Biriyani from Kerala jail goes online

Thrissur : Seeking to tap the hugely popular online food market, prison authorites in Kerala Thursday began offering piping hot biriyani prepared by jail inmates.

In the first phase, the plan is to sell biriyani combo online, priced at Rs 127.

The combo, which was specifically designed for online sale, includes 300 grams of biriyani rice, one roasted chicken leg piece, three chappathis, a cup cake, salad, pickle and one litre bottled water along with a plantain leaf to eat the food, authorities at the Viyyur central jail, where it is being prepared.

The prison authorities have tied up with Swiggy, online food delivery player, to deliver food from the Central Jail premises.

Freedom Food Factory, an enterprise selling food prepared by inmates at Kerala's prisons, has been engaged in the business since 2011.

"We are going online for the first time," Superintendent of Viyyur Central Jail, Nirmalanandan Nair told PTI. "We started making and selling chappathis in 2011.

It was the Viyyur Central jail which started making chappathis on commercial scale. The idea of going online was proposed by jail DGP Rishiraj Singh," he said.

The jail food was a hit among people due to its quality and low price. "We have already been selling various biriyanis, non-vegetarian curries, bakery items and other from Viyyur jail.

We also have counter sales. But now we have decided to go online and sell a biriyani combo initially," he added.

Noting that the new facility would start from July 11, Nair said based on the feedback more items would be sold online.

"This does not mean that we are stopping the over-the-counter sale. As of now, Swiggy will deliver food within six km radius," he said.