The only stirring thing about Friday is that what follows is a weekend. The day that kicked off unexciting and dreary turned out to be a delight by noon when the huge carton full of hodgepodge from SKYCHEF arrived at my doorstep.
HUGE… as in GIGANTIC… measuring 2ft x 2ft in size… jaw-dropping. Check out the photo of me holding it. You would get the Colossal picture. My wife almost dropped to the ground as she received the 20-pound parcel.
I called up the entrepreneur and they explained that it is a brunch menu for 4-6 persons. But turns out, as I thrillingly opened it, it was filled with meals … from breakfast to dinner. It was offered as a Tasting session spread.
Imagine that…
It contained the following- ● Beef Masala (3 containers), ● Chicken Fry (1 Big container), ● Veg Mappas (2 containers), ● Chicken Cutlets (6 nos is 2 containers, ● Kerala Paratha (6 nos in 2 packets), ● Starter Buns (6 nos in 1 packet), ● Kallappam (6 nos in 1 packet), ● Pidi Paayasam (1 container). All well packaged and sealed… Good enough to survive through two days of famine for a couple. See the image below for the snap of the packages.
It was Lunchtime and I started off with the Ghee rice, Chicken Fry and Beef Masala. The Chicken Fry was a deep-fried (in coconut oil) chunks of solid meat portions.
The soft and chewy slices were a good-enough homespun relish. The Ghee rice (Basmati rice) was stir-fried in just the amount of ghee to make it not too slippery, but towards the drier end. It was topped with a trivial amount of fried onions. Their Beef Masala was a thick blend of a habitual domestic preparation.
Just 3 hours later, it was snack time. We cracked open the cutlet box. Again, one Chicken cutlet was three times the size of regular cutlets from any store. The taste, as anticipated, homely.
Supper time- We heated up our requirements. The Kerala Parathas were huge- a wide and fat circular dough, fluffy enough. A paratha was equivalent to 2 regular parathas from any outlet in our city. I also gathered the obvious fact that the Beef Masala was a better permutation with the Paratha.
The day wasn’t over- Pidi Payasam was the sedative pinnacle to the meal.
It was Saturday morning. Breakfast time- We heated up the Veg Mappas, Appams and Buns. The Mappas was a thick blend of veggies stewed in rich coconut milk. The Appams were the right amount of sweet and fluffiness. Again, breakfast was savoured stupendously.
We followed the same cycle through the day till Sunday. Our weekend was a Knock-out Bash.
Concluding Review- The dishes didn’t own a unique tangy zest or out-of-the-world taste. But it was definitely matched up to a home-cooked meal… like it was from our own kitchen. My wife and I felt totally at home with the dishes as if it was our mom’s recipe. The quanity was more than enough for a feeding frenzy and taste was good enough for a satisfying meal. Value for money? Can’t answer that one because it was worth every invisible penny that I didn’t have to pay.
I’ll wrap up with a word of appreciation. It is great that entrepreneurs in Trivandrum are taking the effort to distribute their food to bloggers and tasters. This is a great improvement for our city and, I have to admit, Trivandrum is getting closer to the best food culture.