City restaurants keep up with the rising demand for nutritious meals for COVID-19 patients under home quarantine

Restaurants across Chennai pivot to deal with an increasing demand for nutritious meals for COVID-19 patients, serving up everything from creative millet-based pizzas to hearty milagu pongal

“I get the impression that those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and under home quarantine crave comforting meals. They come up with so many tips, suggestions, ideas and meal combinations, to make every meal tasty and interesting,” says NS Krishnamurthi, of Prems Grama Bhojanam (PGB), a restaurant in Adyar that specialises in millet-based rural food. As COVID-19 cases rise, so does the need for nutritious meals for patients as well as people undergoing quarantine. With cooking and grocery shopping posing a challenge, restaurants, cloud kitchens and home kitchens around the country are fortunately pivoting to create menus and meal packages — with inputs from nutritionists and doctors, to provide warm, comforting meals. For convenience, these meals are available as weekly packages, and can be tailored for individuals or the entire family. “Keeping with the COVID-19 times, we ensure we include certain ingredients believed to boost immunity in our culture such as Indian gooseberry, ginger, garlic, cumin and pepper in most of the dishes,” says Krishnamurthi, who sends out meals for lunch and dinner.