Although it is drizzling, a little curbside Kudumbasree outlet, almost opposite Akashwani on the DPI-Poojapura Road in Thiruvananthapuram, is surrounded by customers. The aroma of ginger, green chilli and masala and the sting of chopped onion fill the air even as a stocky man steadily keeps adding to the heap of chopped onion on a makeshift table.
Finally, he lifts his head up and smiles. Quite a talkative man, K Sreekumaran leaves the onion to talk to me about the food and what is special about the outlet. I ask him if I could speak to the owner. Pointing to a man doling out hot mutton curry into a steel dabba, he says I should speak to him. “His name is Balachandran,” he adds.
In the meantime, three customers wait patiently for the signature dish of the outlet – spicy, piping hot mutton soup. Sold at ₹70 per cup, the soup has put this no-frills place on the food map of Thiruvananthapuram.
