Bisht Bhojnalaya

Our place, Bisht Bhojnalaya, is at 43 DAV College Road in Dehradun. Being near the college and the Uttarakhand Gramin Bank means we see a lot of the same faces every day. It is mostly students who are tired of hostel food and want something that tastes a bit more like home. I wake up early to get the lentils soaking and the dough ready for the rotis. The kitchen is small, and it gets quite hot when the tandoor is going. We have a few metal tables and benches where people sit. It isn’t the quietest spot since Karanpur Road is always moving, but it has a good energy. We don't have a printed menu that changes; we just cook what is fresh that day. Sometimes we run out of the special vegetable dish by 2 PM, and we have to tell the latecomers to wait for the next batch. Dehradun winters are cold, so the steam from the pots feels good in the mornings. My son helps with the cleaning and taking orders. We try to keep things simple and honest. The walls have a few posters, and the clock on the wall is five minutes fast, but we don't mind. It’s a basic eating house for anyone who needs a full stomach without spending too much. Just a local business run by family. We keep the water jars filled and the floor swept. That is our daily routine.