Pakodas that Madurai likes to crunch

MADURAI: Although there are many snacks shops in

Aruppukkottai Main Road

at South Gate junction, what distinguishes

G Devakumar

’s shop is his onion ginger pakoda. Customers flock to his shop for the special delicacy keeping it busy all day.

For 15 years the shop has been selling a range of savouries like sattur sevu, regular mixture, seeval and murukku. But the shop came to be known for its pakoda and was christened as Therku Vaasal Pakoda Kadai.

The proprietor of the shop G Devakumar, a graduate, who took over his father’s business, says they make pakodas with same combination of ingredients like any other shop. But what makes it special is the way it is prepared. “We do not buy gram flour in the market, instead we purchase quality Bengal gram and prepare the flour. To add up taste and make it healthy, we use only groundnut oil,” he says. They also add cumin seeds and pepper while making the flour and while preparing the pakoda, a little ginger and chili paste is added to make it spicy and enhance the taste.

One more reason for the popularity of the delicacy is that it is kept hot. They do not prepare and store it in heaps the entire day, although several kilograms of pakoda are sold every day. The delicacy is prepared fresh in small quantities and served hot from 7 am to 10 pm on any given day.

One kilogram is sold at Rs180 and the sales starts from as minimum as 50 grams at Rs9. “People who pass by, especially the elderly, would ask the pakodas for Rs5. We cannot say no to them, so we happily serve all types of customers,” says Devakumar.

His uncle

D Thangaiah

was the first to start a snack shop 30 years ago under NMR Subburaman Bridge at South Gate junction. Then, he went to start a separate shop in Vilangudi. Two of Devakumar’s relatives too run similar shops in the same locality.

G Senthilkumar from Villapuram, a regular to the shop says his children love the pakoda from the shop. The pakoda can retain its crispiness and taste for at least one week, when kept in air tight container. But he prefers to buy it regularly as soon as it is taken out of the pan. “It is our regular side dish with lunch. It goes well with any kind of kuzhambu. I also buy it whenever I visits my relatives settled outside Madurai,” he said.

Not only locals, but people who have settled abroad also get his snacks parcelled when they are in town. It is convenient too as the shop is located on the way to airport, says Devakumar.