The Pickle Story: Prasanna Lakshmi

Made with mixed spices and blended with varied veggies, pickles have always been the age-old mantra to a happy tummy. Keeping the tradition intact and adding the magic of her hand, Hyderabad-based Prasanna Lakshmi makes these pickles taste even better.

She sometimes gives a twist to her pickles without compromising on tradition. She makes sure that these pickles are made in hygienic conditions. The fame of her pickles travelled far and wide and celebrity chef Kunal Kapoor during his visit to Hyderabad made it a point to taste her pickles. Currently she sells pickles either through direct orders or through her website. She shares her 'Pickle Story' with Womenia.

Excerpts:

When did you decide to make a brand of your pickles?
These pickles have come along from generations. My mother-in law and her mother-in law made the same pickles. I have been married since 30 years and so I learnt and used their pickle recipes. I used to send small quantities of home-made pickles to my friends and relatives. They complained that the pickle that I had given them was tasty and was not sufficient. They suggested, I should make pickles in larger qualities and price it accordingly. That's how I started my commercial journey.

What do you do to give a special edge to your pickles?
We use organic vegetables to make these pickles and they are all handmade. We avoid using wet material and most importantly follow a custom of bathing before starting the process of making pickle. We hire a person to wash and cut the mangoes. And I select mangoes on my own for the pickle.

We have excellent taste and longevity of the pickle as it is prepared with lot of hygiene and we store it in Jadis and large Tupperware boxes. Talking about the specialty in my pickles celebrity chef Kunal visited my place and learned how to make pickles, it so happened that he found my address and telecasted a whole episode of me making pickles, which was shown in the show called 'Pickle Nations'.

How many varieties of pickles do you make?
In mango alone we got nearly eight varieties of pickles. We make drumstick, lime, gongura, tomato etc. I am a specialist in making mango pickles.

You make powders. Tell us about them.
They are from my mother's place. They have different varieties like Chintakku Podi, which is made with tamarind leaves. And from my in laws I learnt to make Elipayya Karam among others.

What are your plans for the future of Pickle story?
The first phase was the website which gives us about three to four orders per day. Some people visit home to taste the pickle and take it along in bulk. We also supply our pickles to Germany and Australia as they order through our website. Our next plan is to tie up deals with the Indian stores to supply our pickles. Till date, 20 stores have approached us for the supply of our pickles.