Pingara

Pingara is a small spot in Mathikere, over on 7th Main in the 1st Block. We’re at number 168. It’s the kind of place where you hear the pressure cooker whistling from the back room all morning long. We mostly serve people who live right around here or students from the nearby colleges. The tables are basic and we don’t have a lot of space, so things can get a bit cramped during the lunch hour. I’m usually busy wiping down the counters or helping the cooks dish out the rice and sambar. We don’t have a menu that’s ten pages long. We just make what we know how to make. The neighborhood is noisy, with bikes zooming past and people shouting to each other, but that’s just how Mathikere is. Our walls could probably use a fresh coat of paint, but we haven't gotten around to it yet. We focus more on making sure the food is hot and that there’s enough for everyone who walks through the door. It’s a lot of repetitive work, day in and day out, but it keeps us busy. We don’t use any fancy machinery, just old pots and pans that have seen a lot of use. Sometimes we run out of things by the evening, and we just close up early. It’s a humble operation, nothing more, nothing less.