Today’s menu in dabba (tiffin carrier) is kovakka mezhukkupuratty/ spiced ivy gourd fry, dhal, cinnamon scented rice, salad, chutneys, pappadoms and butter milk.
The word “Dabba” means “lunch box”; “walla” means carrier or deliver man. But them together and you get “Lunch box carrier”. In this case it refers to a stackable tin box used for hot meals called the tiffin. The dabbawala was set up in 1890 to carry lunches from home to office for British administrators who would not carry their own lunches in public. Today it serves a similar function form the commuters of Mumbai – home to 17 million people.
Every day, the dabbawalas collect freshly cooked meals from their customers’ homes all over Mumbai. Travelling by train, bus and bicycle, they then sort and deliver each of them to offices and workplaces throughout the city by lunchtime – and even return the used tiffins back to the customer’s home for reuse. The dabbawala deliver an astonishing 200,000 meals across the city, every day…with incredible efficiency, and almost perfect accuracy in order fulfilment.
Western companies like Amazon and FedEx strive to achieve that kind of accuracy through advanced technology. Not so in the case of the dabbawala.
To satisfy their customers, they use a complex system of collection teams, sorting points and delivery zones, and a completely manual system for routing the right meal to the right destination. This labelling system must rely purely on numbers and colors, painted on the tiffin.
Despite challenges like this, the organization has been recognized and celebrated for their amazing order accuracy…estimated at roughly 1 error in every 16 million transactions. (Yes, you read that right.). They have been granted ISO9000 status and they have been recognized by Forbes as being a Six Sigma organization.
Which is why Harvard Business School made the dabbawala the subject of a case study in 2010, why business leaders from around the world have visited them, and why their leader was invited to address a TEDx conference in 2011.
Kovakka Mezhukkupuratty (spicy Ivy gourd Fry)
I remember my Mom, back home used to have Kovakka directly pluck from the back garden. I used to love eating the tender ones. Most of the households in kerala have a backyard vegetable garden, where Kovakka/ ivy gourd is an evergreen item.
Serves -3
Preparation time – 10 minutes
Cooking time -15 minutes
Ingredients:-
Kovakka/ Ivy gourd – 250 gms
Onion chopped – 1
Chopped garlic – 2 cloves
Chili powder – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp
Curry Leaves
Mustard seeds- ½ table spoon
Salt to taste
Oil
Method :-
- Clean and Slice Kovakka lengthwise.
- Heat oil in a pan and add mustard seeds .When they pop up add chopped onion and curry leaves and saute till they are soft 4-5 minutes.
- Add chopped garlic and fry it again for 2-3 minutes.
- Add chili powder and turmeric powder and combine it well.
- Slide in the kovakka pieces and toss it well so that it get mixed with the masala.
- Sprinkle 3-4 tspns of water and cook it covered till they are soft .
- Uncover it, and let it stand on a medium flame till it get cooked; take care not to burn it by stirring occasionally. Serve it hot!!
Riding a blog is not easy as I thought. Wow, now I feel like I ride that dabba bike all the way from Virar to Church gate. Enjoy your Kovakka Mezhukkupuratty.
A staple in my kitchen but a different recipe. Your new recipe is a sure try. .Thank you, Sumith!
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Glad you like it! Thanks for your feed back. Have a nice day:)
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Nice post! ❤
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Thanks for the compliment:)
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You’re welcome!
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I love your enthusiasm and your food! Thanks for following my blog.
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Thank you quiall:)
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Love that extra bit of knowledge you pass on every time ….Loved that last line toooo.. 🙂 🙂
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Thank you for your valuable comments. Haha the last line is the truth, some times I think why I haven’t start this blog when I was a bachelor. Now its like a tightrope walker in a circus😂
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Understand 🙂 the time n management of it!!
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I have watched ‘Lunchbox’ at least 3 times. That is rare for me to watch a movie multiple times. I appreciate this post a lot. Have a beautiful and safe weekend.
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Hi Tina, Lunch Box is one of my favourite movie as well. Could see it again so is that one. Thanks for the motivation in you. Have a nice week end:))
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Same to you. Stay safe.
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Looks good. I like the tiffin box.
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Thank you Kimberley:))
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Thanks for visiting my blog and I got the chance to see these wonderful recipes presented in your lovely blog.
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Thanks you Suzanna for stopping by. I enjoyed reading your blog. Hope you will enjoy our cuisine from Kerala, a tiny state from India.
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Another spectactular piece of food art Sumith. I’m fascinated by the information on the lunchbox – what an amazing system and with that failure rate it’s no wonder others are wondering how they achieve it! Fabulous post.. x
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Thank you wendy:)) there is a movie “Lunch box” story is behind this dabba. And “Julie and Julia” a must see movie for bloggers. You will love it!!
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That’s definitely on my list to follow up then – thanks for the tip! x
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And all these motivation comes from your blog😊 thanks for those great posts!!
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What an absolutely lovely thing to say! Well it’s reciprocal – I just love the amazing photo’s on your site and the colourful stories that accompany your recipes – it makes it a very different foody blog which I love! x
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Hi Wendy, your words make my day. These all happening only because of people like you around. Thank you so much:))
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It’s a great and inspiring community that we’re both part of! x
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Very true Wendy!!
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After seeing your kovaka recipe . I couldn’t resist , Made it today . It came out awesome and it tastes amazing . Just wanted to let you know .. 😀
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Hi SSI thanks for the feed back. Glad you like it!! Kovakka is my ever time favourite too:))
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Looks so good! Ok Sumith, I’ve arranged a wala to knock on your door. Prepare the dabba for me, please!!
Ah, I liked the Indian film “The Lunchbox” – romantic and MOUTHWATERING! 😀
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Haha thank you Rotwein. That movie “Lunch box” inspired me this post!! Have you seen the movie “Julie and Julia” very inspirational movie for the food bloggers😄
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Now I’m watching it again on You Tube – without subtitle though… As for Julie and Julia, yes I saw it as well. It is encouraging!
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First off, great photography! I’m a huge fan of this gourd and learnt to make a dry curry from my mom.Will try your version too Sumith:)
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Hi Divya, thanks for the compliment, but no where near your photography. I love that crunchiness in that!! Please let me know once you made it:))
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OMG! your dabba looks so tempting!! Can I drop by at your place for lunch?? 😀
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Thank you Lisa😄 I need some body to finish all these food. You are heartly welcome:))
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Both my mother’s older sisters lived in India in the 1940s (during the last days of the Raj) and I used to adore their stories. Wallah was a word that became part of the family vernacular as a result along with several other Indian words. This looks so delicious … I wonder what I would substitue for the gourd? When I am in New England squash are plentiful (in fact I live in the home of the butternut squash when there), here in France pumpkin are prized but I think this looks more solid than either, am I right?
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Hi Osyth, happy to know you have an ancestral back ground from India. Yes it’s delicious. Usually this goes as a side dish with rice or any Indian bread.😊 If you are interested in Indian recipes on butternut squash I will post some:))
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I think they were pretty decent British but as with my Irish ancestry, we are sensitive to the fact that there was a lot of not so good in the mix! I am loving your blog just as it is … yes certainly Squash dishes would be most welcome but in reality I am an omnivore who is eager to hoover up everything a good food blog throws at me 🙂 You are most kind!
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Hi Osyth, your kind response is greatly appreciated!!
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Hi Sumith 🙂 just to let you know I have nominated you for the Black cat,Blue sea award 🙂 heres the link 🙂 https://thegirlthatdreamsawake.wordpress.com/2016/07/24/the-black-catblue-sea-award/
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Thank you very much!!
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Very welcome 🙂
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Wow, lovely recipe and great pictures 😊 I think if dabbawala’s go on strike, half of cooperation population in Mumbai would go without fresh homemade food, they have really great Organization skill.
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Hi Rhythm thank you. That’s true! Starting their organisation since 1890 it’s only one time they been on strike, that was with Anna Hazare.
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Hey Sumith – we did it, and it worked! Your recipe is amazing, and I thank you for taking up the challenge of finding those thingies and for writing up such an interesting historical fact.
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Hi Dolly, thanks for the compliment and glad you like it😊
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I didn’t like it – I love it, and apparently, so do many other people, so thank you again. I am off to the Indian store to get stuff like curry leaves and mustard seeds, etc.
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Thank you for the feed back Dolly:))
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A mouth watering dish, perfect for a vegetarian like me. Thank you for sharing your recipe and great photography. BTW have you seen the movie “Lunchbox” ?
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Hi cornelia, good to know you are a vegetarian. Will post more vegetarian recipes. This is easy to cook aswell. Yes seen Lunch box. That movie is the inspiration behind this blog. But there, the concept is totally different. In Lunch box the story is behind a missing dabba, which happens very rarely!!
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I loved the recipe… for the set up table is top
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Thank you dishdessert:))
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We eat its fried preparation, usually ( in Hyd). The table decoration and its photography is amazing.
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Thank you Sayanti. Glad you like it. How do you fry it. Is it batter fried? Never tried a fried one, would like to try:))
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My pleasure. Yes, Batter fried. That is very tasty. But, due to the shortage of time, most of the time, I, simply fry it with salt and turmeric. It’s also a tasty preparation.
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Sayanti, thanks for that. I Will try that:))
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I just love all of your recipes!😀
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Thank you Payel😊
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Yum, sounds wonderful!
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Thanks you Vanessa:))
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