Kochi: The famed Malabari 'parotha' of Kerala, a many-layered pan-roasted bread made from unleavened dough, is going global with the demand going high from places like the US, Europe and Gulf countries. With the increasing population of South Indians across the globe, South Indian cuisine is gaining popularity. 'Malabari parotha' is named so as it is an ethnic food of the northern part of Kerala, the Malabar region, and mostly preferred by Muslims of this region. Parotha is being exported to many countries now, rapidly expanding its market. Special grants have been given to the companies who manufacture it.

      "We are selling all these products to America, Europe and Gulf. We have tied up with an Australian company for marketing in the Australian cities", said Joseph Mathew, CFO, Amalgam

The parothas being made in a production unit

Food and Beverages Limited. "They are even prepared to give us grants for meeting our expenses in building an Indian brand abroad, specially the Food Processing Ministry and the Commerce Ministry are doing a lot of help. You have to maintain quality standards", added Mathew.

     Earlier there were only one or two companies engaged in making parotha and cury for exports but now there are around 15 small and big companies engaged in manufacturing this item for export purpose. The parothas and the cury have got a shelf life of around 2 years in deep freezers as these are well-packed and are frozen in high frozen chambers. Apart from the US, Europe and Gulf countries, marketing has also been carried out for parothas in Australia. The demand for the bread has increased manifold as the companies are getting bulk orders for export. Around 5 containers are being shipped in a month to the western as well as Gulf countries.
April  9, 2005