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Saras is bringing out Ready to cook (RTC)
gravies as the modern sequel to curry powders in terms of ease of
cooking.
The characteristic taste of Kerala curries is very famous among
its many aficionados. Unfortunately, the spicy and oily curries
call for a lot of chopping, grinding, blending and sautéing,
making it a labour-intensive culinary art, which only very few have
the time and skill to practice in the fast paced modern times.
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Traditionally, appropriate quantities of onions, ginger, green
chilies, garlic, etc. are cooked in oil along with the spice powders
and water to prepare the curry gravies. The RTC gravies are also
prepared in the same method retaining the old-world charm of the
delicacies in much the same way. But it goes one step further by
completely sterilizing the gravies inside special pouches at high
temperatures, making them shelf - storable for up to one year.
If RTC gravy is available, cooking is delightfully simple. Just
prepare the chopped pieces of vegetables, meat, fish or chicken,
mix with the matching gravy and cook on fire in open container or
pressure cooker until the pieces are fully cooked. That's it, the
dish is ready.
The products are 100% natural since no artificial preservatives
and chemicals are added. The lasting shelf life is derived only
from the special technology used. Hence these gravies are completely
safe to consume.
The sterilization technology used effectively kills all bacteria
in the gravies at high retort temperatures while retaining it in
completely barrier-protected metallized polyester pouches. Since
the gravy is now totally bacteria-free, microbes cannot enter the
pouch; hence it stays without any microbial degradation at normal
room temperature (without refrigeration) for upto one year.
Gravies for most common traditional Keralite dishes are available
such as chicken, fish, meat and vegetable curries and sambar.
The convenience of the RTC can be very handy in a variety of situations.
A few unexpected guests or the lack of time for cooking need not
be a problem any more. Busy housewives can finish the cooking in
no time and devote more attention to children's education or other
family activities. Hostellers and bachelors need not depend on restaurants.
The curry powder revolution was spearheaded in Kerala 25 years
back by Saras, and it is quite logical that Saras is again the first
to bring out RTC gravies in traditional Kerala style. As the pace
of life quickened with more ladies going for work, the traditional
culinary art had to give way to easier methods. The highly convenient
mixed spice powders took root in Kerala in the last few years. The
avant-garde RTC technology makes cooking further simple and is sure
to catch on in the market just as the curry powders did a few years
ago.
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