Treats of childhood past

How an engineer, craving the candy of his childhood, gave up his job to make high-quality kadalai mittai. Stalin set up a unit at Kariapatti near Madurai in 2015. Today, his brand, called MotherWay Karuppati Kadalai Mittai, is available at 160 organic shops in the State, including Chennai, Madurai, and Coimbatore, besides Bengaluru and Hyderabad.

He has a team of six people working at his unit, and the entire process, right from frying the peanuts, to mixing, cutting, and packing, is done by hand. “We use a clay oven,” explains Stalin.

Karupatti peanut candy has the right amount of sweetness, and is a shade darker than the regular variety. Recently, Stalin launched a line of sweet balls, including peanut, white and black sesame seeds, and coconut, and a multi-grain version made of cashews, fried gram, and peanuts.

“Customers are even suggesting that I make lollipops for their toddlers,” he says. His candies are gaining popularity, and Stalin sees it as his bit for healthy snacks for today’s children. “It’s the Cuckoo Movement for Children (a Tiruvannamalai-based organisation that works with children) that got me thinking on these lines,” he says.

Now based in Madurai — where his wife Gowthami runs the packaging and despatch unit — Stalin markets through his Facebook page and also takes orders online.

He recently posted a photo of a wizened lady sieving sesame seeds. “She’s my grandmother Ilanji Ammal who’s 97 years old,” he says. “She wanted to give me a hand.”

For details, visit www.facebook.com/KaruppatiKadalaiMittai, or call 9994846491.