages such as sattu, a nutritious drink made by mixing chickpea powder with water or milk. As for snacks and dishes, her stall offers samosas, poha (flattened rice flakes mixed in with spices, peanuts, and onions), chana jor garam (flattened black chickpeas that are mixed with vegetables and spices), roasted makhanas (seeds from euryale ferox plant, a type of water lily, which are dry-roasted in oil and mixed with spices), and more.
Jain also wants to introduce healthier eating habits to the community, similar to Modi. She offers yogurt bowls that are made of greek yogurt and chia seeds. These yogurts have an Indian touch to them as some are saltier or include Indian mangoes.
“We hope to bring an authentic taste of India by creating a place where people can connect through food. A chai tapri isn’t just about tea; it’s about slowing down, sharing stories, and spending time together,” Jain said.
Jain hopes that she can continue to expand Chai Tapri. She recently received the Washington State Department of Agriculture license to start selling her roasted makhana at local stores, which she is currently finalizing the packaging for.
“Our long-term dream is to open a neighborhood cafe where people can enjoy authentic Indian chai, fresh food, and experience the welcoming atmosphere,” Jain said.
The Sammamish Farmers Market is open every Wednesday from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. through September 9. For more information, visit sammamishfarmersmarket.org.
