Yatheccha Food services. Deconstructed.

Name: Yatheccha Food Services.

Location: Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

Format: Delivery and take-away.

A well-planned lazy trip back to the hometown during Ganesh Chaturthi (A Hindu festival in the monsoon months in India) this year did me some good; albeit quite unexpectedly. In my mind, this trip was all about displaying those amateur baking skills (Thanks to the lock-down and an exhaustive list of essential commodities) and gorging on fresh madeleines and bitter tarts with the family. However, it turned out to be quite the opposite. Oh, indulge in baking I did alright, but only partially; maybe with thirty percent indulgence thrust.

During one of those little informal get together, I learnt about the petite little home-based eatery operated by my hard-working brother in law and his creative wife. In recent times, there has been a spate of home-based food service providers. Which is why, I was not excited at first. I wished them well and sort of forgot about it. The thing about seasons though; it makes you crave for certain dishes; done the way they are supposed to be done. And the brother in law appeared in my gluttony mind. Yatheccha food services; the name of the blooming establishment. It is a traditional Marathi name suggesting that they sure serve traditional Maharashtrian food; which is lip smacking if done right. Now that the seed was planted, I wanted the goodies; as soon as possible.

Upon checking, I learnt that the quick order items include Sabudana Wada, Alu wadi, batata wada, theplas/dhapate (Remember, Marathi) and the glorious Ukadiche modak; a google search is handy at this point to understand the intimacy involved. Nonetheless, I will do my best to describe a few. In a fancy (read bloggy) yet understandable sort of a way. Sabudana (Sago) is made from starch extracted from tapioca roots, which is then processed to form spherical pearls that may vary in size. The pearls are produced by passing the moist starch through a sieve under pressure, and then dried. Starch is tasty, especially when fried.

Sabudana wadas are nothing but deep-fried potato loaded fritters with delectable sago starch as the outer covering. The potato filling inside is essentially mashed potatoes seasoned with mild Indian spices. The whole package is pure indulgence. The taste beats the guilt, hands down.

The Alu wadi is another fine delicacy. It is a Maharashtrian version of the popular Gujrati Paatra. Spice laden gram flour is stuffed generously in Colocasia leaves. The leaves are then rolled and cooked on steam. They are then sliced, fried and served hot. The batata (potato) wada and thepla are common Indian staples and need little description. But all said and done, they are as tantalizing and scrumptious as could be. That brings us to the crown jewel of the Maharashtrian food stable. Ukadiche modak. A popular sweet. Come July and August, come the festivities; the modaks rule the roost. And boy oh boy, they are to die for. Almost spiritual.

It is not an easy feat to create ukadiche modak. People in the know think of it as an art. And rightly so. Ukadiche modak emanate from the wet konkan belt of Maharashtra and Karnataka. The ingredients are very basic and limited in number; like most beautiful things are. Simple and uncomplicated. It is the skill that sets the modak apart. It is, indeed, a work of art. Consists of a soft outer covering made of rice (paddy) flour and a delectable filling made of grated coconut cooked to perfection with a dark variety of jaggery (Natural processed and solidified sugarcane juice). This little marvel is then steamed and served hot with generous amount of ghee (clarified butter). Usually, ukadiche modak are offered to Lord Ganesha (A whole lot of mythology to it) as prasad during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi. And hence, they make 21 (mythology) of these at once. Also, it is exceptionally difficult to make more than 21 at one go. It requires immense hard work and impeccable ingredient proportioning. The result though? Divine.

And they were nothing less than divine when I finally got my hands onto a fresh batch. 21 of them were gone within minutes and even though I was partially satiated, I was left wanting more. Pure bliss, these ukadiche modak from Yatheccha. Apart from modaks, I had also called for their Alu wadi (Steamed and delivered) and my all-time favourite, the batata wada. All of it was fine food. Cooked to perfection, not too greasy and yet very flavourful. It had a pleasant after effect, unlike usual restaurant food.

Yatheccha also does a ton of other stuff like idlis, chhole puri, pav-bhaji and dhoklas apart from all the other regular homely food. They specialize in bulk orders and go the extra mile to deliver whatever is required; custom made.

The guy who runs the place, my brother in law, Amol; is a one-man army. He along with his equally hard working wife strive to make the experience a special one. I can only see them expanding and putting together a full-fledged team in the coming months. Especially now, emerging from the lock-down; people are going to want to eat simple hygienic homely food. There is tremendous potential here. They could certainly have 4-5 separate teams for orders and calls, the kitchen, the packing and logistics. May seem far fetched but I see this flower blooming into something glorious.

The food they offer is a sure pointer to an expansive future in the home-based eatery space which is fast becoming more and more relevant as people practice social distancing.

Amol and co; thanks a lot for a lovely gastronomical experience. I cannot wait to savor other delicacies during my next visit. Writing this has certainly kinked my want for those gorgeous ukadiche modak and I am going to try my luck by requesting an inter-city delivery.