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Since 1979

In the News

Four decades, three cities, one family. From the Westside of Los Angeles to Las Vegas to Houston, the papers kept finding their way to our counter.

Los Angeles TimesLas Vegas WeeklyHouston ChronicleDesert Companion
Phulan 'Rani' Chander
Phulan “Rani” Chander
The woman behind the name

Phulan “Rani” Chander

1939 – 2026

Rani Brand is named for our mother. Phulan “Rani” Chander was born in Jullundur, Punjab, and made her way to California, where in 1979 our family opened the Westside’s first Indian grocery — Bharat Bazaar in Culver City. For the next four decades she was the heart of every store the family ran: guiding shoppers down the aisles in her flowing sari and jogging shoes, pressing recipes into strangers’ hands, cooking the food that kept making the newspapers.

The Los Angeles Times called her “an amazing cook from Jullunder in the Punjab.” To us she was simply Mom — and to thousands of customers across Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Houston, she was Rani, the woman who fed them like family.

She passed away on May 4, 2026, after a great life. The one thing she loved as much as her family was her customers — it’s the reason she went to the store every single day. Her name is on every jar we pack, and it always will be.

“Rani is like your long-lost grandmother.” — Las Vegas Weekly, 2011
Phulan and Ramesh Chander on their wedding day in Punjab
Punjab, where it all began — Phulan & Ramesh on their wedding day
A young Phulan Chander beside the family car in California
A new life in California, around 1970
Phulan Chander in the aisles of the family store in the 1980s
On the floor of the family store, 1980s
Phulan 'Rani' Chander with her granddaughters
Grandma Rani with her granddaughters
The clippings

Four decades in print

The framed originals hang on our store walls. Here is the story they tell, oldest first.

Los Angeles Times Magazine, October 1, 1989 — L.A.'s Passage to India
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1989

Los Angeles Times Magazine · October 1, 1989

“L.A.’s Passage to India”

“This well-stocked market… is run by Phulan Chander, who guides shoppers through its aisles in her flowing sari and jogging shoes.”

A full magazine feature on Mom and Bharat Bazaar — the Times even printed four recipes from her personal collection, including “Phulan’s Biryani Rice.” In the photos, a young Suneel helps his mother make sooji ka halwa on a hot plate in the back of the store.

Los Angeles Times, July 4, 2001 — Celebrity Samosas
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2001

Los Angeles Times · July 4, 2001

“Celebrity Samosas”

“We hear that John Travolta occasionally drops by the Samosa House (Bharat Bazaar) in Culver City to pick up samosas. Well, the rest of us can pick them up too, any day.”

Mom’s big samosas — “two or three would make a meal” — stuffed with potatoes and peas and seasoned with the bazaar’s own garam masala, served with her mint-cilantro green chutney.

Los Angeles Times

“Chander, an amazing cook from Jullunder in the Punjab, excels at making light, fresh, home-style vegetarian dishes. There’s something new each day.”

2005

Los Angeles Times · August 25, 2005

“The spot on the Westside for Indian food lovers”

A Times guide to L.A.’s best market eating singled out Mom’s counter: fresh pakoras, stuffed parathas, house-made paneer, and her ras malai and shrikand — “a superlative example” rarely seen even on restaurant menus.

Las Vegas Weekly, November 16, 2011 — Your Indian grandma's curry is at Rani's Kitchen
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2011

Las Vegas Weekly · November 16, 2011

“Your Indian grandma’s curry is at Rani’s Kitchen”

“Rani is like your long-lost grandmother… If all vegetarian dishes were this good, I’d never eat meat again.”

When the family opened Rani’s World Foods on West Sahara, Mom set up her kitchen in the back — thalis, kofta in cashew sauce, chole bature and mango lassi, served by the “wonderfully doting woman” herself.

Houston Chronicle, October 4, 2012 — Rani's offers more than flavors of India
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2012

Houston Chronicle · October 4, 2012

“Rani’s offers more than flavors of India”

“Suneel’s family has been in the business for three decades, starting with owning the first Indian market in Los Angeles… today one of the largest Indian markets in the city.”

The story comes to Houston: an entire aisle of spices and blends, dozens of flours and grains, and a kitchen serving homemade samosas, mix chaat and pani puri — the same recipes, one more city.

2012–2013

The awards kept coming

“The store’s highlight is Mrs. Rani herself, serving some of the Valley’s best Indian food — look for her near the refrigerator section.”
— Desert Companion, March 2013
Best Ethnic MarketLas Vegas Weekly Awards, 2012
Best Ethnic MarketDesert Companion, 2013

Her recipes never left

The blends Mom cooked with are the same ones we pack in Houston today — and the framed clippings still hang in our stores. Come see the wall for yourself.

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