"Watching parotta being made is meditation for me"

...says Ranjith, founder of Tirunelveli Parotta Kadai — Chennai's most loved food joint—as he shares how an obsession turned into a bustling brand with four branches and a loyal city-wide following

- says Ranjith, founder of Tirunelveli Parotta Kadai

Every time I see it, something inside me quiets down. That routine, that rhythm, it gives me focus, clarity, peace. It started as an obsession. Today, it's a name known across the city, Tirunelveli Parotta Kadai, with four branches, packed tables, and a growing, loyal following,

Ranjith's journey doesn't begin in a kitchen. He started his career in a KPO at TCS. But the routines of corporate life left him unsatisfied. Outside of work, he found himself increasingly captivated by parotta-making, studying the masters, their movements, the aroma, the craft. Slowly, a dream began to form, not to rise in the IT ranks, but to open a food business of his own.

"In 2020, I finally acted on my dream. I brought a parotta master from Manur, Tirunelveli, and opened my first shop in Velachery. Just ten days later, the COVID-19 lockdown was announced. Orders stopped. Bills piled up. I had to shut the shop. But I wasn't ready to give up. Three months later, I reopened for parcel service with just four or five staff. I cooked, packed, cleaned, and managed everything on my own. From that restart, things slowly picked up," Ranjith shares, beaming with pride.

Today, TPK has four branches, in Velachery, Pallikaranai, Selaiyur, and Anna Nagar—with over 120 people working across them. And at the heart of it all is authenticity. Ranjith brings in parotta and salna masters from Tirunelveli and Tenkasi, because only they know how to handle the volume and deliver that original taste.