Maan Punjabi Dhaba

Maan Punjabi Dhaba is located about 10 km away from Shamli on the road towards Karnal. We have been here for a good while now, sitting right by the highway where the trucks and cars pass by all day and night. It gets pretty dusty out here with all the construction and the traffic, so we spend a lot of time wiping down the tables and benches. The kitchen has a big tandoor that we keep going because people always want hot bread. We mostly see drivers who are tired from long trips, and they just want a place to sit for a bit and have some tea or a plate of dal. My cousin usually handles the counter while I look after the kitchen staff. It is not a fancy place with air conditioning or anything like that, just some fans and basic lights. In the winters, it gets really cold at night, and we sometimes sit outside near a small fire during the slow hours. The road is our life, honestly. You see the same faces every few weeks when the regular drivers come through. We don't have a big menu with hundred items, just the things we know how to make well every single day. We open early in the morning before the sun is even up properly and stay open until the last customer leaves. It’s hard work and the hours are long, but that is how it goes when you run a dhaba on this stretch.