Saanjha Chulha

Up here in Nainital, we’re located on the first floor of the Mid Mall Road. It’s a busy part of town, especially when the tourists arrive in the summer months. Saanjha Chulha is a place that feels the change of the seasons very clearly. In the winter, things slow down and the air gets very cold, so we spend a lot of time just trying to stay warm near the stoves. On the first floor, we get a bit of a view of the street below, which is always interesting. We don't have a corporate office or a big management team. It’s just us and the kitchen. We cook the things we know how to make, mostly simple dishes that people expect when they’re up in the hills. The stairs leading up to us are a bit narrow, and we have to carry all our supplies up by hand, which is a good workout every morning. We don’t go in for fancy presentations or complicated plating. We just put the food in the bowls and get it to the tables. Some of our equipment is a bit old, but it still works fine for what we need. We’ve had the same people working here for a long time, so we know each other's habits well. It’s a small, local operation and we like it that way. We just keep the fire going and wait for the next person to walk in.