B’luru woman quits cushy corporate job & creates success story with spice-mix

Bengaluru: Known to be a land of spices, India makes use of spices to give a dash of flavour and taste to their dishes and each state in South India has its own variation of the spice mix. While in Karnataka, the spice mix is made out of roasted peanuts or sesame seeds, chilies and garlic, in neighbouring Kerala we see use of ground urad dal and grated coconut etc.

As Indians migrate to different parts of the country for reasons such as work and education, they might find it hard to get their hands on spice mixes that retain their authenticity. In order to meet the demands of such people Bengaluru-based entrepreneur, launched the Deccan Diaries in 2017 after quitting the corporate world.

Poojitha Prasad (36) established Deccan Diaries with an aim to promote traditional spice mixes and natural flavours across the country.

Poojitha’s parents own a catering business that makes meals for corporate companies and offices and her relatives used to ask them to share their recipes and the masalas they use, this gave her the idea to start a masala business.

She then began doing her research on different kinds of spice blends and how to make them, that’s when she realised that in Karnataka alone, there are several varieties of spice blends, which are native to each district most of which are long forgotten. Therefore she decided to launch Deccan Diaries with a few spice blends like chutney powder, Bisi-Bele bath mix, and sambar pudi.

Over time, as she travelled across the state to learn about long-lost recipes from women in various districts and tried to make her own masala with what she learned.

Since 2017, Deccan Diaries has made 15 types of spice mixes, including puliyogare mix, chutney powder from Niger seeds, Andhra-style gunpowder, curry leaf powder, moringa powder and more, and has received over 1,000 orders from across the country.

Deccan Diaries’ products can also be purchased on Amazon and order for bulk quantities for restaurants and caterers, inquiries for which can be placed on her website.

Poojitha has hired three women in her production unit to help her with the process and all raw material such as chillies, pulses, dals, pepper and cinnamon, is sourced through farmer produce associations in Karnataka. Once the raw material is delivered, it is thoroughly cleaned, dried, roasted, ground, and packaged.