Bringing the rich heritage of traditional masala mixes to homes to instantly prepare tasty, healthy cuisines of Karnataka, Ogara Foods is an initiative by Raghunath, the chairman and managing director of the firm, and aims to bring the quality of food products to everyone’s doorstep. He speaks about the initiative, the range of products, and the social responsibility associated with his venture.
Q: Tell us about Ogara and how you have ensured the authenticity of all the products.
A: Ogara means ‘rice’ in Kannada -- the staple food of Karnataka and an integral part in the life and times of the region. Food is a reflection of our tradition, and Ogara is all about authentic spices to bring out the original flavour of Karnataka cuisine. What gives Ogara Ready to Cook Mixes and Ogara Quick Bites the distinctive taste of tradition, is the finest traditional ingredients sourced from the rich fertile farms of India. Another aspect that takes us a notch above others is the expertise and know-how of making the authentic traditional recipes, generation after generation. We have initiated a manufacturing unit of Indian spices, set up in an area of around 10,000 sq. ft. producing many varieties of quality packed food enriching the taste of every dish at every place.
Q: What is your range of products?
A: Our masala range includes rasam powder, sambar powder, vangibhath powder, bisi bele bath powder, puliyogare powder, and chutney powder. We would soon be launching majjige huli, vegetable sagu masala, biriyani masala, lemon rasam, and potato sagu masala. Ogara also has a range of traditional Kannada foods, from puliyogre to rava idli in instant meal formats. Available products include rava idli, badam drink, gojjavalakki mix, kesari bath mix, and khara bath mix. Launching soon will be adai dosa, rice pongal mix, akkithari uppitu, bajji bonda mix, besan laddu, and vermicelli kheer mix. These packets have to be only dipped in hot water before being served. Namkeen product range includes shankarpoli, butter chakli, spicy chakli, rice kodubale, and rava kodubale. We will soon be launching nippattu, butter murukku, spicy murukku, khara sev, and khara avalakki.
Q: Given the current situation of the pandemic affecting the entire world, what are the initiatives undertaken by Ogara?
A: We are facing a situation that the world has never experienced before. So, there is no question of calculating profit and loss here. Everyone has to help everyone else. Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave a call to all Indians to unite in this fight. Doctors, nurses, policemen, journalists, milk suppliers, pourakarmikas and others are out on the streets doing their bit to save mankind. We need to show our gratitude to them, if nothing else. They are putting themselves and their families at risk to protect us.
In most cases, many of them are not even able to go back to their homes and families. To show gratitude to these warriors, we are distributing ready-to-cook food products free to the homes of doctors, medical staff, policemen and journalists who require it. The driving force behind this endeavour is Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan. To make it easier, Ogara has obtained permission from the city police to deliver the products to the homes of the corona warriors.