Yadav Paneer Bhandar

Early morning is when everything starts for us right in Super Bazar 3 in the Sahibabad Industrial Area. The milk arrives before most people are even awake. If you come by at six, you’ll see the big containers being moved around the shop floor. Making paneer takes a lot of time and you have to be careful with the temperature or it doesn’t turn out right. We sell a lot of it every day to people living nearby and some small restaurant owners too. The floor usually stays a bit wet from all the cleaning we do. It’s a small space so things get crowded when more than three customers show up at once. Besides paneer, we keep some curd and cream if the batch is fresh. Since we make it daily, the stock doesn't sit on the shelves for very long. We wrap it in simple plastic and weigh it right there in front of you. Sometimes the power goes out and we have to manage with the backup so the milk doesn't spoil. It’s a loud area with all the industries around, but our corner stays busy with regulars. My hands are usually busy cutting blocks of paneer into smaller pieces. We don't have a big sign or anything, just the name on the wall. It’s just us here every day, making sure the dairy is ready for the evening cooking. It is a simple life running a bhandar in this part of town.