'April is the cruellest month', wrote TS Elliot. While most of us would agree that we are all far more optimistic than the English poet, the world right now seems like a bewildering paradox of threat and lifeline, because the source of danger is invisible. Yet, a civic and civil connection seems to be the only way to survive.
Who else would know this better than many Good (Food) Samaritans who are wielding ladles of kindness, stirring pots of care and delivering boxes of warm comfort to Covid patients in the city. Rama Ramanan and Vaishali Vijaykumar find a wave of empathy among home chefs whose service is something for everyone to savour.
Monkey Temptation, Egmore
On offer: Lunch and dinner consist of dal, rice, one sabzi and rotis (the number of rotis depends on customer request). Menu changes every day.
Order: Preferably a day in advance.
Quantity: One person per meal.
Cost: No charge as their service is only for Covid patients
Delivery: Dunzo or Swiggy
Contact details: 9952946032
Instagram: @monkeytemptation
Cook for Covid, Besant Nagar
On offer: Lunch typically includes rice, dal and poriyal. Dinner menu varies every day. Meals can be made based on specification and recommendation of patients' doctor.
Order: A day in advance before 7 pm.
Quantity: One meal per person.
Delivery: No charge
Contact: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1MTUXVQg1sFpDBU8t2dtk0NBbm6FFJvaYXVXU0wTBT44/viewform?edit_requested=true
Apeksha Jain, Teynampet
On offer: Breakfast options include idli, pongal, upma, chutney-sambar. Dinner could be dal and rice, khichdi, rasam rice, or sambar rice.
Order: For breakfast, place your order the previous evening. For dinner, orders can be placed on the same morning.
Quantity: One person per meal.
Cost: Rs 60-Rs 75 for breakfast, Rs 100-Rs120 for dinner
Delivery: Receiving orders from Teynampet, Nungambakkam, Mylapore and Alwarpet. Dunzo is the only option.
Contact details: Apeksha Jain - 9164066342, Insta: @explorewithapeksha
* Covid meals curated by volunteers. For details, visit:
https://chennaicovidhelp.github.io/food-delivery/
https://major-roof-4419.glideapp.io/
http://bit.ly/chennai-homefood
@The Idly Tales on Instagram
* Restaurants that cater to Covid patients
Nei Idly Sambar, Mylapore. Contact: 9840561061/638922604. Free delivery up to three km and '10 for every additional km.
Thaligai, Luz: 6374071618/9791272888. Delivery through Swiggy and Zomato.
Prema Graama Bhojanam, Adyar. Contact: 9840062772. In-house delivery up to five km. Customers from other areas can pick up through Dunzo/Swiggy.
Cafe Atlantis, Anna Nagar. Contact: 7034124322. Available on Zomato and Swiggy.
Art Cafe, Alwarpet. Contact: 7904054355. Available on Swiggy.
Fisaliscious, Besant Nagar. Contact: 8056186444, 9962672888. Delivery free within 10 km from Besant Nagar. Customers from other areas can pick up through Dunzo.
Mala's Kitchen: 9176349844
On offer: Lunch box includes sambar, rasam, poriyal and kootu. Dinner options, which vary every day, include idli, chapathi and alu, Thavala adai, Kancheepuram idli, and onion uthappam. Meals for patients in quarantine are packed in aluminium foil and for those in the hospital, meals are delivered in use and throw containers.
Quantity: One meal can serve up to two persons.
Cost: Lunch without rice is Rs100, with rice is Rs130; lunch for hospitalised patients is Rs150 and dinner is Rs 80.
Delivery: In and around Valsaravakkam delivery is available at Rs 20; other options are Swiggy, Dunzo.
Contact details: 9176349844
Gnaanam, Chennai City Centre
On offer: Breakfast menu includes idli, dosa and aapam. The lunch box consists of roti, dal, curry. Dinner is usually vegetable rice or mixed vegetable rice. Non-vegetarian dishes can be prepared on request. Eggs can also be provided with meals. They also take requests for fruit bowl. All meals can be customised.
Order: A day in advance.
Delivery: Available with additional charge.
Quantity: One meal per person.
CONTACT: 9841062039
The Food Saga, Chetpet
On offer: Lunch and dinner are set meals that comprise roti, sabzi, kachumbar, rice, dal and papad. (Besides Covid patients, the meals are available on a subscription basis for others).
Order: For lunch, the previous day. Dinner orders can be placed on the same day.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost:Rs 100- Rs 275 per meal. (Depending on the customisation).
Delivery: Available through Dunzo and Swiggy across the city. (Pay at actuals).
Contact: 9566099998
Instagram: @the_foodsaga
Harshini Sreedhar, Virugambakkam
On offer: For lunch, the South Indian vegetarian meal comprises rice, sambar/rasam and one vegetable. For dinner, tiffin items such as idli and khichdi are available. Menu changes every day.
Order: a day prior.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 75 upwards
Delivery: Available through Dunzo in Virugambakkam and allied areas. (Pay at actuals.)
Contact: 9659440137
Sharada Murthy, KK Nagar
On offer: Currently catering only to Covid patients on a first-come-first-serve basis. The lunch meal box includes rice, sambar/rasam and one vegetable. For dinner, tiffin items such as idli and khichdi are available. Menu changes every day.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 75 upwards
Delivery: Available through Dunzo in KK Nagar and allied areas. (Pay at actuals.)
Instagram: @Sharu Stories
Janaki Kanya Rajesh, RA Puram
On offer: Meals are specially curated for Covid patients on a first-come-first-serve basis. For lunch, the South Indian meal comprises rice, sambar/rasam and one vegetable. For dinner, tiffin items such as idli and khichdi are available. Menu changes every day.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 75
Delivery: Through Dunzo/Swiggy to most parts of south Chennai till OMR. (Pay at actuals)
Contact: 9790914485
Instagram: @ Janaki Kanya Rajesh
TamBrahm Theory, Adyar
On offer: Lunch includes sambar, rasam, one vegetable, kootu. Besides this, they also have one variety rice per day. Dinner includes chapathi, poori, upma and Kancheepuram idli. Menu changes every day.
Order: For lunch, the previous day. Dinner order can be placed in the morning of the same day.
Quantity: One meal carrier is enough for two persons if it's meant for the elderly; two carriers can serve three young persons.
Price: Meal box for Covid patients: Rs 165 (since it entails the cost of use and throw container) in the below-mentioned areas; meal box for non-Covid persons is Rs150 for non-Covid patients within inside the below-mentioned areas. For Covid or non-Covid patients beyond these areas, the cost is Rs 165 plus delivery starting at Rs 20.
Delivery: In-house delivery available for Adyar, Thiruvanmiyur, Besant Nagar and Kotivakkam; others can Dunzo.
Contact details: +91 88074 00041
TeaFun, Manapakkam
On offer: Both lunch and dinner are mostly North Indian cuisine. The a la carte menu includes South Indian, Chinese and Italian delicacies, too. Besides, South Indian meals consisting of sambar, rasam and poriyal are prepared on request.
Order: The same day before the previous mealtime.
Quantity: One meal box suffices for one adult.
Cost: Rs 120 for a combo meal of dal, rice, 2 rotis and sabzi
Delivery: Free for orders within a five-kilometre radius of Manapakkam, orders made from distant suburbs will include delivery cost. Delivery will be made by in-house staff.
Contact details: Arun (9884454571), or Rakhi
(9840419337),
Social media: www.facebook.com/TiffinSaptacha
Jude's M&N Kitchen, Mylapore
On offer: Breakfast, lunch and dinner (besides Covid patients, the meals are specially curated for senior citizens and working professionals). Some of the breakfast options include three idlis, sambar-chutney, dosa and rava khichdi. Lunch is usually rice, one or two gravy-based curries and one poriyal. Dinner is mostly chapathi and kurma. You can also preorder evening soups, salad, fruit juice and snacks. Their in-house coffee can be delivered in flasks. Idlis and dosas are available every day for Covid patients.
Order: Lunch orders must be placed the previous day. Dinner can be ordered in, on the same day.
Quantity: One meal per person.
Cost: Rs 65 for breakfast, Rs 120 for lunch and Rs 65 for dinner. Monthly subscription is available at Rs 7,500.
Delivery: Cost is based on distance and not order value.
Contact details: 9445166092
Social media: @judesmandnkitchen
Raghav's Lunch Box, Korattur
On offer: Breakfast menu varies every day — idli, dosa, pongal, ragi rava dosa, idiyappam and different kinds of khichdi. Lunch meal box includes sambar, tomato rasam, kootu, one vegetable curry and rasam. Dinner differs every day — arisi upma, chapathi, dal, kurma. Food is prepared without tamarind and less spice and salt for Covid patients.
Order: A day in advance.
Cost: Rs 60 for breakfast, Rs100 for lunch without rice and Rs 125 for lunch with rice 125, Rs 50-Rs 100 for dinner depending on the dish.
Delivery: Contactless delivery available at a cost of Rs 30-Rs 40. Patients can leave tiffin boxes outside for the delivery agent to transfer the meals into it.
Contact details: 9884533785
FB: www.facebook.com/raghavslunchbox, www.facebook.com/raghavslunchboxregularfood
Green Cyclone Foods, Anna Nagar
On offer: North Indian lunch and dinner comprise three rotis, dal, one sabzi and salad. All the meals are prepared using less oil and spice, and delivered in use and throw containers.
Quantity: One person per meal.
Cost: Rs 100 for lunch and dinner per meal.
Delivery: Extra charges, available only up to 10 km radius of Anna Nagar West.
Contact details: 9940499896
Facebook and Instagram: Greencyclone.chennai
Singh’s Events and Catering by Gurpreet Chadha, Velachery
On offer: Breakfast options include idli, vada, sambar-chutney and an immunity drink. Lunch menu includes rice, sambar, mor kuzhambu, poriyal, veg biryani, appalam, raita, a sweet and roti. Dinner menu includes sabzi and phulka. Soup, sundal and immunity drinks are available with every meal. Besides Covid patients, they cater to others on a subscription basis.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 500 per day inclusive of all meals. In the case of a 7- or 14-day package, Rs 400 per day inclusive of all meals.
Delivery: Can ship across Chennai through Dunzo, Rapido or other vendors. (Pay at actuals)
Contact: 9884001480
Mission Upkhar, Villivakkam
On offer: Meals are specially curated for Covid patients. Breakfast options include poori, pongal, idiyappam, dosai, idli and khichdi; with chutney and sambar. Lunch options include rice, sambar/kuzhambu, poriyal, kootu, rasam and buttermilk. Dinner choices include roti and sabzi or south Indian tiffin items. Immunity drinks and salads are available with every meal.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 1,500 for a week (inclusive of all meals every day)
Delivery: In-house delivery available for a seven-km radius for free. Can ship across Chennai through Dunzo (pay at actuals).
Contact: 9940233323, 9500092997
Sriram/Shree Chakra Caterings, Ambattur
On offer: Lunch menu includes South Indian vegetarian meals comprising rice, sambar/rasam and a vegetable kootu or poriyal. Dinner includes south Indian tiffin items such as dosa, idli and khichdi. Menu changes every day.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 100 for lunch and Rs 65 for dinner.
Delivery: In-house delivery available for orders in Ambattur and Thirumullaivoyal. Can ship across Chennai through Dunzo (Pay at actuals).
Contact: 8608024124
Srihari Foods, Anna Nagar
On offer: Lunch options include South Indian meals, biryani/mixed rice/ rice and side dishes. Dinner options include tiffin items such as dosa and idli or roti and sabzi. Menu changes every day. Besides Covid patients, they cater to others, too.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity: Quantity suffices one or two persons.
Cost: Rs 100 upwards
Delivery: Through Dunzo and self pick-up to all areas. (Pay at actuals)
Contact: 99520 78817
Dailybox, Pallavaram
On offer: The lunch menu includes regular South Indian meals comprising rice, sambar, rasam, vegetable, buttermilk and pickle. Special meals include roti, sabzi and sweet are also available. Besides Covid patients, they cater to others on a subscription basis.
Order: A day in advance.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 77 inclusive of delivery.
Delivery: In-house delivery available to Chrompet, Pallavaram and Tambaram. Other areas through Dunzo (pay at actuals).
Contact: 6383836273
Website: dailybox.co.in
Sree Sanjana Catering Services, Nesapakkam
On offer: Breakfast options include South Indian tiffin items such as dosa, idli and khichdi. The lunch menu includes South Indian meals comprising rice, rasam, sambar and vegetables. The dinner menu includes tiffin items or roti and sabzi. Meals can be customised based on needs. Besides Covid patients, they cater to others on a subscription basis.
Order: Open 24 hours on their website.
Quantity: One meal box per person.
Cost: Rs 110 upwards
Delivery: In-house delivery available. (cost varies for different areas)
Contact: 8638064210/9176201451