Packing punch with home-made podis, pickles

Packing punch with home-made podis, pickles

Priya.Menon@timesgroup.com

Chennai:13.11.2020

When the lockdown happened and he had to shut his restaurant, N S Krishnamoorthy, owner of Prem’s Grama Bhojanam in Adyar, decided to focus on creating healthy fare that customers could get delivered to their homes. The lockdown has now been eased, but his podis and batters continue to be sought after.

“The pandemic had confined people to their homes and they wanted to cook nutritious, immunity-building food for their families while juggling WFH schedules,” says Krishnamoorthy, whose restaurant specialises in millet-based food. “So, I began making podis such as kollu (horsegram) podi, which is supposed to help reduce high BP and sugar levels, and drumstick leaf podi that you can mix with rice and eat or have with idli and dosa.” Millet batter for idli and dosa, ginger thokku, mango ginger pickle, amla pickle, and gongura were other things he came up with for customers.

During the lockdown, many city restaurants turned to making traditional podis, pickles and other fare so that they could continue to have a source of income. And the demand for these has only increased even after the city opened up. So many restaurants are now focussing on expanding their range and launching their brands.

“There is a huge demand for these pickles, podis and homemade batter. People find it’s healthy, tasty and cuts down cooking time,” says Krishnamoorthy.

Nalina Kannan, owner of Thaligai restaurant in Mylapore, launched a new brand, Thaligai Tradition, during the lockdown. “We were selling sambar and rasam podis but during the lockdown we began making coconut, curry leaf and paruppu powder based on my mother and mother-in-law’s recipes,” says Nalina, adding the podis can be used in multiple ways.

“If you mix the curry leaf powder with tamarind paste and water and boil it, you get karuveppilai kozhambu. You can add warm water to the coconut powder to make thenga thogayal, which is a good combo with kootu or else you can add oil to the podi and have it with dosa or idli,” she says, adding they are now delivering it to clients across India. “And if you add the coconut podi to sambar to make arachuvitta sambar.”

Tarun Alexander of Ninan’s Restaurant at Parry’s Corner, which dates to 1956 and specialises in Kerala cuisine, says he began trying his hand at making pickles a few months into lockdown.

“My friend, T Shamini, suggested it and so I began making pork, beef, prawn, and fish pickles. They are all made according to our family recipes. My mom constantly makes them at home, so I learned how to do it myself,” says Tarun, adding that the demand for the pickles have gone up after lockdown. “We now sell fish and prawn pickles at our restaurant, the others are made on request.”

The latest one he has rolled out is a bacon relish. “It’s a little sweet and spicy, and has the consistency of jam. You can use it as a filler or spread, or even have it with rice,” he says, adding that 150g is priced at ₹600. “But a lot of people are buying it.”

IN DEMAND: A photo shared by Ninan’s Restaurant