Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
The Indian food festival was organized as part of the ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav by the Consulate of India, San Francisco & Shastha Foods on March 12 at San Jose. The event was attended by over 150 members from various community organizations and entrepreneurs based in the Bay area. The event was dedicated to showcase the rich agricultural offerings of India to the World, changing the perception about Indian food as just “naan,curry and roti” and also featuring dishes that are packed with nutritional benefits such as millets and heritage rice.
Shastha foods founded in 2003 is synonymous with authentic Indian food and distributes products ranging from ready to use Rice/Lentil/Millet batters, different varieties of Rice, Coffee, Indian Sweets/Snacks, Papads, Pickles, Rice Mixes, Wheat flour and numerous other Pooja items. They are committed to foods that are fresh, wholesome and safe to eat. They also focus on heritage rice, millets and other regional specialties from all over India.
The program started with traditional Lamp Lighting by Mrs. Padma Nagendra Parsad, wife of Dr. Nagendra Prasad, CGISF. After lamp lighting and National Anthems of India & US presented by Meera Iyer, Mr. Mani Krishnan, owner of Shastha Foods, thanked the audience, and dignitaries for their presence. He expressed gratitude to Consul General of India Ambassador Dr. TV Nagendra Prasad for gracing the occasion with his presence and CGISF supporting the event.
Honorable Consulate General of India Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad expressed his gratitude to be part of this celebration and congratulated Shastha foods on its stellar growth and progress. He thanked the team for planning and celebrating the event as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, an initiative started by our Honorable Prime Minister Narendra Modi 75 weeks of celebration for 75 years of India’s Independence.
CG Prasad started by quoting “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” and Shastha foods take care of this. He also spoke on the India-US particularly the agricultural ties with the California Central valley farmers. He said experts in both countries are trying to identify the most useful areas to focus on in terms of possible future collaborations on agricultural research, information exchanges, and technology transfer initiatives that can foster deeper cooperation on sustainable agriculture.
Consul General Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad emphasized on Indo-US relations and significance of rich diversity of food of India. He mentioned about ‘International Year of Millets – 2023’. The primary aim of this initiative is to increase the awareness of millets’ health benefits among the general public and their suitability for cultivation under changing climatic conditions. It will contribute to food security, nutrition, ensuring livelihoods and incomes of farmers, poverty eradication and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly in regions that are drought prone or threatened by climate change.
Shastha Mani said with his batters, approximately 100 million dosas have been served across the US, over the last 18 years. Mr. Mani recounted that when he decided to start this business in 2003, it was neither new nor unheard of in America. Today, his batter is sold in 300 stores across the West Coast of the US and in COSTCO wholesale. It’s just a matter of time when idlis and dosas are going to become mainstream food, said Mani Krishnan.
In 2015, Shastha Foods ventured into offering products based on Millets, a super-food. Millet revolution is slowly taking the center stage, and all new-age health cafes and healthy FMCG products are introducing millets in their menus with products like crackers and cookies. Millets are one of the oldest and most nutritious foods. They are replacing rice and refined flour very quickly, and one can be as creative as they want to be with them. Shastha offers millet noodles, dosa, idlis, adai, appalam and flour from these humble grains. Millets are very hardy and grow quite well in arid, semi arid and drought-prone regions of TamilNadu, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. Shastha Foods sources directly from the farmers and supplies these products all over Canada and US.
Giving back to the community once you’ve made your dream happen is also equally important. Mr. Mani said that the community and Indian stores have supported his journey and are a part of his success.
Michelin Star Chef Srijith Gopinathan of Taj Campton & Ettan from Bay area spoke about cuisines of India. A panel discussion was held on Millets (Consul General Dr. T.V. Nagendra Prasad, Mr. Mani Krishnan, Chef Srijith Gopinathan & an IITan), followed by sumptuous lunch, Orchestra and Comedy program. Talented musicians from the IyerWaltz team enthralled the audience with melodious numbers from various Indian languages. BLD 18 comedy club performed at the event. Food at the event was catered by Well Bowls and Aapakadai offering live dosa made from Shastha batters.
