DESI FOODS & ENTREPRENEURIAL SCOPE

At the outset, let me narrate an event witnessed in the year 2006. Once I with my wife went to a remote village in Karnataka. On Bangaluru-Mysore rail route, there is a small station VIRDI. We went there by train, took an auto to about 7 kilometers south to village Byramangla. I am from Hindi speaking area, can communicate either in Hindi or English. We stayed at Byramangla for about a weak. Our hosts were an old couple of rural background. As there were no hotels, dhabas or any other option we took our meals with them cooked by their maid. Although the dishes were somewhat unusual from our north Indian rural area, yet we enjoyed it and my wife became fan of one particular cuisine, a type of tomato chutney, which was served to us during our every meal. Every time it was freshly prepared item and the main ingredients were tomatoes, garlic, turmeric pulp, salt, much of red chili powder and jaggary. The item was so appetizing that wife keenly trained herself to try it at her household at Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh), India. All grocery shopping was done at tiny bazaar situated near tiny township of Virdi at Mysore-Bangaluru highway, 7 kilometer away from Byramangla. I happened to go to the market for some errand. There were about 3 general merchant’s shops, 10 to 15 kiosks and vending thelas in all. During shopping for general merchandize I noticed a PCO and stood in a queue to make a few telephone calls because my mobile phone kept being out of network at Byramangla. While waiting in the queue inadvertently I made a minute inspection cum survey of the commodities being vended nearby. One vender seemed very popular. He had selling roasted cereals (Laiya-Bhuja) along with what seemed to me mouth freshener pouches with or without tobacco. This vender attracted crowd and was busy. I was happy to see the popularity of Desi Food (roasted cereals) in the southern part of the country. What an example of unity in diversity phenomenon of India. This food item was popular from north to south and east to west. As a Food Technologist I mused over the quality parameters, scope for diversification, and organised marketing strategy of Bhooja (we, in eastern part of Uttar Pradesh call roasted cereals and pulses as Bhooja). The thought was becoming pregnant with novel ideas. Engrosses in my line of thinking I suddenly noted that almost every buyer of roasted cereals bought one or two pouches of mouth fresheners. This was an unusual buying pattern. Why, at the first place a Bhooja vender should vend mouth fresheners and secondly even if it was available with the vender why, on earth, a Bhooja buyer would buy mouth freshener along with Bhooja? I am sure my readers must have tasted Bhooja and know that it needs or jaggary or just a pinch of salt as accompaniment plus plain water. After you finish the dish, clean your buccal cavity (mouth) only then, if you like, you may use tobacco or mouth freshener. Perplexed with the quiz (mouth freshener-Bhooja combine), I was reminded by the gentleman standing in the queue just behind me to use the PCO phone or leave the queue. The language problem restricted me to share my thoughts with anyone there. I hastily entered PCO cabin finished my calls and rushed to the particular vending shop to have a closer look.
First I bought Bhooja worth Rs. Ten, just to appear friendly with the vender because we both faced language barrier. Then I inspected the pouches displayed. As complete solution to my “accompaniments and garnishing” question quiz dawned upon me. The pouches were of Tomato Chutney – 50 paisa each. This appeared to be an ideal accompaniment of Bhooja. What I had contemplated to be mouth fresheners, turned out to be pouched hot chutney. Wasting no time I bought 20 pouches. My anxiety had pacified now. After a while, I returned back to Byramangla.
Here I narrated the story to my wife. She, out her fancy for newly acquired culinary skill of tomato chutney making (Byramangla-style), opened a pouch. We tasted it and found to almost exactly as we were being offered at the dining table of our hosts. Later after we retuned from our trip, I analyzed the Chutney and found 156 ppm Benzoic Acid and 0.047 % Acetic Acid. Microbial and tomato solid count was well within FPO limits. The pouches were tastefully designed to reveal FPO mark. It was manufactured at Chennai on the behalf of a marketing company based at Bangaluru.

After narrating this event I ask to my dear readers—“What an idea sir ji?”

The title of this bogged essay is targeted to point out Desi (regional) Foods like the Byramangla-style Tomato Chutney. In eastern Up & Bihar it could well me Chili-Garlic Chutney for the same “Bhooja”. Its target buyers would be about 5 lacs of labour force working in various parts of the country in Brick Kilns (Bhatha) and real estate construction work. It is Technologists and market appraisal personnel’s job to identify such opportunities and formulate the establishment of macro or micro enterprises. This is the area of product development for rural food processing units. My article (http://www.techno-preneur.net/information-desk/sciencetech-agazine/2009/June09/july-index.htm) may be referred to for more information and how-to-do-it solutions.