KOCHI: Away from the hustle and bustle of the city lies a homely building, which stands as a reminder of the past, amidst unexpected greenery. This week, Express took a detour away from the sun's blazing glare only to reach the Undo? Home at Thammanam.
Stepping into the building, one is automatically transported to another era. The visitor is welcomed by retro photographs in black and white donning the walls. The nostalgia comes full circle when one is served pothichor (traditional packed food)
For Undo?’s founder Justin P Abraham, ‘pothichor’ equals all good things in life. It was this thought that served as the foundation for Undo?. “Our tag is ‘Tasty Nostalgia’. Pothichor is an epitome of bygone times. Since I was in school, my mother used to prepare pothichor for me. I love it so much that I would prepare a pothichor even when I was at home. Undo? was formed for the love of the traditional packed food concept,” says Justin, who has over seven years of experience in the advertising sector.The foodie’s love for pothichor quickly resonates when one opens the neatly packed plantain leaf. The smell of the cooked rice on the heat-treated plantain leaf is all it takes. Mission accomplished.
The pothichor at Undo? offers a variety of side dishes - such as chutney, thoran or mezhukuparatti and a semi gravy dish - along with rice and chicken, beef or omelette.“We started with chicken, beef and omelette pothichors. After the success of the packed biriyani which was introduced later, kappa biriyani pothi was recently introduced,” says Justin.And what has been the consistent customer favourite? Beef pothichor. “We don't serve beef fry. It is a semi gravy beef curry. Within an hour of packing it in the plantain leaf, the beef acquires a different flavour, which only adds to the taste,” says Justin.
The concept of Undo? was born in 2016. To be exact, on the day of demonetisation. “It was started as a cloud kitchen wherein the pothichor will be delivered to the customers at their doorsteps. Because of limitations related to delivery, we could only run it for two weeks,” says Justin. But Undo? had already gotten so popular that the founder kept receiving calls ordering pothichor even after two years. Thus, in July 2018, the pothichor company resumed operations. The advent of online food delivery platforms played in favour of Justin this time.
In January, Undo? Home was opened. “It is not a restaurant. It is a home where you can enjoy pothichor peacefully and privately. Because it is not on the roadside, we avoid the normal crowd in restaurants,” says Justin.