By Cassandra Carvalho
Neela Bandorcar Rodrigues, hailing from the charming village of Bandora, started ‘Caramel By Neela’ in December 2021 at her residence in Caranzalem. Neela currently offers three varieties of Caramel Flans, i.e, the Original Classic Caramel, the Classic Veg Caramel, (an eggless version of her original recipe) and the vegan Caribbean Caramel with hints of coconut.
Neela’s interest in making desserts actually began when she was schooling. It was more of a trial and error. A few of her own friends and some family friends her age would try a dish and talk about it. This aroused her interest in trying the same. Whatever she prepared was never a failure. That ignited her interest in trying different types of desserts. All her siblings would help her whenever she tried her hand at something in the kitchen, and that’s how her journey in the kitchen began.
Her passion prompted her to start ‘Caramel By Neela’. Though she always had the idea of marketing her caramel, it was not possible for various reasons. Her recipe is 100% original and the first time she tried it and served it to her family way back in 1993, everyone appreciated it. They were all totally ‘fida’ (Hindi for to fall in love) over it. It then became a part of every family function. It was so very well accepted that no family function would be complete without Neela’s caramel. Her son Aakash’s friends felt that they had never tasted a caramel pudding as good as Neela’s caramel ever in their lives. Everyone suggested that she should market it. Finally, her dream took shape in December 2021 with the true efforts of Heena, a regular customer and her son, Aakash.
Thanks to her Instagram page conceptualised and designed by Aakash, her caramel was extremely well received and appreciated by one and all who ordered and tasted it. Her Caribbean Caramel is an eggless lactose-free vegetarian caramel that’s been termed as ‘Magical melt-in-the-mouth Delights’ by her customers. Neela is very concerned about the quality of her caramels in terms of taste, texture, hygiene and presentation, and every step that goes into their making has her personal touch.
In an effort to reduce waste, Neela is looking at environmentally-friendly alternatives to the microwave-proof plastic packaging she currently uses. She is also planning to expand her venture slowly and steadily. She aims at adding a few more items to her menu, viz. more varieties of exotic caramels. In addition to caramels, she also plans on introducing some cakes, brownies, brookies and cookies to her menu.
Taking into consideration her degree in Fine Arts (Applied Art) from Goa College of Art, Neela believes in finesse and strict quality control in everything she does. Finesse in her creatives while working in her art studio and similarly finesse in taste while preparing her caramels! Overwhelmed with the positive customer feedback, she considers her loyal customers and well wishers as her team members and is thankful for not experiencing many challenges. Her success mantra is to believe in oneself and offer your 100% to whatever one is doing.
Home delivery of Neela’s Caramels is available via Swiggy Genie. Orders are required to be placed one or two days prior.
To order via Swiggy Genie, visit: https://www.swiggy.com/genie/caramelbyneela.
Customers can also call / WhatsApp Neela on 9923037028 to place orders. Her Instagram handle is @Caramel.by.neela.
