Punjab Pakora Ltd

A multi-award winning, family run business established in 2012, Punjab Pakora is one of the UK’s leading Indian cuisine makers and manufacturers. Based in the town of Ayr, we are proud to supply many national supermarkets and major retailers.

As a little boy, I was often found helping my granny in the kitchen where I learned traditional skills and recipes used by my family. At the age of eighteen, I was invited to Dubai by my uncle to work at his Indian restaurant where I honed my culinary skills further. Having gained further experience in the family business, I became the chef to some of the wealthiest sheikhs in Dubai. I then travelled extensively in Europe and the Middle East working in top restaurants, learning and perfecting new cuisines. I met Vinita and asked for her hand in marriage, then after we decided to move to Scotland in 2004. In 2007, we opened own Indian takeaway in Moss blown and two years later bought a fish and chip shop in the centre of Ayr. Vinita worked in Asda which gave retail experience that would later prove invaluable in their dealings with major supermarkets.
The fish and chip shop operated for four years during which time it became evident that there was a demand for authentic Indian snacks. We both felt that Indian food available locally was not authentic and were keen to introduce authentic North Indian, Punjabi recipes. In 2013, Punjab Pakora was born with the production of a limited
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range of pakoras. Shortly after, we decided to move to our
food manufacturing unit in Waggon Road, Ayr and to sell
the fish and chip business in order to concentrate on the
production of pakoras, with a view to extending our range
of authentic Indian snacks.
The company established to provide authentic Indian
cuisine, snacks, savouries and pakoras to retail customers.
The business has gone from strength to strength and
proved to be very successful and we are continuing to
expand and provide employment to the local community.
Punjab Pakora pride themselves on being the leading
Scottish supplier of authentic Indian pakoras, snacks, these
are handmade using fresh, natural ingredients and which,
with the exception of Black Pudding and Haggis Pakoras,
are gluten free.
Our workforce has steadily increased in number following
our continued success and the company now employ
thirty-five people, and will add twenty to thirty more soon.
We take great pride in looking after our workforce which
has resulted in a lower turnover of staff, many of which
have been with the company since it started. We are very
hands on with the business, working 7 days a week to
meet demand and appreciate the importance of our staff
in achieving our goal of providing high quality, Indian food
manufactured to consistent standards in a hygienic and
controlled environment to ensure a safe product. Staffs are
paid a fair wage, are provided with the relevant training
required to carry out their duties competently, work in a
safe environment and opportunities are provided for those
members of staff that show a real commitment.
One distinct feature of the business is healthier options
for snacks. We do not use any artificial colours, flavours,
additives, preservatives or hydrogenated fats. Our products
have been tested and have been given the food green light
as an indicator of their healthy quality.
Having supplied local companies initially, we wanted
to work towards providing our products to the major
supermarkets. We initially made contact with Asda to
ascertain the requirements for supplying products and as
a result decided to aim to achieve SALSA certification. The
SALSA (Safe and Local Supplier Assurance) scheme requires
documented procedures and systems to be operational in
order to demonstrate a safe manufacturing process.
Companies are audited on an annual basis to ensure
continued compliance and a certificate is re-issued each
year. Major supermarkets require this certificate to give
them the confidence that the products they buy for resale
are manufactured under strict controls to produce a safe
product. SALSA certification is only granted to suppliers
who are able to demonstrate to an auditor that they are
able to produce safe and legal food and are committed
to continually meeting the requirements of the SALSA
Standard. The company achieved SALSA certification
in 2013. This has given the major supermarkets the
confidence that we are manufacturing to the highest
standards. We began to supply Asda and Aldi in 2013, Spar
in 2015 and Iceland in 2016 and continue to work towards
selling to other supermarkets by continually developing
and improving our operation.
Our current range of products includes a varieties of
chicken pakoras such as spicy and red chicken pakora
and traditional chicken pakora, vegetable pakoras, haggis
pakoras and black pudding pakoras, onion Bhajis, to take
the range from meat and vegetable samosas to meat spring
rolls and vegetable spring rolls with mixed pakora platters,
spiced onions, spicy and mild dips. We also offer a selection
of curries.
It is the vision of Punjab Pakora that we will continue to
expand our range of products and customers, enhancing
our workforce and so providing more jobs for local people.
We are passionate about the food we produce and want
to use our years of experience in cooking Punjabi food to
provide products that stand out in their authenticity from
those currently available on the market. We follow old
Indian traditional recipes and adapt them to fit today’s taste
using only the freshest meat, vegetables, herbs and spices.
We have just moved into a larger premises to produce
Punjabi curries under the certification of BRC. The increased
space will give us the capacity to increase the output and
develop a broader range of authentic Indian offerings
to local, retail and wholesale customers. We also plan to
provide curries to catering functions and we have already
received enquiries in this area.
Punjab Pakora has gone from strength to strength due
to the commitment of ourselves, our family and our
continued drive to improve and expand our business
which has been hopefully increasing at great rates
bringing us great success.