Nutkhat Namkeen

We are over in Malad East at number 55. Nutkhat Namkeen is basically a family affair. We spend most of our time around the big frying vats. It gets really hot in the summer, but you get used to it after a few years. We make all kinds of savory snacks, the kind you have with your evening tea. There’s always a layer of flour on the floor by noon, no matter how much we sweep. We buy our spices in bulk from the wholesale market and grind them ourselves because the pre-packaged stuff doesn't smell the same. The shop isn't very large. It’s mostly storage for the bags of sev and gathiya. We have a small counter at the front where we weigh everything out on an old scale. People come in asking for a little extra spice or less salt, and we try to remember who likes what. It’s a bit chaotic when the school nearby lets out and the kids come in for small packets. We don't have a website or anything like that. People just know where we are. Sometimes the bags don't seal perfectly, so we have to do them again. It’s just honest work. We’ve been at this spot for two generations now. It’s not a big corporate factory. It’s just us making snacks for the neighborhood and hoping the rain doesn't leak through the roof again this year.