Coimbatore-based keeraikadai.com launches cookies made from green vegetables

About Greenie Crunch, G Sriram Prasad says, “It is a perfect blend of sweet choco chips and sour Avarampu powder. Sriram, founder and CEO of keeraikadai.com, was recently in Chennai to receive the Tamil Nadu Startup Grant Fund from Chief Minister MK Stalin to re-invent traditional greens, and make them value-added as a modern diet. as products. Ready-to-drink soups and meals.

“Out of over 900 startups, 31 were selected from sectors such as agriculture, climate action and livelihoods. During the Tanseed 3.0 event in Chennai, we had showcased our products and the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu visited our stall and inquired about the greenery. He later tweeted about it. It was a great moment for us,” says Sriram, whose five-year-old start-up thrives on the philosophy of ‘food as medicine’ and has revived over 100 varieties of native greens such as adathodai, thavasi, dill, to name a few. With his roots in Madurai and an agricultural background, Sriram is inspired by the natural farming methods of organic farming pioneer G Nammalvar and trained as an organic farmer at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU).

As an incubator at TNAU’s TBI (Technology Business Incubator), Sriram sources greens for cookies with 500 organic farmers in the Theni belt. While bitter guava leaves worked well with coconut cookies, the pungency of ashwagandha strikes a nice balance in almond cookies, with other greens like basil and inulin taste best with plain cookies. “To retain the nutritive value of the bright yellow Avarampu flowers, the flowers are dried in the shade. Theni is suitable for growing greens due to the pleasant weather. There is sunshine and plenty of rain throughout the year. ,

Every three months, he receives about two tonnes of greens from 30 farmers in the area, which are picked after several rounds of farming visits. The pre-requisites he looks for are fertile soil, good source of water and natural manure.

He distributes indigenous seeds among farmers and buys back the produce from them. “Our focus is on the wild greens that grow in their natural habitat. We also choose farms that come with a solar drying unit to cut down on logistics. The dried greens sent to our warehouse in Madurai are then sent to the Cookieman unit in Ambattur, where the cookies are added as a topping in the form of spinach. Products are tested in NABL laboratories for nutritional content. The products can be ordered online at keeraikadai.com from anywhere in the world. ,

Shriram came up with the idea of ​​cookies so that kids can consume some form of green vegetables every day as a healthy snack. He takes the children on regular excursions to the fields. “This is how you initiate them to build a green revolution. They should know where the food they eat comes from. We also give freebies kerai Seeds to grow in their backyard. ,

Greenie Crunch Cookies on display at keeraikadai.com, an e-commerce company based in Coimbatore. photo credit: perisamy m

Sriram says his interactions with farmers introduced him to native vegetables. “There are over 500 varieties. rehab either mukirattai Known to support the liver. It is grown by farmers in the Coimbatore belt. We draw inspiration from Siddha Medicine and reinvent greens backed by scientific knowledge. Thavasi is known for its high protein content, Sack Rich in vitamin B12, and red and green amaranths. Syrianangai which acts as an insect repellent, to name a few. Some are edible, some are used for external application for healing. Guava leaves are ready to become a super food like moringa. We have them in abundance in our backyard. ,