Kala Chaat Bhandar

Kala Chaat Bhandar is tucked away in Lane No 4 of Jawahar Nagar, right on Prabhat Road at 24/12. If you know the area, you know how these lanes can be. It’s a bit of a maze, but people always find their way to us when they’re hungry for some chaat. We start our prep work in the late morning, chopping vegetables and getting the different chutneys ready. Everything is done by hand in our small kitchen space. By the afternoon, when the sun starts to go down a bit, the crowd begins to gather. We don't have a lot of tables, so most people just stand around and eat or take their plates to their scooters. It’s a lively scene with lots of chatter and the sound of spoons hitting plates. Sometimes we run out of certain items before the night is over, especially on weekends. It’s hard to predict exactly how many people will show up. We try to keep things simple and traditional, the way we’ve always done it. The shop has been in this lane for years, and the neighbors are all used to the noise and the smells coming from our stove. It’s a small operation, just a couple of us working the counter and making sure the spices are just right. We don't put much stock in being fancy; we just want the food to taste like it’s supposed to.