14 June,2015 07:00 AM IST | | Anu Prabhakar
The online food venture www.GetLunchin.com delivers home-cooked meals at your doorstep. We sample a meal and are reminded of the joys of ghar ka khana
The veg and non-veg lunch from www.GetLunchin.com is reasonable and filling.
We all try to lead the ideal life. Exercise, eat healthy and cook your own meals. But in Mumbai, restaurants open up as quickly as they shut shop, so we can't help but resist ordering in on a fairly regular basis. And before you know it, you are back to feeling guilty about having that delicious, yet cheesy and calorie-rich pizza, and vow to never have a slice again. So, one such desperate night, we discover the three-month-old online food ordering service Get Lunchin (which started out as Foodyn before the launch). The service, which delivers food from Malad to Vile Parle and Andheri East to Powai as of now (services will launch soon in Santacruz, Bandra and BKC) connects home cooks with those who love home-cooked meals. And as we fall firmly in the latter category, we explore the website a bit and order a non-vegetarian meal and vegetarian meal. There is a new menu on offer every day.
The veg and non-veg (below) lunch from www.GetLunchin.com is reasonable and filling. pics/Datta kumbhar, Anu Prabhakar
The next afternoon, at lunch hour, our meals are hand-delivered. The vegetarian meal (Rs 269) includes Mattar Paneer, Dal Tadka, Parathas, Tomato rice and a small bowl of salad. The non-vegetarian fare (also Rs 269) includes Neer dosa, Egg Masala Fry, Mangalorean Style Sukka Chicken and a generous bowl of payasam. Full marks for the packaging. The food arrives in well-sealed plastic containers, with labels that bear the name of the home chef. At first glance, we are worried that the meal will not satiate us, but they turn out to be just right.
We have the vegetarian meal first. The cottage cheese chunks are oh-so-soft and the gravy rightly spiced. Our only grouse is that the curry is a tad oily for our taste. The no-frills Dal Tadka is simple and takes us back to our mother's kitchen. It is delicious and does not float in oil. The wonderfully cooked lentils are delicately mashed to form a light, yet creamy gravy. The parathas are perfectly cooked. If you order the tomato rice, we suggest that you consume it immediately, for by the time we have it, the rice grains are a little stiff after being kept out in an air conditioned room for far too long. Still, the flavours are bang on - the tomato is perfectly cooked and the dish is not loaded with spices.
In the non-vegetarian meal, the Mangalorean Style Sukka Chicken emerges clear winner. Although the carnivores in the group complain that the chicken pieces are a tad chewy, the gravy compensates for it on all fronts. The coconut-based gravy has just the right amount of masalas and is not too spicy, making it a killer combination with the neer dosas. It is also not very oily, which we like. We are, however, a tad disappointed with the quantity of the Egg Masala Fry, which comes with one boiled egg and very little masala. We wish the dish came with more masala, which again, gets the spice levels just right. In the payasam, the taste of saffron cuts through all other flavours and this evokes mixed reactions. However, what we do unanimously love is that the payasam is not overly sweet, just like a home-made preparation should be.
How often can you order in and yet not fret about the amount of preservatives and harmful ingredients in your food? Not very often and for that reason alone, Get Lunchin is definitely worth a try.
