“What’s Cooking”? : Behind the flavours of EFLU

-Ramsi Parveen

South Indian steaming dosa, Punjabi aaloo paratha and Andhra’s yummy pesarattu fill the mornings of EFLU with their zesty aroma. It has been 25 years since Chandrettan with his men began to mix his flavours in the campus. MLBC hostel mess is one of best places in EFLU due to the same reason. The ‘Master’, as he is called by all, is quite the masterchef of the campus and each student has a list of favourites from the wide variety of dishes that he doles out. The recipes of this kitchen are also the favourites of the foreign students who enjoy the south Indian curries and delicacies.

Krishna Chandran started his career as a cook by running a hotel in Palakkad, his native land. Later he worked as a supervisor in Hyderabad Central University and DNR College. He joined the EFL University mess in the year 1991 and took the place of its chef and supervisor.

He is well known and respected not only due to his seniority but also his polite behaviour. Chandrettan is one of the pillars of EFL-U and he has seen its growth through years. “The co-ordination of the employees makes the real flavours of EFL-U” says ‘Master’. When the two hostels were separated in the year 2011, the mess also got separated and he had to manage both Basheer and MLBC hostels. There are almost 40 staff in both the kitchens whose hard work and inborn talent to cook and make delicious dishes with their practiced perfection and culinary expertise. For the hostel mess, ‘the Master’ believes that the fresh vegetables grown in the mess garden add to the taste and flavour of the dishes.

For Chandrettan, notable delicacies in Hyderabadi cuisine are its biryani, achar, brinjal masala. He believes that two things are the reasons behind his success: his men, and the cleanliness and maintenance of the mess. His family includes his wife and two children and he lives in the University quarters with them. Something he treasures in the University is the bond he shares with the students. It remains the same even after a thriving two and a half decades.