Ambika Somasundaran’s products include soup powder, millet mix, payasam and breakfast flour.
Ambika Somasundaran’s products include soup powder, millet mix, payasam and breakfast flour.
It was a gamble for Ambika Somasundaran when she resigned from her well-deserved job and became an entrepreneur in 2017. However, it has been paid for. Today, she runs Kariot Dry Foods, a business venture at Marottichal in Puthur panchayat in Thrissur district. Apart from flour, curry masalas and powders under the brand Dry Mix, the company sells value-added products. Moringa (Drumstick).
“I worked with ESAF Small Finance Bank for 17 years and as part of my job, I used to conduct and coordinate entrepreneurship development, skill development and awareness programmes. Eventually, I developed an interest in becoming an entrepreneur. So I decided to resign and pursue my dream,” she says.
When it came to zeroing in on a business idea, Ambika says she had several options. “We have a hilly area where there is enough raw material in the form of vegetables, turmeric, nendran Banana and jackfruit. Under the guidance of the District Industrial Center, I took a grant under the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Program [PMEGP] To start the venture,” she says.
Value added product from Drumsticks manufactured by Ambika Somasundaran | photo credit: special arrangement
Her aim was to create “products that are safe to eat” made from locally available products and to employ women in her neighbourhood. “These women wanted to become financially independent. But due to restrictions in the patriarchal system, they were not in a position to do anything themselves. He told me that if I started something, he would be of use to me,” recalls Ambika.
kickstarting a venture
He started his venture by selling curry powder, and flour to make breakfast dishes like idiyappam, idli, dosa and more. puttu as well as different varieties of sun dried wafers ( kondattams). “But it is a very competitive field and I had to try something new. This is how I ended up experimenting with different types of flour to make puttu And products made out of drumsticks,” she explains.
Women working at Ambika Somasundaran’s food processing unit, Kariot Dry Foods, Marottichal, Thrissur. photo credit: special arrangement
puttu, a breakfast staple, usually made from rice flour. There are 10 types of dry mixes puttu Dough with rice flour as a base. The flour is made with carrot, beet, banana, green gram, jackfruit, jackfruit seeds, maize, groundnut, ragi and najwara rice.
For drumstick products, a powder made from drumstick leaves is a mixture of rice flour and soup. They were launched in August 2021 by Agriculture Minister P Prasad. “A customer had asked for powder of drumstick leaves. Around the same time, a friend asked if I could help cook a dish in the colors of our national flag for a competition at his ward’s school. Till then I was experimenting with making drumstick powder. Once I tested it with my regular customers, I was confident about launching it. my friend’s child made puttu In the colors of the flag and won the first prize too!” she says.
Ambika Somasundaran’s food venture has flour to make 10 varieties of ‘Puttu’. photo credit: special arrangement
His venture is supported by Ollur Krishi Samridhi (OKS), a Farmer Producer Organization (FPO), which falls in the constituency of Ollur MLA and Revenue Minister K Rajan. The FPO launched a program to promote drumstick cultivation in January 2020 under which 10,000 drumstick saplings were distributed to four panchayats.
P. Anita, a professor in the Department of Botany in the College of Agriculture, Kerala Agricultural University, took awareness classes on planting and caring for saplings in these panchayats. As part of a “plant project” funded by the Kerala government, he, along with his student, Anita Judy Kurien, conducted a study in 2018-19 to evaluate the nutrient composition in different varieties of drumsticks. “We collected 25 varieties of drumsticks which were in the fifth year of planting. Drumstick is a storehouse of nutrients, including protein, vitamins C and A, minerals such as calcium, iron and potassium, antioxidant compounds and other similar nutrients. Countries like Thailand and Malaysia are leading in manufacturing of value added products from drumsticks; Kerala is taking baby steps in this direction,” says Dr Anita.
Drumstick Soup Mix | photo credit: special arrangement
Ambika is currently getting leaves from her neighboring houses. “We give ₹30 per kg of leaves. All they have to do is remove the main stem. The leaves are thoroughly cleaned in turmeric water to remove insects/worms and dirt. They are put in the dryer the same day and the dried leaves are packed in an air-tight container. We powder them as needed. To get one kilogram of dried leaves, we need at least eight kilograms of fresh leaves. And when the dried leaves are ground into powder, another 100 grams or so are lost,” she says.
product range
Drumstick powder can be used in curries. It can also be taken with water or buttermilk. “The ready-to-mix soup powder contains cumin, black pepper, shallots and garlic. Mix it with water and bring it to a boil. You can add fried onions in oil or ghee to taste. Drumstick rice flour is used to make dishes. can be done like puttu either idiyappam Or can be mixed in idli/dosa flour,” explains Ambika.
Ambika Somasundaran | photo credit: special arrangement
Drumstick millet mixture, drumstick leaves chutney powder and rasam mixture are some of the other products. There is also a payasam mixture with drumstick meat. Manicholam (Fodder). It is also planning to make oil from drumstick seeds. “We have bought machinery to make drumstick powder capsules. Meanwhile, Ollur Krishi Samridhi has taken steps to export drumstick products. puttu Flour and millet blends, which come in three varieties. We are initially looking at the Middle East market.
Drumstick products are currently available at Saras Mela at Kanakkkunnu Ground in Thiruvananthapuram. These can also be purchased online. Contact:9539731501.