THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Once upon a time there was a food pouch that made its way to schools, colleges and offices. A simple ethnic spread wrapped in broiled banana leaf, ‘pothichoru’ could easily whip up a wave of nostalgia in every Malayali. Yes, there are city restaurants that provide Kerala meals or a full-blown sadya for that matter, but they lack that homely vibe.
And if you crave that familiar aroma wafting out of the organic, green package, there are a handful of homemakers in the city who provide exactly that. “It was during my study leave that I came across an online forum discussing pothichoru. I hesitantly ordered a lunch, fully convinced it will be a primped-up version of what restaurants offer. But the food turned out to be totally delightful with traditional dishes like mampazha pulissery and injipuli. And that heavenly smell when you open the banana leaf wrap... now I order it regularly,” says Anjali, a student.
The demand
Jaya had no clue of the market when she started making Kerala meal packets. It was her daughter Athira, a techie, who gave her the idea of home-cooked meals at your doorsteps. “We put the details on facebook and the very same day I got a volley of orders. Next day, a couple of hours after delivery, I received a string of calls from happy customers. To be frank I was overwhelmed by the response,” she says. It’s the ever-growing demand that prompted Swapna Rakesh, an established home chef, to offer a few meals daily.
With a solid number of followers for her blog and facebook page, she is a known name in the culinary circles. “Homemade food is available in mobile apps like pinstove, but it’s a bit difficult for elderly people to order it through smart phones. I found there is a steady demand for traditional Kerala meals and that’s how I started offering it. As of now I have a strong clientele,” she says.
Wrapped in nostalgia
The banana leaf imparts a unique flavour, giving it a ‘comfort food’ edge over meals wrapped in aluminum foil or parchment paper. Jaya believes in preparing the whole meal herself, ‘just the way I cook for my family’ as she puts it. “I chop the veggies the day before and wake up at 4 am to start cooking. There are people who want the food by 11, mostly for long trips. I don’t have any helpers in kitchen and I always make a couple of extra meals for the homeless and the hungry,” she says. Swapna says you can’t fool the customers with ‘homely’ tag if you are not providing exactly that. “There is always a difference between home-cooked and mass produced food,” she adds.
The spread
Customers who order pothichoru opt for simple meal packets, the traditional ones, without any fancy dishes. “This is what you order when you are homesick. Adding some exotic side-dish will ruin the whole idea,” says Hima, a government employee. Jaya’s meals, priced Rs 100, includes brown rice, tapioca, pickle, chammandi, thoran, avial, fish fry and fish curry. In addition to that there will be either sambar, pulissery, parippu, or theeyal. She charges an extra 30 rupees for delivery and usually customers call and place their orders a day in advance.
“If my daughter is at home she drives me around for home deliveries. Otherwise I hire an auto and if the place is too far I ask them to come and pick it,” she says. Swapna’s packets are couple combos, meals that are sufficient for two individuals. “Each packet weighs more than 2 kilos. Brown rice, fish fry, thoran, potato roast, chammandi, inji curry, pickle, papad, fried mulaku and omelette are the regular dishes. Thoran keeps changing and then there will be pulissery or sambar. I charge Rs 185 for this,” she says. The highlight of Gokul’s homely meals is the range of seafood specials he offers. “Orders come through the foodie groups online. Our ‘pothichoru’ is veg and we usually add extra non-veg items including egg. Fish, mussels, prawns, karimeen and crab are offered according to availability,” he says.
Homely and healthy
All the home chefs insist that they don’t add taste enhancers or colouring agents in the food. “I use only good quality coconut oil and never reuse it. I also see to it that minimal oil is used to prepare the curries so that the meal is healthy,” says Jaya. They usually make around 20 meals a day and don’t take bulk orders. “I don’t advertise much as I can’t really meet the demand. People want this because they are convinced of its quality. For me more than a business it’s an attempt to provide healthy and tasty food,” adds Swapna.