Premier Appalam

We make appalams here on American Mission Street. It’s just off Kamarajar Salai at number 12. The smell of the dough and spices is always in the air around our building. We start very early in the morning, usually before the sun gets too hot to work comfortably. It is a family thing mostly, passed down through a couple of generations of our people. We have a few people from the neighborhood who come in to help with the rolling and the drying process on the flat trays. Premier Appalam is the name written on the board outside, but most local people just call us the appalam place. The street can get quite crowded with traffic and people going to the temple nearby, so we keep the doors mostly shut to keep the dust out of the food. We use the old recipes that have been around forever. Nothing fancy or modern about it. Just flour, salt, and whatever spices we have fresh that day. We dry them out in the sun on the roof when the weather is clear. If it looks like rain, everyone rushes to bring the heavy trays inside quickly. It’s a bit of a scramble sometimes. We supply to the small shops around the district. They know our stuff isn't like the big factory products you see in the supermarkets. It tastes different when you make it by hand. The bags are stacked high in the corner waiting for the delivery guy to arrive.