Smart snacks

“The idea to have something of this sort had been there for long. There aren’t good enough places where you get a variety of snacking options. The formal lunch-and-dinner space is well populated—there are a lot of restaurants and one gets multiple cuisines. But when it comes to the snacking,you just get stuff like sandwiches,burgers,etc,which is not healthy. We wanted to give people the option of having nutritious snacks which are easy on the pocket too. With this idea,we started Ginger Idly & More,” says 32-year-old Ashutosh who assists his family with the new venture even though he has a day job.

Though the dishes are priced modestly,each has some special ingredient or flavour to it. For example,there is Dal Moradabadi which is steamed moong dal garnished with a blend of herbs and spices. The food is cooked at home and brought to the outlet in the morning,afternoon and evening. “Our home is just a kilometre away from the joint. So,freshly prepared food can be brought at different times during the day,” Ashutosh says.

Bhawana,36,Ashutosh’s sister,says,“All of these dishes are a part of our tradition. We have grown up seeing our mother and grandmother prepare these at home. Just that we have innovated a bit by adding spices,herbs and flavours,keeping in mind the taste of the younger generation. Through Ginger Idly & More,we are providing food that has high nutrient content and low fat.”

To start with,Ginger Idly and More offers six dishes. Ashutosh is happy with the response they have got. “We haven’t advertised it much but still we’ve had a fairly good response. We have a lot of people coming in who say that they find our food interesting. We will,of course,be looking at expanding the menu and having more such outlets. But for now,our focus is on expanding our customer base.”