A Kerala jail has tied up with the online food delivery app Swiggy to offer biryani prepared by inmates.

The biryani is part of a platter named “Freedom Combo Lunch” that Viyyur central jail in Thrissur began offering on the Swiggy platform on Thursday, seeking to tap the hugely popular online food market.

The platter, which has 300 grams of biryani rice, one roasted chicken leg piece, three chapattis, a cup cake, salad, pickle and one litre bottled water, is competitively priced at Rs 127. The combo, specifically designed for online sale, will come wrapped in a plantain leaf.

The prison authorities have tied up with Swiggy to deliver the food within a 6km radius of the jail premises as of now.

“We are going online for the first time,” said the superintendent of Viyyur central jail, Nirmalanandan Nair. “We started making and selling chapattis in 2011. It was Viyyur central jail that started making chapattis on a commercial scale. The idea of going online was proposed by jail DGP Rishiraj Singh,” he added.

The jail-cooked food is popular because of its quality and low price. “We have already been selling various biryanis, non-vegetarian curries, bakery items and other delicacies from Viyyur jail,” Nair said, adding that counter sales would continue simultaneously.

Nair said that based on the feedback more items would be made available online.

“This does not mean that we are stopping over-the-counter sales. As of now, Swiggy will deliver food within a 6km radius of the jail,” he said.

At present, the jail sells around 25,000 chapattis and over 500 plates of biryani a day from its counter. The food is prepared by around 100 inmates under the supervision of prison officials.