Kochi: Kochi is back again to her festive nights thanks to the ebbing away of Covid threat and advent of the Christmas and New Year season. And here comes Kochi's favourite pastime too - barbecuing on cold nights. More than just cooking or eating, barbecuing itself is a partying, as unlike other dishes or cooking, here, it's more of a fun and is done while chit-chatting, dancing or singing going on around, and that too mostly outdoors. As Kochi is famous for her Christmas and New Year celebrations, this time, after a year's gap necessitated by covid, the celebrations are galore and barbecuing cannot be far behind. People love to barbecue wherever they are - on terraces, in the party areas of flats, parks, beaches, resorts, in those spacious farm-house type getaways a bit away from the city.
Now, with all the ingredients that go into a barbecue night available in instant party packs and along with good quality chicken and seafood in your neighbourhoods, even those who traditionally shied away from barbecuing are attracted to it.
YouTube videos that explain the nuances of barbecuing and present it in simple fashion also make it a lifestyle choice for these festive nights. Vipin Das, one of the promoters of Pepe BBQ, one of the leading suppliers of BBQ kits in central Kerala, says they have made available all the things required for barbecuing in the market. "Our products are available in all leading super and hypermarkets including Lulu Mall and through our exclusive outlets on Pottakuzhi-Mamangalam Road and at SN Junction, Tripunithura in Kochi. "Our products are available online as well through www.shop.pepebbq.com. With a complete kit for barbecuing, party makers need only to add chicken and thick curd. All they are required to do is to make the masala available in the kit into a paste with thick curd and smear it on the chicken. After some time, they can just start barbecuing," he said.
Dinil S, a barbecue enthusiast, said till recently, the main hurdle was to set the charcoal on fire. With fire starters, lighter cubes and special fuel available in instant kits, those headaches are over, he said. "The real attraction of barbecuing is the quality time it can get while doing it with your family and friends. Other than that, barbecuing does not require any oil and that way, it's not harmful to health and as it does not need onions, it's not harmful to your pocket too," he laughs out.
For BBQ enthusiasts, barbecue packages are available with price tags ranging from Rs1250 to Rs30,000, including charcoal briquettes, charcoal igniting user manual, brush, BBQ mustard oil, mesh grill and charcoal holder including stand and not to mention recipe booklets.