Tuesday 11 September 2012

Buying Fresh Vegetables Online (in Pune, India): Greenofresh.com

Aah! the convinience of online shopping. And to my list of things I regularly purchase through e-shopping, there is a more recent addition - Vegetables. Fresh Vegetables delivered at my doorstep.
Yes, you heard me right. I now order for my weekly stock of vegetables while sitting at home or in the office and they are delivered to me the next day.

I was introduced to Greenofresh.com through dear friend R. Greenofresh home delivers fruits and vegetables in Pune / PCMC areas and I have been their regular customer for the past five months.
My husband currently has a travel job, and with a new born daughter at home it was becoming increasingly difficult for me to juggle work and home.  And when R told me about this website through which you can order veggies, I could not believe myself. I was initially sceptical about the cost and the quality, but I have not had any complaints so far.


How Greenofresh has helped me:

- The vegetables and fruits are fresh and I have not had any issues in terms of quality. I have loved their leafy veggies like spinach and methi / fenugreek. Button mushrooms are another favourite
- They have a lead time of 1 day. So if you order today, it is delivered the next day. I think the delivery time depends on the city area
- Order confirmation and verification, including delivery time and receipt, through phone calls and text messages
- Payment option is Cash on Delivery which works fine with me
- Their website is well designed and user friendly
- And need I say convinience? Most of the days, I have placed orders after 10pm (after my daughter is asleep).

 


Cost:

- They deliver for purchases above INR 100. Since I order in bulk, this has not been an issue for me. No extra charges for shipping
- I have not really done an itemwise cost comparison. So I cannot comment on wheter the price is marked up or not. But to me, it is the convinience which matters more. I have observed that the individual price varies on a daily basis and my understanding is that it would be linked to the market rates



Some challenges:

- Sometimes, ordering less becomes difficult. For most vegetables (barring fruits and staples like onion and potatoes), the minimum quantity that you can order is 250gms. This can be challenging when it is a small nuclear family.
- It needs planning on your part as the delivery is not on the same day. Also, if you are not available at home during weekdays (9am - 6pm), then you would need to plan to place an order on Friday / Saturday.

So, have you purchased vegetables online in your city? How has the experience been?

P.S.: This is an independent review. I have no linkage to greenofresh.com apart from being their regular customer

I would also like to send across this picture to B&W Wednesday # 49. This event has been created by Susan, and is being hosted this week by her.

Sunday 2 September 2012

In my Kitchen, September 2012

After I resumed blogging after a gap of 2 years, one of the first things was to "roam" around the blogosphere to discover what I have been missing. And during such a "trip", I came across this very lovely blog - Fig Jam and Lime Cordial. Celia, who is the proud owner of this blog, does a monthly series - "In my Kitchen". It is amazing to go through this series every month and have a peek into what are the lovely ingredients she has in her kitchen.

I have been regularly reading "In My Kitchen" posts every month, and have been thinking of joining ever since. After spending a weekend clicking photographs, I would like to share a few things in my kitchen this September.

In my Kitchen...
...are a set of Kulhads (traditional handle less terracotta cups). I have got these specifically to serve Phirni which I believe tastes best when eaten straight from an earthenware cup. Hope to blog about it soon.




In my Kitchen...
...are 3 new pickles. My husband is an ardent lover of Indian pickles and loves to pick new flavours from the market. We now have Tenti Dela pickle (fruit of a tropical plant), Jackfruit (gifted to my husband by dear friend R) and Mixed Veg. as you can see that these get consumed fast! These are new additions to an amazing collection of 15+ pickles




In my Kitchen...
...is a box of sweet tamarind which I love (sorry for the bad picture!)



In my Kitchen...
...is a beautiful wooden tray with brocade work. This was a gift from my sister-in-law's family during my brother's wedding.


In my Kitchen...
...is a block print Runner which now adorns my Dining Table (and surprisingly goes well with the tray!)


I hope that next time I will be able to capture much more of what happens in my kitchen every month. So what is happening in your kitchen?