Eat pure, eat natural

Woman entrepreneur Keerthana is 40, pretty and petite, with big expressive eyes, poised and introvertish but with a confident  and radiant smile. Carries herself in the six-yard wonder with enviable élan!

A Bachelor’s in home science, and a course in fashion design left her with many career options, but she chose the one close to her heart, and taste-buds of course.

Innovative cooking and constant experimentation led to the setting up of a healthy venture called ‘Pure and Natural’ in 2004 in Jayanagar, Bangalore, in collaboration with equally dynamic and enterprising aunt Parameshwari. Long hours of hard work and unflinching commitment to quality have yielded ‘flavourable’ results and how!

At Pure and Natural, Keerthana plays a  warm and perfect host and does not ignore any feedback from customers. She incorporates all suggestions with an open mind and ensures that her patrons get the best in quality-rich, healthy food.

It was celebration time for the two women when some ITPL employees who visited their Jayanagar outlet could not resist their taste of purity and homely flavours, and soon began talking about it. Thus spread the fame of Pure and Natural by word-of-mouth for their healthy spread and they were asked to open their outlet at ITPL, Whitefield. “Soon Oracle, TCS and Microsoft  Research Centre, came our way,” smiles Keerthana triumphantly.

Home-made toppings and sauces

Keerthana and Parameshwari constantly innovate  combinations to dish out ‘Oh so delicious’ soups, salads and juices. They make their own tomato sauces and noodle-seasonings, with fancy names like ‘Yellow masala’, ‘Tomato Concasse’ et al!

“All our fruit juices and mocktails are pure, extracted in imported juicers, re-blended in the mixer and absolutely no water is added,” reveals Keerthana.

Supported by her businessman husband, Keerthana ably manages the supply chain of fruits and vegetables with professional ease, but she admits that this, coupled with maintaining consistency in quality and taste and pilferage, were the major issues in food business.

Birth of ‘Southies’

Egged on by the success of Pure and Natural, Keerthana teamed up with another entrepreneur and a gourmet, Arun, and set up ‘Southies’ in South Bangalore, this one offering pure and home-like authentic Tamil Nadu dishes like idli, dosa, pongal and vadai.
‘Southies’ is already a household name in Jayanagar, says Keerthana proudly.

While Pure and Natural pulls the college youth and working folks to its quick and instant foods, ‘Southies’ draws families yearning for lip-smacking South Indian snacks, straight out of amma’s kitchen.

“We have converted a house into a tiffin room, to create a home-like ambiance, and pretty much succeeded in our mission,” says Keerthana.

According to her, but for Namdhari Fresh who have a salad bar too, no eating joint in Bangalore has an exclusive  spread of only salads, juices, sandwiches and soups.

Mother of two lovely daughters, Keerthana is an early bird and  practises Yoga for fitness. Inspite of tight schedules, she  ensures that her daughters get quality time with her, especially during their exams. An accomplished cook herself, this Virgo woman says her mother’s cooking is  the best on earth, and loves ‘puliyogare’ made by her mother.
Trained in Karnatic music, Keerthana unwinds with music, sketching or watching television.

So, what is her dream for the future?

“I  have a green thumb and my dream is to start my own organic farm, where I could grow all the fruits and vegetables I need for my business,” she says. Shall we say “It is green all the way for you, Lady!”?