Frequently asked questions.
Everything you need to know about Thakar Kitchen.
Retort technology is the same process used to make food for astronauts and the Indian Army. The food is sealed in a pouch and cooked at high heat and pressure — killing all bacteria naturally. No preservatives needed. The result is shelf-stable food that tastes exactly like freshly made.
Because of retort technology. Each pouch is sealed first, then heated to 121°C under pressure, hotter than boiling, until the very centre of the pouch gets there too. That kills bacteria and even their heat-resistant spores, so nothing inside is alive to spoil the food. The pouch is a foil laminate that keeps out air, light and moisture, so nothing can get back in. With nothing alive inside and nothing getting in, there is nothing for a preservative to do: it keeps 12 months on a shelf, no fridge needed. Once opened, eat it straight away. See every step below.
Dehydrated food removes all moisture — you need to add water and cook it. Thakar Kitchen is fully cooked, ready food. Open the pouch, heat for 3 minutes, eat. Taste, texture and nutrition are all preserved — just like mom made it.
Two ways — drop the sealed pouch in boiling water for 3–4 minutes, or cut open and heat in a pan for 2–3 minutes on medium flame. No microwave needed.
Yes. No artificial preservatives, no added colours, made with 100% groundnut oil. The ingredients are the same ones used in any Indian home kitchen. Safe for the whole family.
No. Store in a cool dry place — shelf, cupboard, bag. No fridge needed until after you open the pouch. Once opened, consume immediately.
Yes — that's one of the best things about it. Lightweight, no spill risk, no refrigeration needed. Trains, road trips, flights, hostels — Thakar Kitchen goes wherever you go.
We dispatch within 24 hours of placing your order. Delivery typically takes 3–5 business days depending on your location. We ship across India via reputed courier partners.
How it’s made.
Cooked in small batches in our kitchen in Morbi, then sealed with retort technology. Here is every step, and exactly why a pouch keeps for 12 months without a single preservative.
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Hand-picked ingredients
Vegetables, lentils and whole spices bought fresh, then sorted and cleaned by hand. Nothing pre-mixed, nothing pre-processed.
sorted by hand, every batch -
Cooked in small batches
Cooked in heavy steel pots over a gas flame, one small batch at a time and stirred by hand, the way it’s done at home on a Sunday. Never rushed.
small batches, stirred by hand -
Tempered with whole spices
Finished with a fresh vaghar: whole spices bloomed in pure groundnut oil. The step that gives every dish its aroma.
the vaghar, where it comes alive -
Retort technology · 1 of 6Filled and sealed
Each dish goes into a silver retort pouch. The air is pressed out and the top is heat-sealed shut. Less air means less oxygen, so colour and flavour hold. The food is sealed before it is sterilised, so nothing touches it afterwards.
sealed first, then made safe -
Retort technology · 2 of 6Into the retort
The sealed pouches are laid flat on steel trays and rolled into the retort: a steel pressure chamber, like a very large, very precise pressure cooker. A flat pouch heats through far faster than a can, so the food spends less time in the heat and tastes fresher.
flat, so the heat gets in fast -
Retort technology · 3 of 6121°C, under pressure
In an open pot, water can’t get hotter than 100°C. Under pressure it can. The retort takes the pouches to 121°C and holds them there until the very centre of every pouch has reached it too. The pressure also stops the pouches puffing up.
121°C, right to the centre -
Retort technology · 4 of 6
Why 121°C?
Boiling kills most bacteria, but some leave spores behind: tough, sleeping seeds that survive 100°C and can wake up later to spoil food or make it unsafe. At 121°C the spores die too. What’s left in the pouch is commercially sterile: nothing alive that could spoil it.
hotter than boiling, on purpose -
Retort technology · 5 of 6Cooled and checked
The retort cools the pouches with water while the pressure comes down slowly, so every pouch keeps its shape. Then each one is dried and checked by hand: the seal, the shape, no leaks.
every seal checked by hand -
Retort technology · 6 of 6
The pouch keeps it that way
A retort pouch is several layers bonded into one: polyester outside for strength, aluminium foil that blocks light, air and moisture, nylon against punctures, and food-safe polypropylene inside that seals to itself and takes the heat. Nothing gets in, and nothing inside can grow. That’s why it keeps for 12 months on a shelf, with no fridge and no preservatives.
the foil is the barrier -
Packed by hand
Checked again, wrapped and boxed by hand, then shipped from our kitchen in Morbi, Gujarat, straight to your door. Once a pouch is open it’s fresh food again: heat it and eat it straight away.
boxed in Morbi
Why it keeps 12 months without preservatives
It’s the idea behind canning, in a lighter pouch, and the method used for the Indian Army’s and astronauts’ meals. Once opened, eat it straight away. Read more in the Journal: what is retort food?
Small batches, real ingredients and a little science. Nothing else goes in.— the Thakar family