G. Mani Sankar Kumar co-founder and Managing Director of Lakshmi Mess dislikes waste in any form. And so, the fan is switched on only after we have selected a table, we are served food on banana leaves and water is poured out of a copper jug into steel tumblers. “I have had guests demanding, plastic bottles of water. They also wanted the servers to wear plastic or cloth gloves,” says Mani. But he stood his ground and politely declined to agree to either of their demands. Mani’s vision is not just about the food served in his Mess, but about a way of life he wants to encourage. I am in a mood to listen as I am just back from a family wedding where 500 odd guests were given a pet bottle each with water. “It is to preserve hygiene” was the explanation, as if for the last couple of hundred years we have been drinking unhygienic water at these functions.
“Whenever I go to supermarket I see a plastic dump,” says Mani. Seasonal and sustainable food is what he wants to promote. Community kitchens are the way forward he says. He feels people travelling long distances to visit restaurants leads to a larger carbon footprint. “It is my dream to take Laxmi Mess to where people live. Either we will cook for them or supply them with freshly cut vegetables, ground masalas, dough and so on. “There are many pluses to this – Wastes less food as it is cooked on demand; avoids unnecessary packaging; encourage sustainable community living. If we can encourage people to grow their own vegetables, nothing like it. Even the organic waste the vegetable peels etc, produce could be composted and recycled for use in their gardens. If we can’t grow our own vegetables, we can tie up with a community of farmers to provide for us.”
So for Mani, his Lakshmi Mess is the beginning of a journey of promoting right lifestyle and food culture people could make their own. The Mess only serves fresh, seasonal food, that is grown not too far away. “We do not use food colouring, artificial flavouring, white sugar or maida. We do not deep fry anything either. And we offer alternatives to coffee and tea.”
The food in front of me is tasty. Rasam, sambar, keerai, a delicious vazhakai puttu, roasted papad and an aromatic chutney made of sesame seeds. There is paysam, shakkara pongal and an invigorating tumbler of buttermilk. You are served exactly the amount you want to eat. It is a reassuring meal, one you know will not have you reaching for antacids and digestive pills.
Mani says how it has taken time to come up with a menu that keeps reinventing itself. The chefs are meticulously trained. Traditional ways of cooking are encouraged. “We do not measure and weigh. We cook the way we cook at home,” he says.
There are four kinds of meals on offer, named after rivers in Tamil Nadu – Kaveri Vaigai, Barani and our very own Noyyal. If you are not hungry enough for a sapadu, eat the Ponnangani keerai chappati with salad or the varagu biriyani with pachadi. The millets change everyday. Vegetables too depending on what is available.
There is nothing outlandish, flamboyant or over the top in Laxmi Mess. Food is just the way you would make it at home. Comforting, safe, tasty and nurturing.
Lakshmi Mess has a branch each at Nava India and Sai Baba Colony (Narayana Guru Road). They also serve breakfast and dinner. To know more call: 94891-90327.
