Chennai’s home cooks prepare, deliver authentic dishes from all Indian cuisines

By Aathira Ayyappan | Express News Service | Published: 31st October 2017 10:06 PM |




CHENNAI: Two weeks into her love marriage, Savita (27) faced a problem. “I am a Tamilian and he is a Rajasthani. At first, he was okay eating South Indian fare I prepared at home. But as time passed, I could see that he was not really happy at meal times,” says the IT professional.

After a confrontation, he told her that he missed his mother’s food, particularly the dal chawal. “His parents stay in Rajasthan so it was understandable that he missed them, particularly his mother and her haath ka khana. We both work night shifts at the same office and totally hate restaurant food. So I knew I had to do something.”Gayathri ShreedharanThat’s when a friend recommended Rajasthani Homemade North Indian Jain Food Delivery Service. A lunch order and many satisfied burps later, her husband was a happy man again. “That is when I truly understood why they say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” she smiles.

Seal of authenticity

This delivery service based in TNagar is only one of the many ventures in the city that operate out of homes instead of commercial kitchens. “We serve 100% authentic and pure Rajasthani and Jain food. It is all prepared by my 88-year-old grandmother, Mena Jain, single-handedly at home,” says Prashanth Jain, who manages the delivery and packing along with his friends.

At present, they tend to only lunch, but also undertake special weekend orders.“The lunch thali consists of Farsan (snacks), soup, three phulkas, two sabzis, dal and rice. We also prepare traditional North Indian dishes that you will not find anywhere else in the city, like Mawa paratha, Dry fruit paratha, etc in the weekends or on special request,” he says.

All of two months old, it already boasts of 50 regular customers, all through word of mouth. “Whenever I come to Chennai on business, I make sure to order from Rajasthani Homemade as it reminds me of my mother’s cooking. I am very particular about eating food cooked by Jain cooks,” says Barath, a Vellore-based businessman.

It has only been two months since Ranjana Banerjee (52) started her Bengali homemade food delivery service in Mogappair West, but her customers already vouch for the authenticity of her dishes. “They tell me that my maach (fish) is almost as good as their moms,” she laughs. “We provide veg and non-veg thali for lunch, and roti-sabzi for dinner. I do all the cooking and my husband delivers them to nearby areas.”

Mixed clientele

“When we started out seven years ago with the blessings of Mahaperiyava, our primary aim was to cater to the elderly because we noticed that there were many old-aged couples in our neighbourhood who lived alone and did not prefer hiring a cook,” says Gayathri Shreedharan (41) who runs Akshaya S Homemade Food Delivery Services that delivers pure homemade Brahmin vegetarian breakfast, lunch and dinner in Choolaimedu, Kodambakkam, Mahalingapuram, Nungambakkam, and T Nagar and parts of Vadapalani.

“Our regular customers include both bachelors and family, but our primary customer segment is the elderly,” adds the chef who has hired two people for helping out in the kitchen, and delivering.
Shankari (50) runs a South Indian homemade food service in Velachery she has not named, exclusively for bachelors. “They do not eat healthy because most of them move to other cities for jobs and don’t stay with families.

I prepare traditional Tamil Nadu dishes like Siruthaniya, Kuthiravali, Kollu kanji, etc that I am sure many aren’t aware of,” she smiles. “Most of my clients are working professionals who have erratic schedules and do not want to eat unhealthy food from restaurants or even office canteens,” says Maheshwari (32) of Magi’s Kitchen, Ullagaram, that delivers vegetarian Brahmin lunch to nearby areas.
“I started this venture because cooking is my passion. I cannot stop even if I want to because my customers enjoy my food,” she beams, adding that she has 15 regular customers, for whom she personally cooks and delivers lunch and snacks on her two-wheeler.

Orders & customisations

Time is of essence when it comes to homemade food delivery ventures. “We need to receive orders at least a day in advance, so that we can meet the demand,” says Prashanth Jain. “This is especially the case when we have to make pure Jain food (no onion, garlic, carrots and potatoes), and special items like Sogra mooli ki sabzi (a radish dish), Daal dhokli (dumplings in pulses), and traditional sweets on request. They can customise their dishes.”

But this factor, however, is a major turn off for foodies. Asif Yahya, a marketing professional in the city, says, “Homemade delivery services are great hygiene-wise and they definitely send you on a nostalgic flavour trip, but they cannot satisfy my spontaneous hunger pangs…and so Swiggy it is!”

Call: Akshaya S (Brahmin food): 9789984231; Ranjana Banerjee (Bengali Food): 9841348743; Maheshwari (Brahmin food) : 9952063783; Shankari (Traditional Tamil fare): 9884082293;
Prashanth Jain (Rajasthani and Jain): 9841700022

POPULAR DISHES

North Indian Veg
(price range `80 to `170)
● Roti-Sabzi
● Dal Chawal
● Paratha varieties
(Aloo, Mooli, etc)
● Raita
North Indian Non Veg
(price range `150 to `180)


● Chicken curry meals

● Fish curry meals

Brahmin
(price range `65 to `95)
● Meals (consisting of rice, sambar, rasam, poriyal, koottu, papad, curd and pickle — all homemade)
● White pumpkin dosa and other varieties
● Adai varieties