Shahul Hameed should have been savouring the taste of success. But the soft-spoken, self-made entrepreneur has no time, not in the time of fasting and feasting in the month of Ramzan.
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He has not one but several cooks whipping up different kinds of eats under his supervision. Apparently, too many cooks do not spoil the pathiri or the orotti. Full-moon shaped pathiris are being cooked to perfection on huge machines and put into packages of 25, 50 and 100. In another room, a dough kneading machine is working, while deft hands are rolling out the kneaded dough for plump orottis and cooking them on huge tawas.
The appetite for such ethnic eats is huge during the season and business is booming at Travancore Foods, located a little away from Karakkamandapam Junction. It is from this nondescript place near a railway track that pathiri, orotti, chappathi, idiyappam and many other eats make their way to several major hotels, eateries, catering units, institutions and households in and around the city throughout the year. And during the month of Ramzan, the demand peaks.
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“Usually we start our work at 8 am, but during Ramzan, we have to begin by at least 6 am because the demand for all the eats multiplies. For instance, while we make 7,000 pathiris every day on a regular basis, the number goes up several times during the festival season. Therefore preparations start in the wee hours of the day and we have to supply all the food by 6 pm,” says Shahul, his voice getting drowned in the drone of the machines kneading, baking and mixing.
Machines have become a necessity to take care of bulk orders, he explains while showing the idiyappam making machine that turns out lacy idiyappams in minutes. “It takes 15 minutes to cook idiyappams in two huge vessels. We can make 123 idiyappams at a time,” he adds.
Early days
Idiyappams must be special for Shahul because it was with these fluffy, steamed string hoppers that he began his journey as an entrepreneur.
“After finishing my pre-degree, I worked in a hotel for a while and it was from there that I got the idea of starting something on my own. I started an idiyappam-making unit with two employees. We supplied those to various hotels and households,” recalls Shahul.
He realised that there weren’t many units that manufactured food products in bulk quantities and decided to take the plunge into the market.
“I decided to try my luck. I opted for pathiris and orottis when I found they had a market. It was a laborious process because we didn’t have machines then to knead the dough or cook them. But we managed to stay put. Today I am very proud to say that the pathiris and orottis you eat at most of the leading eateries in the city come from my kitchen,” says Shahul. But he does not want me to name the places!
Shahul has an outlet at Manacaud, also named Travancore Foods, selling irachi pathiri, samosas, unnakkaya, chicken ada, dates fry and thari kanji, which is made only during the month of Ramzan. “All the eats are prepared right here,”says Jasmine, Shahul’s wife, who is always around to help him.
So, what’s the secret ingredient of this success story? “Nothing. I learnt everything on my own. Perhaps the secret lies in the fact that I have never compromised on the quality of the ingredients that we use,” he says.
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