Aparna Krishna Pradeep

Growing up in Thrissur, Kerala, in a vegetarian home, her tastebuds were always looking for a challenge, driven by curiosity. Yes, a curiosity to try new foods and replicate it in her kitchen by figuring out the ingredients and spices. Always on the look out to taste something new and prepare the same at her home, her culinary explorations were an activity that would later shape a facet of her life. To cook, to feed, to relish, to enjoy the culinaryscapes known and unknown to her, paving the way for a food enterprise that she loves. Here’s Aparna Krishna Pradeep of Food Moksha.

Aparna never quite had the “necessity” to cook considering it was taken care of by her parents and a kitchen help. Having said that, she was propelled by an innate desire to explore her culinary skills, prepare food not only for satisfying her own palate but others’ as well. Aparna recalls a time in high school when on the occasion of her father’s birthday, she prepared a Sadhya (grand Malayali feast of innumerable dishes) much to everybody’s surprise. During her primary school years in Thrissur, she remembers a time when she first tasted the delicious, soft and crispy Kerala Parothas with the iconic green peas curry. The taste lingered in her tongue and memory which culminated into an adventurous act years later. While enrolled in her pre-degree course, she tried her hand at making the parotha along with the green peas curry. While there was quite a bit of room for improvement in terms of the parotha, it was rather satisfactory for a first attempt. However, she wasn’t convinced with the peas curry. The tangible taste was at loggerheads with her memory taste. She knew she went wrong somewhere. After several attempts came her “eureka” moment. Fennel seeds powder. And voila, the peas curry was bang on!

Marriage took her from Kerala to Kolkata, Chennai with Bangalore being the place that she would call home, eventually. Wherever she travelled or lived, she carried a bit of the culinary parts with her. While her culinary adventures were restricted to her family members, March 2019 witnessed Aparna step outside the boundaries of her home. With humble beginnings of fresh and hygienic dosa and idli batter for friends in her apartment, she took little steps to become who she is today. A home chef.

While her steps were limited, her strides were long. Aparna graduated from batters to authentic Kerala snacks, such as pazhampori (banana fritters) and parippu-uzhunnu vadas (lentil fritters). Soon, momos (dumplings) found its way in her cache of deliverables with chocolate momo being a raging hit. Unfortunately, the pandemic happened which brought in a lull period but was a game changer in many ways. It altered her culinary course. There were old people in her apartment who were either too frail to cook, whose cooks were on leave or unwell. Aparna stepped in to prepare and deliver simple, home-cooked meals to such families, that too free of charge. And soon enough, Food Moksha was born.

Driven by her motto of simple home-cooked meals, prepared fresh with organic ingredients, Food Moksha began as a small food enterprise delivering the taste of homely meals to people in Bangalore. Aparna has a whatsapp group with a band of loyal followers where she posts her weekly menus, usually lunches. A spartan vegetarian thaali (platter) comprising of rice, lentil curry or sambhar, flatbreads like rotis or paranthas, a stir fry vegetable with coconut (thoran or podiyal), some gravy based dish alongside papads, pickles and at times a coconut chutney (chamanthi). But lunches are not all on her menu. She does party food as well, mostly children’s birthday food. Pancakes, waffles, momos, tresleches, choco-lava cake, crunchy star-shaped french fries made from scratch, there’s a lot cooking in her kitchen.

Aparna focuses on preparing food that attracts not just the tastebuds but helps the health as well. A specialist in granola bars and beetroot items, her culinary cache is full of healthy food options. Granola bars made of millets, oats and jaggery, sugar-free cold coffee for that post work-out or mid-morning snack; pink beetroot paranthas, crisps and juice that taste nothing like the vegetable are a superhit with children. And of course, her paneer-potato nest which is a must-have for any party.

While Kerala reigns supreme in her menu, there are traces of Kolkata, Maharashtra and Jharkhand too with her expertise in preparing the doodh-pitha, modaks and dhooska. Her vegetarianism never posed a hindrance to her culinary diversity. Her kitchen is a culmination of a variety of cuisines and dishes; from North India’s stuffed paranthas, an assortment of soya and paneer dishes to pulaos, biryanis, stews, dal curries, pickles, juices, preservative free jams, juices and fritters, falafel, cheese balls, samosas, smoothies and salads, Aparna’s Food Moksha has something for everyone.

This Onam, she has her menu ready. Pre-made puli-inji, kalan and pickles to be delivered before the main day. And her delicious avial, thoran and famed, much sought after payasam, prepared on the special day for her loyal patrons to relish. Aparna’s story is an example of passion transforming into a career that she would never get tired of. Given the vast culinary terrain, Aparna’s canvas would continue to widen with an array of colours, just like her dishes. So if you are from Bangalore, and want to try something delicious without feeling guilty about its nutrition quotient, don’t forget to get in touch with Aparna’s Food Moksha.