In 1958, Ramprasad Kakada started an eponymous sweet store in Sowcarpet, purveying two types of sweets— jalebis and moti pak (a sweet made from milk and ghee).
His son Laxminarayan Ramprasad and grandson Ravi Ramprasad later joined the venture and expanded Kakada Ramprasad to what today it is.
Fresh stocks of over 100 varieties of sweets and 40 varieties of savouries keep flowing from their kitchen every one or two hour — one of the reasons why they witness a heavy footfall, every day.
“We also keep our focus on the quality of the food and the raw materials used. We don’t use any artificial colour, preservatives and anything from cold storage,” says Ravi.
Even today, their moti pak continues to be a favourite choice, in addition to kaju katli , badam milk and jalebis.
Thick milk with a lavish serving of badam shavings makes their badam milk a much sought-after drink in Sowcarpet.
“This is a special recipe of my grandfather, and we have been using it till date. We have never compromised on its quality, the right amount of badam and the quantity of the drink served,” says Ravi.
Priced at Rs 100, the badam milk gets its yellow colour from pure saffron and not any artificial colour.
It is said that shoppers in Sowcarpet know when Kakada Ramprasad makes their jalebis. Freshly and periodically fried at the live counters, their jalebis are most in demand especially on Sundays, when they are served with fafada, dhokla and a smattering of papaya chutney – a breakfast combination popular in Gujarat.
Special samosa stuffed with an array of vegetables, including beetroot, carrot and cauliflower, too, is a Sunday special.
Yet another fast-moving item in their menu is the aloo tikki. Potatoes are boiled from time to time, and never stored. The fresh potatoes are fried in pure ghee. “Besides, we do not use starch to make it crispy. Yes, it has calories, but we make it in a healthy manner,” he explains.
They follow a similar mantra while preparing food at their 2.5-year-old restaurant on the top floor of Kakada Ramprasad.
All items, including the unlimited north Indian thali — comprising sweets, starters, sabzis , daal , kadi , rasam, hot chappatis, basmati rice and buttermilk — have less masala and less oil.
“That gives the food a homely taste. In fact, many business professionals from other cities who work in Chennai come to Sowcarpet in search of homemade food,” he adds.
