This Thiruvananthapuram-based food stall serves popular Spanish dessert churros
A mild dampness takes over the air in Kuravankonam, Thiruvananthapuram following a lash of monsoon evening showers. The crowd around food trucks and kiosks here are missing, a rare sight in the area known for its street food spots. However, amidst the blaring horns and engines revving, it is a welcome surprise to hear the sizzle and the whiff of churros being fried at Moffles, a momo and churros stall located near the University Institute of Technology, Kuravankonam.
While the name Moffles, a portmanteau of momos and waffles, might be confusing to customers, one of the owners, Akshay Krishna, has an explanation for it. 'When we decided to join the food industry in 2024, we wanted to start with momos and add waffles as a second product. It was difficult for us to set up an electricity connection to run the waffle iron here. By that time, we had already started business in December. In February, we added churros, a Spanish fried dessert, to our menu. Now it is our primary product,' says Akshay, who runs the business with his wife, Gowri Krishna.
'The dish is prepared by combining dry ingredients such as refined wheat flour, vanilla powder, skimmed milk powder, corn flour, and baking powder with butter, water, and vanilla essence,' explains Akshay. The dough is added to a custom-made metal canister, which is used to make idiyappam or string hopper. A star-shaped mould is used, and the dough is pushed through it into the oil, giving the churros its characteristic shape. It is crisp on the outside and has a soft cakey texture inside.
'People were hesitant to try it at first. For a month, we gave them churros to try. Even if they came to buy momos, we would give them churros as free samples. These people later became our repeat customers,' says Akshay, who discovered the sweet dish during one of his work trips to Thailand.
'Even though I came for momos, I tried the churros here. Normally, I am not into desserts, but I tried this because it was new and not sold at many places in the city,' says Sreenath SJ, a customer.
The kiosk serves a variety of churros such as cinnamon churros, cheese churros and chocolate churros. It also offers varieties with dips such as choco hazelnut churros, white chocolate churros, orion pistachio churros and mixed chocolate churros. The prices start from ₹80. A special red velvet churro variety served with different dips is available at Moffles with a price starting from ₹100. Each plate has five churros, each 10 centimetres long. The churros can be customised too.
'I asked my sister in the USA what flavours of churros are available there and she told me about maple syrup and sugar. However, we didn't know whether those flavours would be accepted here so we started with milk chocolate, white chocolate, pistachios and hazelnut,' says Akshay.
Their most popular item is the loaded strawberry churros, served in a bowl. The churro bites coated in cinnamon sugar are placed on a bed of chocolate sponge. This is further topped with strawberries and smothered in milk chocolate and hazelnut chocolate sauces. You will find bits of white chocolate in it too. The warm churros complement the rest of the items in the bowl in flavour and temperature. The hot churros with warm sauces and slightly cold slices of strawberries, offer combinations of flavours . It is also available with robusta bananas instead of strawberries.
Moffles also serve a variety of momos and mojitos starting from ₹90 and ₹80 respectively. The eatery is going to open a second branch in Bengaluru in August.
Moffles located near University Institute of Technology, Kowdiar- Pattom Road, Kuravankonam is open on all days from 6 pm to 12 midnight.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
4 hours ago
- Economic Times
NATO agrees 5% spending deal, overcoming Spain block: diplomats
Reuters Spanish soldiers stand during Exercise Dynamic Mariner 25 military drill training, which involves naval forces from several NATO members, at Retin beach, in the Atlantic Ocean, in Barbate, Spain, March 28, 2025. REUTERS/Jon Nazca NATO countries on Sunday signed off on a pledge to ramp up defence spending after Spain dropped opposition that had threatened to derail the alliance's summit next week, diplomats said. US President Donald Trump has insisted allies commit to spending five percent of GDP on defence at the two-day meeting starting on Tuesday in The diplomats said the commitment to be announced at the summit will see allies promise to reach 3.5 percent for core military needs over the next decade, and spend 1.5 percent on a looser category of "defence-related" expenditures such as infrastructure and cybersecurity.
Hindustan Times
4 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say
By Sabine Siebold, Andrew Gray and Lili Bayer NATO agrees Hague summit statement with 5% defence spending goal, diplomats say BRUSSELS -NATO countries agreed a statement on Sunday for their upcoming summit that sets a goal of 5% of GDP for annual defence and security-related spending by 2035, overcoming objections from Spain, diplomats said. The statement has the green light from all 32 NATO members, diplomats said, but will only become official when it is approved by leaders including U.S. President Donald Trump at their summit in The Hague on Wednesday. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez had blocked an earlier version of the text, saying that committing to a 5% target would be unreasonable and counterproductive. Spain spent 1.24% of GDP on defence in 2024, according to NATO estimates Diplomats overcame Sanchez's objections by adjusting the text on the spending pledge, changing the language from "we commit" to "allies commit", diplomats said. That allowed Sanchez to claim the commitment would not apply to Spain. "We fully respect the legitimate desire of other countries to increase their defence investment, but we are not going to do so," Sanchez said in an address on Spanish television Sunday. NATO operates by consensus so all of its 32 members have to approve a statement for it to be adopted. NATO officials argue that big defence spending increases are needed to counter a growing threat from Russia and to allow Europe to take on more responsibility for its own security as the United States shifts its military focus to China. The alliance's current defence spending target is 2% of GDP but Trump insisted it should rise to 5% - although he suggested on Friday that target should not apply to the United States. Under a plan by NATO boss Mark Rutte, countries would reach 5% of GDP by boosting their core defence spending goal from 2% to 3.5% and spending a further 1.5% on related items like adapting roads and bridges for military vehicles and cyber security. Rutte had originally proposed countries meet the new target by 2032 but the deadline in the final text is 2035, according to diplomats. There will also be a review of the target in 2029. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Mint
8 hours ago
- Mint
NATO Offers to Tweak 5% Spending Goal to Win Spanish Approval
(Bloomberg) -- NATO has offered to tweak key language on ambitious defense spending targets to help win support from holdout Spain, before leaders of the military alliance gather on Tuesday. The draft statement to be adopted at the June 24-25 summit will be changed to 'allies' commit to spending 5% of GDP on defense from 'we' commit, according to people familiar with the talks. The adjustment would introduce a nuance that could provide more flexibility to the commitment, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private considerations. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has voiced opposition to the 5% target — calling it unreasonable and counterproductive for his nation — earning the scorn of US President Donald Trump who derided Spain on Friday as a 'low payer' who should step up on defense. North Atlantic Treaty Organization members will meet in The Hague against the backdrop of Trump's dramatic insertion of the US into Israel's attacks on Iran, and as Europe awaits his decision on US troop levels in the region amid Russia's war against Ukraine. NATO allies have stepped up pressure on Spain to fall in line over the spending target, after persuading skeptics including Italy and Belgium to come around. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is negotiating directly with Sanchez, Bloomberg has reported. Spanish government officials declined to comment on the new language. Sanchez has offered to increase defense expenditure to 2.1% of GDP but faces pushback at home, including from allies in his government. While Rutte initially proposed a 2032 date for reaching the spending target, the latest draft pushes that back to 2035. His wish to see mandatory yearly increases has also been stripped, which should make the process easier for spending laggards. NATO's existing target calls for member countries to spend 2% of GDP on defense. Under the new target, 1.5% would go to broader defence-related spending such as cybersecurity as well as infrastructure for moving troops and military equipment. The agreed criteria are broad enough that all allies should be able meet that part of the plan quickly, according to the people. The increase in core defense spending to 3.5% from 2% will be much harder to deliver. As part of its routine process, NATO will review the kit and troops it deems necessary in 2029. The price tag attached to its capabilities could be tweaked at that point, potentially providing some breathing room for the lowest spenders such as Spain. Washington has been pushing for an unprecedented defense expenditure increase, arguing that European allies must take responsibility for their own security. 'I don't think we should, but I think they should,' Trump said late Friday about reaching the 5% goal, introducing some last minute uncertainty after the US previously said it would commit to the target. --With assistance from Daniel Basteiro. More stories like this are available on
