Succulent proteins and fresh vegetables, hearty carbs and gravies representative of both North and South India, Indikitchen wants to bring you food as you want it, when you want it, even if the clock reads 2.45 a.m., especially if it reads 2.45 a.m.
Like many good ideas, this one too was born out of hunger pangs that clenched the gut. Says managing partner Anuj Bagri, "My friends and I were hanging out late one night and the only place open was the one we always went to. We were bored and wanted more. That is why we thought of targeting this niche time-slot."
They didn’t start with a food delivery service, though. At first, a little over a year ago, Indikitchen was a dine-in eatery in Andheri, says Bagri. "It was a mistake. We got our calculations wrong and overestimated our revenue. Now, with a food delivery service that cooks out of an industrial estate, costs are down to one-sixth."
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Indikitchen serves an all-day breakfast menu starting 9 a.m. and sees lunch, dinner and late-night rush hours. It delivers within 45 minutes and is available from Dadar to Malabar Hill. Bagri plans to open other outlets around Mumbai, with the first likely to be in the western suburbs, within the next six months.
Situated in Parel, Indikitchen feeds a corporate clientele that often works late into the night. At such times, a paneer tikka rolled about in a triple teekha gravy and served in a roomali roti sounds about right. Or a simple rasam soup. Or a chicken/mutton kebab in a bhuna gravy. There are options with less oil too.
Head chef Arif Shaikh, who has worked in Russia, Dubai and the U.S., develops their menu. "I am able to try new things here. We learned a lot from our Andheri mistake. Now we know which items move fast." Bagri adds, "Chicken is fast moving; mutton, not so much."
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Bagri admits they struggle with getting enough proteins into the vegetarian menu as all options dance around paneer. "However, all our meals are one-person meals, which suits corporate people as they can choose their protein, base and gravy exactly as they like and don’t have to eat what everyone else is eating."
In addition, there is a huge market of people partying through the night at Worli, Parel, Dadar and Sewri. "They love the all-day breakfast," says Bagri who has a background in investment banking. His mother runs the family business in metal and fasteners. Bagri, meanwhile, is developing mettle himself; after all, you can’t be in food without nerves of steel.
To order from Indikitchen, see indikitchen.net