So, you might’ve tried champagne by the Seine, ouzo in the Greek Islands, a frothy cup of teh tarik in Malaysia, but have you tried the coco jelly at Sorrel Gardens? Sitting on the lone hammock amidst the calm foliage at this particular farm on ECR, we help ourselves to spoonfuls of a refreshing part-water part-jelly dessert.
And much like the Bermuda Triangle, the contents of this particular coco jelly are a great mystery. One that Dr. Gohulabalan doesn’t want to divulge.
“It’s our secret recipe,” he laughs. His father, K. Thangaraj, tried something similar in Thailand, and was inspired to make it here. “It’s tender coconut water which we process naturally. Since it has no preservatives, the shelf life is only seven days,” he says. The coconuts are shaved and the jelly is chilled and served in them.
A retired officer with the fisheries department, 65-year-old Thangaraj first tried the recipe three years back in Madurai. It worked well there, and six months ago, he introduced it in Chennai. The demand sees him shuttling between Madurai and Chennai. Here, the coco jellies are only available at the farm and they retail it out of stalls at exhibitions. Since the family hasn’t advertised, people only know of it through word of mouth. “On weekdays we sell 50 and on weekends the number doubles. We sold 200 over two days at an exhibition in Sankara Hall last weekend,” says Gohulabalan.
It’s entirely a hand-made process that Thangaraj and his wife undertake together. Every morning at 7 a.m., the couple starts work on a pile of coconuts that are brought in from Pollachi and by noon they have 150 ready. And during the process, Thangaraj inevitably helps himself to at least three a day. No one’s complaining as long as there’s enough for us.
The product is priced at Rs. 100 a piece. Details: 97865 85585
