Slow food sets foot in Thiruvananthapuram with 1940 India by Azad

The Hindu

3 days ago

The name Azad has held great significance on the culinary map of Thiruvananthapuram for over eight decades. From a makeshift outlet located at Vallakkadavu named Azadinte Kada (Azad's shop) to a diverse gastronomic portfolio consisting of restaurants, fine dining eateries, bakeries and kiosks, Azad has constantly evolved while staying true to its Travancore roots.
The latest addition to this list is a slow food restaurant with a Quick Service Restaurant model named 1940 India, located at Vazhuthacaud.
What is slow food?
The slow food movement, combating international fast-food chains and homogenisation of food, began in the '80s in Italy. The moniker is attributed to its anti-fast-food ideology and has no relation to cooking time. The campaign, founded by Italian activist Carlo Petrini against the opening of a McDonald's outlet in Rome, is characterised by a core philosophy, 'Good, clean and fair' food, covering quality of ingredients, sustainable production methods and a fair price for producers. There is also an emphasis on supporting local businesses and seasonality.
'During the opening of an international fast-food franchise outlet nearby, we discussed how almost everything, apart from a few of their employees, is imported. This income benefits only the foreign company,' says Ozman Azad, a third generation member of the family.
'We have specific local vendors for each of our shops, which expand depending on seasons. Everyone who is part of that local network benefits from this. We need to replicate this framework everywhere with the ethnic foods of that location,' says Ozman. He runs the business with his brothers, Wazim Azad and Mahin Azad. Their father, Abdul Nazar Azad, son of MP Azad, who founded their first restaurant in 1940, is the chairman of Azad Corporate.
Since inception, Azad's restaurant at Overbridge known for the iconic Azad Pakka Travancore Biriyani, their fine dining restaurant Star, and their bakery and confectionary store Bread Factory, are household names in the State capital.
'We have been doing the slow food concept for 85 years. And it has always been hyper local-centric in terms of sourcing the ingredients and the staff. But 1940 India is the only place where there is an additional emphasis to serve it fast,' says Ozman.
A key difference between fast food and slow food outlets is the presence of a chef. 'They play a significant role in the kitchen. Fast food is about assembling, while slow food involves preparing the components from scratch and staying away from frozen products,' says Ozman.
He adds that the smooth operation of the outlet depends on 'the hub', located at Eanchakkal, established six months before the restaurant's opening. This facility, with 25 staff, is responsible for research, development, and operations. The restaurant has a total workforce of 23 people.
The menu
The menu of 1940 India caters to the youth, who consume fast food the most. 'If slow food aims to combat fast food, then it should target the younger generation. We have sandwiches, rolls, mac 'n' cheese, which might draw in the younger crowd. But at the same time we serve idiyappam, chicken curry, mutton curry and so on,' says Ozman.
'We also discovered that the younger generation prefers smaller individual portions over ordering multiple dishes across the table. They have only short breaks during their work hours, so we have to serve fresh food quickly too,' he adds.
The menu is divided into five sub-groups. The I Am Young And Happy menu features sandwiches, rolls, loaded fries and mac 'n' cheese. My Travancore, My Love has kothu porotta, traditional crispy chicken, chicken peralan, mutton curry roast, baby Kerala porotta, noolappam and dum biriyani. Indian curries, tikkas, kebabs, bread, and rice dishes are featured in the I Am India section. I Love Asia menu has Cantonese chicken and nutty cauliflower, along with fried rice and Hakka noodles. Custard brownies, gulab jamun and soft serve comprise the dessert menu. Rajasthani thandai, a fragrant sweet drink with a spicy kick, and Punjabi lassi are also available.
My Travancore, My Love menu would differ according to the location, featuring dishes indigenous to that area, says Ozman.
'Our next step here would be to create personalised menu classifications, looking at different generations and dividing their time slots into six, serving what they would like to eat at each of these slots,' Ozman says. The peak hours are after 8pm and during the hours following the usual lunch breaks.
The slow food chain is expanding to Bengaluru next year and will establish a hub in the lead-up to that. 'We are targeting areas where you can find fast-food chains; therefore, we are not limited to just metropolitan areas.'