Pesto from a jar. Malabar parottas from a packet. Convenience is easy to find in the aisles of a supermarket. But what if you can’t get to the store in time and the local sabziwala has long deserted the streets? You order in, of course. Not from the neighbourhood takeaway, but from online vendors who home-deliver pre-cut and measured ingredients with a recipe card (to idiot-proof the package).
A healthier and, often, a more exciting ‘gourmet’ alternative to Pappe da Dhaba, it also keeps you from buying that bottle of fish sauce you barely use. The metros have first dibs as usual. But the ready-to-cook concept appears to be gaining ground in other cities too. The price range is between ₹200 and ₹700 for a meal for two.
The new (meal) kit on the block, iChef.in has a dainty menu of six, including lamb sliders, chicken teppanyaki and tofu fajitas with guacamole.
Purveyor of gourmet (and sometimes rare) ingredients and kitchenware, Foodesto. com also offers six DIY options on its site, sourced from the popular kitchens of Indigo Deli and The Table. Think papardella, beet risotto and roast chicken.
Eatopia.in, however, has an “artisanal Indian” flavour and peddles spice mixes too (Parsi dhana jeeru, anyone?).
Delhi and Gurgaon
That Cookfresh.in has nearly doubled its number of dishes — now, an impressive line up of 33 — in 10 months, is certainly an indication of its popularity. Apart from the savoury plates of massaman curry, Vietnamese pho and Burmese khow suey, they also win brownie points for peddling sweet eats like cheesecake, blueberry muffins and moist chocolate cake in a mug.
Bengaluru
Youjustcook.com seems fairly reasonable — sea bass with ginger broth for ₹275, Asian grilled prawns for ₹200 and Thai-spiced pork loin, their most expensive dish, for a princely sum of ₹350. Taking “tiresomeness out of trying”, they grade each recipe’s “cooking effort” from high to low.
Multi-city
With a pan-Indian reach online — thanks to Amazon.in — and a special focus on Mumbai and Bengaluru, Chefsbasket.in has also tied up with retail stores in Mumbai, Thane and Pune. On offer are Thai, Italian and Mexican specials, all vegetarian.