(The cooks live in settlements across IT hubs and in localities near educational institutions.)
CHENNAI: Kargil, Circuit and Mahi are among a bunch of more than 250 Bihari men who have endeared themselves to people in Chennai with their culinary skills.Network of these home-service cooks prepare chapattis and a variety of north
Indian dishes mostly for students and IT professionals from other states
who long for a taste of home. But many Chennaiites too are taking a
fancy to the fare they're dishing out.The cooks live in settlements across IT hubs and in localities near
educational institutions, including Tambaram, Velachery, Kelambakkam,
Kottivakkam, along ECR and near Camp Road junction, and even in
Mamallapuram. Most of these Biharis, armed with a matriculation or
senior secondary certificate, came to the city in search of employment.
Manish alias Kargil, 21 from Muzaffarpur in Bihar,
came to Chennai in search of a job during the Kargil War. While working
as a delivery boy in a courier company, he affixed a small tricolour on
his bicycle as a mark of respect to India's soldiers. The bicycle still
has a prominent sticker that says 'ARMY'.
Vinod, 23 from
Vaishali in the same state, was nicknamed Circuit as he can mimic the
mannerisms and lines of Arshad Warsi's character in 'Munnabhai'.
Chanchal aka Mahi, 24, from Lakhisarai, lights an incense stick every
morning before a picture of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
"We cook chapattis and chokha (finely chopped onions, coriander leaves,
lemon juice and smoked red chill mixed with mashed potatoes)," says
Kargil. "My specialty is Dehati Chicken, which is popular in villages
across Bihar. Rather than powdered spices, I use a mixture of black
cumin, aniseed, fenugreek and mustard with pounded raw garlic and
ginger."
Most of them have been working for over five years and
even and brought their relatives to Chennai to expand their business.
Their typical working hours are between 10am and 2pm and from 4pm to
10pm.
As powdered baked gram (sattu) is not easily available in
Chennai they procure it from Bihar. The cooks can easily prepare special
bihari delicacies like makuni (parathas stuffed with baked gram powder)
and litti (sattu with other condiments stuffed into wheat ball and
either barbecued or deep fried). Dheeraj, an IT professional and regular
customer, vouches for the food that these Bihari cooks whip up. "Unlike
them, the eateries that sell north Indian food are either expensive or
the dishes are not authentic," he says.
source:TNN
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