Cooking can be a daunting task, especially after a long day of work. When the pandemic hit, many of us realised how important home-cooked meals are. With work from home becoming the new norm, many of us started relying on food delivery services, because there is barely enough time between work to fix up a healthy plate.
Kochi-based filmmaker Praveen Menon knows this struggle well. That is how, along with his parents Meenambika and Prabhakaran, he started the part-time venture ‘Meenu’s Lunch Box’. It has been functional for over two years now.
Praveen, who lovingly calls the venture ‘Meenu’ after his mother’s name, has worked in several Malayalam movies as an assistant director., He wanted to help out his friends who were tired of eating out. “Initially, it was just something to keep my parents engaged and get healthy, home-cooked food packets to around six or seven of my friends around town,” says Praveen.
But in a month, the start-up began serving around 100 people. “We don’t have any help. Everything from chopping the vegetables to packing the meals in plantain leaves is done between the three of us. My parents are happy and so are the people we serve. That is the highlight,” adds Praveen. But to not stress out his aged parents, Praveen reduced the count to 50.
The fresh, steamy pothichoru is sent to many parts of Ernakulam, including, Tripunithara, Kalamassery, Kakkanad, Thoppumpadi, Edapally and Kaloor. For Praveen, pothichoru comes with a certain nostalgia attached to it. “Back in school, we would open the pothichoru at school, and the aroma would take over the room. It is the fresh food, goodness of banana leaves and a whole lot of mother’s love,” he says.
Non-veg meal: Rs100
Veg meal: Rs 70
Only for delivery in Ernakulam
Contact: +91 97476 91685