Asif Naeem, who works in Delhi, loves Bihari Champaran Mutton. He definitely gets it ordered at least twice a month. But Asif, does not order this mutton from any restaurant, but from the cloud kitchen of the mother-in-law.
Asif, originally from Uttar Pradesh, says, “Since August till now, I have ordered this ten times. The quality and taste of ‘The Chhaunk’ is superb. It feels like home cooked food and it also brings back memories of me when I used to eat the best home cooked food every day.
When the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo started their startup ‘The Chhaonk’, they were in search of the same love and belonging, which they are getting immensely from their customers today.
love to eat bihari
Hiranmayi Shivani and her daughter-in-law Manjari Singh are residents of Patna, Bihar. In the year 2011, he settled in Delhi with his family. Both of them have a great love for Bihari food and are adept at making and serving it. Hiranyamai used to visit Bihar once every year to meet her relatives and family members, but this time she had to stay in Delhi due to the second wave of the epidemic.
They The Better India Told Ko, “We could not move anywhere, which was why I was very upset. After a few days I realized that there will be many people like me who would not be able to go home this time.
She adds, “For people living away from home in search of studies or jobs, the lockdown simply meant – loneliness. They could neither meet their family members nor could they taste home cooked food. There is a significant number of people coming from Bihar and living in Delhi. But the food there was not easily available here, especially not at all during the lockdown.
So that customers feel at home
Hiranymayi Shivani, 58, had found the solution. She says, “I decided to make traditional Bihari dishes at home and take it to the masses. So that my customers can feel right at home for a short time.” “I spoke to Manjari about my business model and she agreed to support me,” he said.
Hiranyamai believes that the food of Bihar is different in the whole world and it holds a special place in the hearts of the people of the country. According to him, “The aim of our business was to make this food popular among people other than the Bihari community living in Delhi.” With this thought in mind, in July 2021, Hiranyamai started the street food of Bihar named ‘The Chonk’ through the ‘Cloud Kitchen’ of his house.
She adds, “I use my mother’s recipes and spices passed down through generations to cook my food.”
Bihari Food, Khichdi and Litti Chokha have a special taste
Their menu also includes common Bihari food like dal-bhaat, tarkari, roti and pickle. Manjari said, “People also like to eat khichdi. Apart from dal and rice, we add some spices to it, which doubles its taste. There are more side dishes in the food. Which we often include in the lunch in the weekend. Our menu includes all dishes with a traditional twist.”
Manjari, 35, says everyone’s all-time favorite litti chokha is the life of her kitchen. Litti is made from sattu (roasted gram flour). Whereas chokha is prepared by mashing aloo, brinjal and tomato, cooking them with traditional spices. Apart from this, Jhalmudi, Chura Matar, Bajka, Chura Badam, Dal Poori with Kheer, Sattu Kachori and Pulao are also made.
He told, “We have also prepared sattu sorbet. It is used to increase appetite. The cost of food prepared in his kitchen ranges from Rs 110 to Rs 445. According to Manjari, initially he used to get 40 orders a day. But today the orders have increased to 450. They are earning Rs 4 lakh per month from this start up.
The food is served simply
Manjari said, “Litti chokha is the most liked food. It sells like a hot cake, but the increasing demand for our food is because of its simplicity and flavour.” She adds, “The food is served with the same simplicity as is found in a traditional Bihari home. He is not decorated. The food is prepared after the order is received, so that its freshness is maintained.”
Another unique aspect of their business is packaging. For which they do not use any kind of plastic container. Manjari says, “We are environment conscious and hence do not use plastic. We deliver food to our customers in airtight glass containers, which can be reused later.”
Desire to make Bihari food famous all over the world
Talking about food delivery, Manjari says, “We have registered on Zomato, Swiggy and other food delivery platforms.” Since the food industry was new to both of them and they had no experience in it. So in the beginning, a lot of hard work had to be done. “We faced a lot of difficulties to register and run it,” he said.
Manjari said, “Usually Bihari food is not available in restaurants. So we were not completely sure about our business. But we were sure that people would definitely like the taste of this handmade food. Raising resources and spices amid the pandemic was also a struggle in itself. We have slowly learned to deal with all these troubles.”
Both of them are working on opening outlets in Delhi, NCR, Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Jaipur. “Often the taste of food takes you back to nostalgia,” says Hiranyamai. On the other hand, Manjari wants to make Bihari food popular all over the world.
Original article: Himanshu Nitnaware
Editing: Archana Dubey
Also read: Harita Kaur: The first woman pilot of the Indian Air Force, at the age of 22 flew the plane without a co-pilot
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