Our Story

I’m Zoufishan, part of a multi-generational immigrant family, accustomed to blending customs and flavors to produce something unique and beautiful. Stepping into my family kitchen provides a burst of sensory experiences with afternoon gupshup (chitchat), pungent aromas floating in the air, and vibrant spicy lentils dancing atop an open fire stovetop. These were typical afternoons that would culminate at an evening dastarkhān (tablecloth) to savor meals with loved ones after a long day apart and be present in the moment. Opening up a Naranji spice jar brings back the flood of memories while making me hopeful for future memories that we create.

I’m Noelle, one half of Naranji! I was raised in Tennessee in a Black American and Jamaican household. Growing up, cuisines from the Caribbean and the south melded together seamlessly. A breakfast of ackee and saltfish accompanied by a stack of pancakes seemed as natural to us as bacon and eggs seemed to many others. In the kitchen, we learned as much about our own dynamic sense of “Americanness”, rooted in the bright flavors of both cultures, as we did about our academic subjects which we studied alongside our meals. Naranji's array of spices mirrors the dynamic, vivid experience of sitting at the family kitchen table. The experiential center of family, community and culture is often found in spice.