Creating bonds within the country and beyond
It is a perennial delicacy, now emerging from the mist-shrouded hills, with a tantalising twist.
From unique Ella, famous for its nine-arch bridge engineering feat which draws huge crowds both local and foreign, comes humble ‘MeeKiri’ different to what is sold in wayside kades in the south or shops and supermarkets in towns across the country.
Frozen Curd with various combinations it is, ‘hotly’ grabbed off the counter in an outlet on Main Street in Ella. However, it is not just a tale of a new dessert but one of inextricable bonds, reaching within the country and beyond.
A taste of their own delicacy for Mario as Naveen and Anusha look on.
The business partners of MeeKiri are Brand Ambassador and Entrepreneur Mario C. Bauer and his wife Natalia from the Netherlands and Naveen Kumarage and his wife Anusha Kumari from Lunugala. The reach of this business, however, goes as far as Ethiliwewa, Telulla, about 30km from Ella where ‘Hansanee’ curd is sourced; Lunugala in Badulla about 42km away which is tapped for the kitul treacle and Pannipitiya close to Colombo which supplies the hand-made clay pots.
Chance seems to be the operating word – when Mario and Natalia, along with their French bulldog Curtice went a-roaming in Sri Lanka at the beginning of this year, the guide-trishaw driver was none other than Naveen who became a friend and now Managing Director of this business as he has entrepreneurial skills.
“We have now been here for almost nine months, using home-stays to truly understand the country, while avoiding the tourist lifestyle. We have built a strong connection with the community and have had only positive experiences,” says Mario, pointing out that they were inspired by local businesses and the kindness of people to give back something similar.
To the queries, ‘why’ MeeKiri and ‘what’ is unique about this product, Mario waxes eloquent – “We fell in love with curd, especially eating it from the traditional clay pots on the streets. However, when our friends visited us, they refused to try it because it didn’t feel hygienic. The supermarket curd, on the other hand, just couldn’t compare in quality, it was mediocre at best.”
That is when they decided to create ‘artisanal curd’ and the signature dish of frozen curd paired with yummy kitul treacle came to life.
Everything fell into place with the purchase of a soft-serve machine which they converted to a yoghurt machine which can be maintained locally, churning forth frozen curd, available since end-September in Ella, with another outlet in the pipeline, possibly next year in the south.
What helped in this venture was that Mario is a “restaurant guy” who has opened restaurants in over 30 countries.
“But,” he concedes, “opening an ice cream store was completely new for me. So, I had to call up some friends in Europe to help with the recipe. They gave a lot of input and after trial-and-error attempts, we managed to convert curd into frozen curd. Much more complicated than it sounds!”
From Berlin, Germany, had come the original recipe – buffalo milk frozen yoghurt – taking shape at the famous pizzeria, Gazzo, renowned for its desserts, which had “fascinated” Mario when he first tried it. A call to Gazzo Founder Mikael and support was forthcoming. The substitution of buffalo curd, available aplenty locally, for buffalo milk was the answer.
This is where farmer W. Gunasekera and his wife Jeevika in Weherayaya, Ethiliwewa, come on the scene with their 60 buffaloes. Milking their buffaloes early morning, they boil the milk and then pour it into hatti (pots) to set. It is next morning that they pack them and put them on the bus for the journey to Ella and MeeKiri.
“Apey kiri kala balala godak hondai kiyala thama thora gaththey (They tasted the milk, said it was good and selected us),” says Gunasekera who along with Jeevika owns Hansanee Curd.
This is the spark, Mario says with glee. A local tradition combined with a modern recipe from a hipster pizzeria in Berlin – the birth of “our” product: fermented buffalo milk curd, churned and frozen. The branding and design of MeeKiri have been created by UXUS of McDonalds brand fame.
While kitul treacle would be the traditional topping, developing the right sauces was a challenge and they turned to exotic fresh fruit such as mango, depending on the season, kitul jaggery and even cinnamon powder. A serving of 150g of curd and 25ml of treacle costs Rs. 1,000.
Mario says the health benefits of this tangy, creamy and naturally refreshing dessert are probiotics. It is also low in sugar and fat when compared to ice cream.
He goes onto explain that MeeKiri is fully crowd-funded by restaurant owners from their network and friends out of Europe, which enabled them to raise Euros 12,000. A limited liability company has been set up with Naveen and Anu owning 60% and 40% being pledged to charities linked to education and small entrepreneurship.
“The more money we make, the more the family and the charities will benefit,” is Mario’s simple logic, while he points out that they also want to support the driver community.
“This means that when a tourist comes with a driver, the driver eats for free. The reason for this is that Naveen was a driver himself and we want to give back to this strong backbone of local tourism. We’ve never liked the fact that in many of the best places, the driver can’t really afford to enjoy the visit,” he says.
Naveen elaborates that drivers guide, inform and often become friends to travellers and “we want to show our gratitude by offering them something as well”.
……And the verdict since the launch of MeeKiri is not only in the eating but also in the rave reviews.
“Absolutely amazing Frozen Curd. This is a treat for anyone. Definitely something you should try,” says one, while another adds: “Never had frozen curd before and really, really loved it! The blend was tasty even without the treacle. Ordered curd with extra treacle and jaggery and it was fantastic.”
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