FAMILY TURNS PORCH INTO KITCHEN
They use the area to prepare Deepavali snacks for customers
EACH year, A. Jayachanthiran’s porch in Taman Shahzan here will be transformed into a temporary “kitchen” with woks filled with boiling oil for deep frying in preparation for Deepavali.
The 61-year-old muruku seller, his wife, M. Thivanney, also 61, and their children have been kept busy frying and packing homemade snacks, such as muruku, pakoda and omapodi, for customers.
Jayachanthiran, who started the business after he quit his job as a lorry driver in 2000, said they had been enjoying a steady increase in sales for the snacks during the festive season.
“We usually make the snacks several days before Deepavali to ensure that they are fresh.
“Most of our regular customers will place their orders a month before Deepavali.
“We have customers outside Pahang. Some will come to our house to collect the snacks, or we will post them.”
While the couple prepare the dough, their son, Prakash Kumar, 38, pipes out the muruku mixture onto banana leaves. His other siblings will fry them in a wok.
The family also sells tapioca crisps, fried chickpeas, peanuts and broad beans.
Thivanney said orders for Deepavali would be prioritised.
“We have been selling snacks and sweets at Hindu temples and pasar malam for the past decade. But during Deepavali, we prefer to focus on completing orders.”
She said Prakash, who has hearing and speech impairment, was the driving force behind the family’s success in business.