One of the most visited hill stations in south India is Ooty. The lush greens, the tea garden, and the cool temperatures make it the best getaway place when the season gets too hot to bear. Generally, a visit to Ooty means, you might have indulged in a local delicacy called Varkey/Varki. Typically, everyone who visits the place makes sure to buy it. But, did you know that this food item has obtained its GI tag?
Ooty’s Varkey is one of the most delicious vegetarian snacks native to the Nilgiri district of Tamil Nadu. It is a crispy biscuit-like thing made from wheat flour or maida, rice rava, water, ghee, sugar and salt. While it is made in various regions, the taste of Ooty Varkey is delicious and remains unparalleled. The residents believe that the reason behind this might be because of the climatic conditions and good quality of water in Ooty.
Varkey also is made with mava which is made of banana, rava and sugar. As per reports, there are at least 90 bakers in the region who make this delicious dish. In 2015, efforts were made by the Ooty Bakery Owners’ Association to obtain a Geographical Indication tag, which they successfully got in 2022-23. This means that the food can be now sold under the name of Ooty Varkey in other regions of the country and the globe.
So, how is it made?
Firstly, wheat flour or maida is mixed with rice rava, water, teaspoons of ghee, sugar and salt to make the dough. The dough is then divided into small portions and placed on a tray using a wood-fired oven. After baking for at least 50 minutes, the Ooty Varkey is ready to be packaged and sold.
As per Varkey sellers, around 100 to 150 kilograms of Ooty Varkey is made every day. It costs them around Rs 8,000 as an investment and one can easily earn Rs 40,000 to Rs 50,000 per month in producing this food. As per a local baker, Waseem, “Our Varki is sold in all parts of Ooty. Apart from that, we also export to various areas like Annur, Avinashi, Mettupalayam, Chennai, Madurai, Hyderabad etc. It is in Ooty that Varkyi is formed, and what is produced in Ooty is the real Varkyi. There is a 90 per cent difference between Ooty Varki and Varki done in plain areas.”
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