A Home away from Home!

“I didn’t advertise before opening AANGAN because I am someone who truly believes in word of mouth” says AJAI ASHOK, OWNER. And word of mouth seems to have worked really well for Aangan. When I visited the restaurant for the interview, it was packed; mostly with families. 

Like most individuals who carve a niche for themselves in the food industry, Ajai’s background is in no way related to food;  in fact, he is a Qatar based chartered account. He landed in Cochin with the sole intent of shifting his talents to business and the restaurant business was discovered to be one of the most lucrative options Ajai could turn to.

The ideal location for the restaurant took a little more time to lock in. “I felt that Palarivattom is developing rapidly and there were only 12-15 notable restaurants in this area. A proper multi cuisine restaurant that caters to families was absent and hence, I decided to fill this gap in format. Aangan is located in a large residential area with a lot of NRIs and this proved to be a huge market for the restaurant.” The response that Aangan received shows that Ajai has snapped shut that gap for a good family restaurant. Aangan also has a party hall that can accommodate upto 150 guests. Besides the walk ins, Aangan also has a delivery service of 5km radius. About 30% of their orders are home deliveries.

I was served a welcome drink the moment I arrived. This practice is for all guests mind you. It was a glass of Papaya juice but because of my allergies to the fruit, they were courteous enough to serve me a refreshing glass of lime mint cooler abuzz with a pleasing bite of ginger. As mentioned earlier, Ajai is a staunch believer of word of mouth advertising and he makes it a point to interact with all diners who come in. In fact, he has created a personal rapport with most of the repeat customers. The great ambience, reasonable cost and the exemplary service has most of the diners coming back in hoards. “I am not a foodie but I believe in providing the best food teamed with the best customer service. My mother is a fantastic cook hence I have learnt to appreciate good food. More importantly, I want my customers to feel a sense of comfort at Aangan.”

A market research of families who frequent restaurants revealed that most of them prefer a homely atmosphere even while dining outdoors. Most families want relatively quiet, clean settings with ample parking facilities. The most unique factor that Aangan has to offer is that almost 70% of the products used to prepare the dishes come from Ajai’s farms! Apart from the chicken and beef brought from outside vendors, curry powders, most of the vegetables, spices, coconut oil and seafood come from the family farms. Even the paneer and sauces are made in house. 

The goal behind this sort of a production method is to provide the customer with healthy, pesticide free food. Aangan serves seven types of cuisines; Kerala, Continental, Thai and Chinese to name a few (ajinomoto is not used while preparing any of the dishes). Apart from serving only whole wheat chapathies, the restaurant also avoids frozen foods as much as possible. “It is difficult to introduce healthy foods to customers. Many want the softness of maida breads over healthier wheat alternatives. Then again, everyone has individual tastes and so satisfying everyone will be out of the question. But yes, there are many customers who appreciate the sincere efforts taken.” Says Ajai.

The restaurant industry is one where there is constant learning, and Ajai is up to the challenge. He does all the purchasing for the restaurant and thanks to his supportive staff; he has been able to run the restaurant like a well-oiled machine.

I couldn’t wait to try out some of the dishes and my happy tummy was served masala batter fried prawns and squid to start off. The masala was a delightfully peppery one with a lovely crunch and oh my god the seafood! It was extremely fresh, soft and tender with absolutely no fishy after taste. It was the most amazing plate of seafood I had ever tasted! The freshness was outstanding!  Next up was a sample tandoori platter with portions of tandoori chicken, hariyali kebabs and malai kebabs. I have yet to taste such moist delectable kebabs! The kebabs were soft, easy to cut with just a fork and not drowning in marinade. The marinade, ground from fresh herbs without any food colouring was delicious on its own as well! I really liked the fact that I could taste the succulence of the chicken all the way to the last bite. The house made mint sauce paired really well with the tandoori chicken and it was such a refreshing delight!

The final dish I was served was the paneer butter masala with hot, buttery naans. Oh good lord! The paneer at Aangan is the stuff of legends! The gravy was rich and decadent with generous chunks of the softest, most delicate paneer I have ever had the pleasure of devouring! This is by far the best paneer butter masala I have had in Cochin! I haven’t enjoyed a meal this much in a long time!

“I want Aangan to be more than a restaurant chain. I want it to be an experience. I have in mind a plan to start restaurants with varied themes. I am exploring options regarding the same.” All the best Ajai! You’re sure to go a long way!

In DEEP SOUP...and LOVING it!

I’ve always loved soup! So much so that I wouldn’t mind having soup for all three meals (and even in between)! There is so much of edible cuddling that happens with that one bowl of joy! I’ve always been disheartened with the fact there was no food joint in Cochin that was dedicated to this liquid ambrosia! One fine day, however, luck finally became a lady and I came across the name THE SOUP SHOP in big bold letters on Facebook; I cried for joy people! Obviously I had to visit the place ASAP!

One fine evening found me climbing a slightly precarious, yet deeply romantic staircase covered with creeping vines and bedecked with fairy lights. The Soup Shop is a cozy little alcove with attractive furnishings done up in urban chic. I settle myself down and immerse myself in the décor. I loved the music that was playing, EDM with a few of the latest hits thrown in. All in all, it felt nice and homey.

I was joined by one of the owners of The Soup Shop, RAVI SANKAR. I was perplexed by his decision to enter the food industry when he had already made his presence felt in the world of cinema. Ravi tells me a rather enchanting story about his travel to the Northern Regions of the Himalayas during the Rani Padmini shoot. Pahadi goats were aplently there and most of the dishes they had were made from goat. Often during long drives, they would stop at small Tibetian style street shops were they were warmed in and out by a delicious mutton soup. Ravi and his group of three close friends had always wanted to try their hand at something creative, unique and definitely related to food. The mouth-watering soup that they enjoyed shifted their attention to a large gap in the Kerala market for such a concept. Thus began the thought process behind The Soup Shop.

Kerala has been experiencing a major start up boom and Ravi and his friends jumped headlong into it. “There is a growing category of people who want to try new and innovative things and we know for sure that there is a community that enjoys soup. We wanted to open a small, cozy place that caters to them” says Ravi.

The Soup Shop opened shop with a variety of soups, salads, open sandwiches and drinks. The menu was limited with the main intent of people exploring the varieties of soups available and of course the concept behind such an offering. There was a lot of research that went into designing the menu. Right from understanding the finicky Keralite palette to getting the right permutation and combination from a variety of soups across different cuisines. Both International and Indian flavours were introduced. Some of their soups that hit the right notes with a vast majority were the BROCCOLI SOUP, CHICKEN SHORBA, CRAB AND PEPPER SOUP and the BROWN ONION AND MUTTON SOUP.

“We went for online promotions. We went through Zomato, Eat Kochi Eat and other online platforms. In this day and age, word of mouth works wonders and that really helped build our customer base” shares Ravi. The push behind this concept is introducing a balanced area of healthy and delicious food. Comfort food that you can always turn to. Without a doubt, malayali tummies everywhere demanded to be filled to the brim and thus the menu was extended further to pastas, burgers and steaks. Quite amazingly, The Soup Shop does home deliveries. I can imagine myself curled up on the couch with a mug of warm soup in one hand and a book in the other! How lovely!

“A good mix of crowds come in. We have a lot of middle aged customers, 70% of which are ladies, who have soups and salads as part of their diets. But a lot of people also opt for our selection of cream based soups as well” Customer interaction is top priority with Ravi and the other owners. Not only does this act as an excellent feedback mechanism, it also helps build a loyal set of customers. Conceptually, The Soup Shop has been a right success. The idea behind the ambience was to create an aura of comfort and get the customer feeling relaxed and at home. “We wanted a simple, yet attractive place” adds Ravi.

“The love for soup needs to spread to more and more people. Our hashtag #soupculture aims to promote the same. Anytime you put up a picture featuring us, please do add this hashtag.”

I am ready to delve into some SOUP CULTURE myself as I am served an enormous bowl of their famous BROWN ONION AND MUTTON SOUP. It smelt like home. The soup was spectacular! Loads of minced mutton, beautifully caramelized and a spicy broth all harmoniously elevated with generous amounts of cracked pepper. If you have a cold and need a warm cuddle, please curl up with a big bowl of this deliciousness! I enjoyed every mouthful! Next up was the CHICKEN SHORBA. The medley of spices made my mouth water like a reflex! Chockfull with chunks of chicken, veges and coriander, it was a rather flavourful soup with an excellent base. I was also served their GRILLED CHICKEN SALAD. First off, I was happy to see that the dressing was served separately and secondly, the portions were great with huge hunks of chicken and fresh lettuce, peppers and olives. My palette felt refreshed!

“This idea sprouted from a craving that we had for soup. We similarly want you to crave our food as well. We give a 100% assurance of good taste as we put our heart and soul into all our soups” Well Ravi, you sure have me craving your yummy soups! Can’t wait to come back for more! Soup’s up!