Equity and Opportunity shines a spotlight on Tagmo, a South Asian eatery in NYC creating an inclusive and safe workplace while also collaborating with other small businesses focusing on social good.

TAGMO began with a literal dream that I had about a tigress, which is what the word tagmo means in Bhutanese. In South Asian culture, the tigress is this iconic symbol of feminine strength. She represents a type of power that protects rather than harms, and it’s that energy that guides my business. I want to collaborate, not compete. I want to uplift other queer people, South Asians, and anyone who has been marginalized.

When chef Surbhi Sahni, who opened Tagmo last fall, landed in NYC in the late ‘90s, she was startled to find herself heartbroken upon leaving her beloved India. “When you come here to start building a life, that’s when you realize that you took the support system you had for granted.” So Sahni set about creating that sense of community in her adopted home—through her food.

TAGMO In New York Is Unique For Its Tantalizing Indian Cuisine And Its Women Of Color Staff.

Tucked onto New York’s historic Front Street, just below the South Street Seaport, Tagmo seems perfectly situated, for it was here that the Clipper and Tall Ships of the 19th century, carrying spices from around the world, came to dock, and the menu at Tagmo is an explosion of such spices in every dish.

Kaju katli is a favorite sweet throughout India. It is also one of the most expensive mithai, a category of dense and chewy Indian confections, because it is made primarily with cashews. As a kid, I was always googly eyed at this sweet because it’s so decadent and I would only get a small piece.

In India, it is often sold in thin slices, so it’s gone in a few bites, but the flavor lingers. For a dessert with such lavish ingredients, it is actually very simple to make and doesn’t require any special equipment or laborious techniques.

Kaju katli is by default vegan and gluten-free, which makes it a sweet that many people can enjoy.

Indians may be known the world over for their vibrant and colorfully chaotic culture of celebration, but here’s the clincher: They do next to nothing without a glorious, dizzying array of feast-worthy food to tie it all together. And this is especially true for Diwali, the shimmering annual Hindu festival of lights which celebrates the triumph of good over evil, starting on November 4 this year.

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After running a successful online desserts shop, chef Surbhi Sahni is launching a permanent restaurant and retail store

ChefChef Surbhi Sahni emerges from Tagmo’s kitchen carrying a round yellow plate of jewel-toned mithai nestled in brown wrappers. The chewy, bite-sized confections sparkle in the light. “You must try these,” she says, proudly. The tiny Indian sweets were the genesis of Tagmo, which has developed from online sweets shop to mid-pandemic meal delivery service to its current form: A full-fledged restaurant opening in the Seaport District, at 226 Front Street, near Peck Slip, on September 17.

In the front of this new addition to the growing seaport district is an array of Indian sweets that the chef and owner, Surbhi Sahni, sold before adding savories to her online delivery company. At her new restaurant, she will feature homestyle, mostly vegetarian fare in a colorful setting.

Although new restaurants have been opening in New York City at an exhilarating rate all year long, fall is prime time for new eating and drinking destinations. Call it back-to-school syndrome, the pumpkin spice effect or simply a break from the sleepy summer heat, there’s something about autumn that lends itself to getting excited about dining out.

This fall, the 2021 restaurant forecast is particularly promising. In the weeks and months ahead, we’re looking at three new openings from one of NYC’s best restaurant groups, a long-awaited and highly-regarded British import, offshoots of sushi favorites, exciting cocktail programs, glamorous dining rooms and unending new chances to nab reservations before they run out.

Surbhi Sahni is a chef with over two decades of professional culinary experience. She served as the Creative Director behind the Michelin-starred New York restaurants Devi and Tulsi. Today, she continues to work her magic at Saar Bistro in Midtown, New York. Surbhi is also the founder of Tagmo Treats, a small-batch South Asian food company, through which she creates delectable mithai confections like burfi in chocolate, pistachio, and rose flavors. Through Tagmo, she aims to make Indian mithai a mainstream dessert in America.