Chef and TV host Akshay Nayyar opens his , Kopper Kadai in Mayapuri,

Delhi. The idea behind the brand is to celebrate the authentic Indian food.
After successfully running for 10 months in Koramangala Bangalore, Kopper
Kadai has come to Delhi.

“Kopper Kadai serves cuisines which have got lot of heritage recipes and
some legacy attached to it. Most of the recipes are actually hand written by
my great grandmother back to 1920s which are being preserved and you
cannot find these recipes anywhere else.” Nyyar said.

“A lot of people these days are not focusing on restaurants. They are more
interested in pubs and party places, that’s why we thought of creating a brand
which focuses more on food where cuisine is the base and people come here
for dinning,” he added.

Nayyar is a well known name having hosted a cooking show called Foodshala
and more recently cooked a meal for the PM Narendra Modi. The chef has
earlier worked with the celebrity chef Sanjeev Kapoor.

Speaking about the specialty of Kopper Kadai, Nayyar said, “We cook our
signature curries and meat in a kadai at a very low temperature and the
curries are live displayed at our outlet, apart from this, we have various
options for vegetarian people like Challi Kolmi Kabab made up of corn and
cottage cheese it looks like chicken but it is pure vegetarian.”

“For vegetarians we have got 16 options in the starters and around 10 options
in main courses. We make use of vegetables in our recipes which are rarely
used like yams and plantains. We also have our own signature breads.” He
added

Speaking about the hurdles that he has faced in creating a brand like Kopper
Kadai, Nayyar said, “people initially thought it was very ethnic and old style
food, but they are surprised to see the dishes presented in a modern style,
where the taste is authentic but the presentation is fresh and new.”

The chef believes in stable expansion where growth can be sustained, he is

planning to open a Kopper Kadai outlet in South Delhi and one in Hyderabad
next year.

Apart from Kopper Kadai, Nayyar is now expanding other self-owned

restaurant brands across Asia and Middle East including Itra by Akshay,
Tourist-Street food bar, Tum Tum Asia, Office Canteen Bar, Unplugged
Courtyard and few more, he told us.