Visakhapatnam has a dime a dozen eateries doling out a variety of South Indian breakfast options; but at Swaraj Naturals in Peda Waltair, a simple dish of idli or dosa is a powerhouse of nutrition packed with millets.
“Millets are easily accessible and affordable. The traditional Andhra breakfast in many regions is prepared with millets and sprouts. We have brought some of those back,” says K V Suresh Kumar, the founder of Swaraj Naturals.
His passion for organic food and natural farming led him to start Swaraj Organics, which sells organically-grown vegetables and other products. The breakfast venture was recently started at the ground floor open space of Swaraj Naturals.
The menu is short – pottikalu, millet dosa, molakala vada, dibbarotti with cheruku panakam and chitti pesarattu. Pottikalu is a different way of making idlis, popular as a breakfast in East and West Godavari regions. These conical idlis have a texture similar to regular idlis, but Pottikalu is steamed in jackfruit leaf baskets. Prepared with ragi and jowar, they have a flavourful aroma and distinct taste that comes from jackfruit leaves. “Jackfruit leaves are considered to be rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants and contain digestive enzymes which are good for health,” says Suresh.
The other unique offering is the molakala vada. This vada is made by grinding green gram, chana dal and cow peas and fried in oil. Crisp on the outside and soft inside, the vadas served with chutney, taste delicious.
The dosas here are made with millets like ragi and jowar and served with three types of chutneys – coconut, groundnut and ginger green chilli. “All the chutneys are made with cold pressed oils of coconut, sesame and groundnut that are prepared in the two machines we have here,” says Suresh.
Here, the popular Andhra breakfast of dibbarotti (a thick golden crust made with idli batter) is served with cheruku panakam made from sugarcane. “This is another ancient way of relishing the dibbarotti. Cheruku panakam is considered to boost immunity and is rich in iron and magnesium,” he adds. The bobbatlu is made with wheat flour, jaggery and ghee here.
“We believe in creating an ecosystem where people understand the benefits of our traditional dishes and naturally inculcate a healthy lifestyle with simple tweaks in daily diets. Whenever someone walks in, we don’t just serve the dish, we also tell them how the idlis, dosas and chutneys are made and what difference it makes. Our objective is to spread awareness about our regional grains and herbs. For instance, very few people know the benefits of nalleru (Cissus quadrangularis), which finds mention in Ayurvedic texts and has several health benefits. We serve the fresh nalleru chutney to those want to taste it,” says Suresh.
The breakfast joint is open from 7.30am to 11.30am. A meal for two costs about Rs 150.
