Karnataka Bhel House

Down in Chamrajpet, specifically in the Siddharth Nagar area on Lohgaon Road, you’ll find us at number 29. This place is pretty basic. We’ve got the big containers of puffed rice and all the different ingredients lined up. It gets really hectic in the evenings when everyone finishes work. We try to keep up with the orders, but sometimes there is a bit of a wait. We don't have a fancy seating area, just some benches and people usually just stand around outside. The road can get a bit loud with the traffic, but nobody seems to care once they have their snack. We go through a lot of onions and coriander every day. It’s a lot of chopping and mixing. My hands are usually stained from the spices by the end of the night. We started this because we liked the snacks we grew up with. We didn’t have a big plan or a lot of money. It was just a small shop and it stayed that way. We like the regulars who come by every single day at 5 PM. You get to hear all the local gossip standing here. We don't use any fancy machines, just our hands and some basic bowls. It’s a simple life running a bhel house. We close up when the containers are empty. That's about it. We've been doing this for a long time.