goa on my plate : aaichi ranchikud

There is a scene in English Vinglish , where Sridevi’s homely character is excited to tell her husband that people consider her an entrepreneur for selling her laddoo, and her husband scoffs at her. Well , things have changed for the Indian woman since then, and yet not changed in many ways.

Home chefs and home caterers are the rising trend of the food industry throughout India, whether you are looking for bespoke cakes for a special occasion, or authentic parsi or corgi cuisine , or exotic jams and pickles, or even the everyday tiffin service, Home chefs are your prayers answered. They allow you to savour fresh home cooked meals, prepared with hand chosen fresh ingredients, without the mass production of commercial places, they are delivered to your home or are available as convenient take aways , and above all it is a personal one to one interaction with the chef and his or her food, rather than through the restaurant acting as the middle man.

In an attempt to give the home caterers and home chefs the deserving limelight, Goa on my plate will now be featuring the famous home cooks of Goa, along with the best restaurants in the state.

We start of the journey with Aaichi ranchikud, cooked by Shobha Ashok Kamat and promoted by her supportive family. It all started when they put up a stall at the Saraswat food festival in Panjim a few years back. The chicken dish vanished with minutes and was named chicken jhanjhanit by the family ever since. The mackerels were gone in 10 minutes and they were sold out during the festival. Even though they were buoyed by the tremendous response at the festival, and had decided to start their mom off on her culinary journey, like all good intentions, this too took a backseat because everyone else needed to get back to their work and like. Shobha  has three children, all professionals, and it was her daughter who is an engineer, who posted a few pictures of her moms pickles on facebook a few months later. Again the response was massive, so much so, that orders for her pickles poured in from overseas as well, families who were coming home to goa for the holidays wanted her to prepare pickles they could take back with them to their friends abroad.

Since then, there has been no looking back.

They have recently started their tiffin service in Panjim area, which is a boon to office goers, students living in hostels, patients in hospitals and their relatives and even families where the mom needs a break from kitchen work.

The vegetarian tiffin consists of wheat chapattis, rice, a spicy dal, a green leafy vegetable, salad, pickle, a patal bhaji, and a little fried side dish. Just like a typical Goan home-cooked meal, this too is complete with sol kadi, and is both wholesome and nutritious apart from being tasty. I liked the packaging, as well as the delivery which was prompt.

Non veg tiffin consisted of a fried fish, rice, chapattis, a tangy fish curry with raw mangoes, a patal bhaji with sprouts, pickles, and salad.

The enterprising daughter even has a facebook page for her mother called aaichi ranchikud which has pictures as well as a way to contact them. The tiffin costs 120 for vegetarian, 150 for fish, and 200 for chicken tiffin. They supply to Panjim, Caranzalem, Bambolim, Merces, Santacruz, Taleigao, Porvorim. Monthly orders or even single day orders placed the day before are accepted, with special discounts for senior citizens and students. At present it is a lunch only venture, but she has started to take party orders as well as orders for small occasions.Specially prepared meals for pregnant women or patients is also available, which is a boon,because not only do these groups require added nutrition and clean home cooked meals, but are themselves too ill or tired to cook for themselves.

 It is a trend that we all must support, where hitherto home makers are gaining financial independence and a sense of self, the home chefs are on the rise.

Rating:

Ease of placing order: 4 plates

Service : 4 plates

Packaging of food: 3.5 plates

Presentation of food/hygiene: 3.5 plates

Taste:3.5 plates

Value for money: 3.5 plates

Promptness of delivery: 3.5 plates.

Phone number 7875769417