CHENNAI : The menu for the day on Raghav’s Lunch Box’s Facebook page reads kodamilagai (capsicum) paruppu kozhambu, beans karamithu, pineapple sathumithu, and cabbage poricha kootu. Apart from this, there are WhatsApp groups where the menu for the next day gets updated the previous evening. City-based choreographer Veera Raghavan D started Raghav’s Lunch Box nine months back to serve healthy and refreshing homemade meals to all. 

“We casually posted on Facebook about our initiative. Within an hour we received 12 enquiries. It started out on a small scale. We live in Korattur and hence began the delivery service here first. The food is prepared by my mother-in-law in authentic Brahmin style without onion and garlic at our kitchen. She’s from Mylapore and my father-in-law is from Srirangam, so both of them are particular about every meal. The menu at our home is what we deliver for the day,” says Priya, Veera Raghavan’s wife who works as a software engineer and assists him in the business. 

In the first week, they just received three orders. Eventually, the word spread among family, friends and on social media. The number expanded to 10 to 12 orders per month. People started enquiring from all parts of the city. “One of our relatives suggested we share the message on Tamil Brahmin Business Group on WhatsApp, after which we started receiving 100 calls a day. Last two weeks have been extremely busy. Gradually we expanded to three different zones covering different areas.

Each person from a zone volunteered to cook. Raghav ensured that he tasted their food to ensure the quality and balance in spices was maintained. All of them use my mother-in-law’s masalas. That’s how we developed,” says Priya. There is one cook for KK Nagar and Korattur, and one for Tambaram. The menu is standard for all areas and is decided by Raghav.

Raghav’s Lunch Box has an active Facebook and social media group. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are a part of their menu. They’ve tied up with Vroom bike services and Zomato for home delivery. The food is freshly prepared, packed in steel carriers and delivered.  Customers return the carrier after transferring the food to their own containers. They handle bulk order for a maximum crowd of 50 people. The team has a weekly meeting to discuss the reviews and responses. Their extended services include homeground masala podis, idly and dosa batter. 

The food is mildly spiced. The lunch meals have garnered appreciation from the elderly. Their feedback has been valuable in improving the taste. Last Sunday they had an order of 72 meals and weekends are busier than weekdays. Working professionals and senior citizens are their regular clients. Breakfast options include idly, dosa, rava kichadi, and pongal. Lunch has options of variety rice like tamarind, lemon, curd, coconut and tomato. Dinner has adai, upma, chapati, and sevai. Special delicacies get added during festive seasons.

“We also prepare pathiya saapadu for mothers after childbirth. The meals are made in iron vessels with ingredients like veppam poo (neem flower) and sundakkai vathal (turkey berry). Athai also tweaks her menu according to auspicious days like Ekadasi and Dwadasi as per the Hindu calendar. Some diet customisation can be done for the elderly and sick based on requests. Having said that, the menu is standard with regular options.

We’re looking to expand in south Chennai — Mylapore, Velachery, and OMR,” says Priya. Zone one covers areas around Anna Nagar, Zone two covers areas around KK Nagar Zone three covers areas near Tambaram.Breakfast is priced at `60, lunch with rice comes at `125 and dinner for `75. Delivery charges range from `10-`50. Last order will be taken at 8.30 pm. Each meal serves one. For details, call: 9884833785