Baddshahi Paneer

Baddshahi Paneer is right on the Main Road at number 27 in Old Lajpat Rai Market. If you know that area, you know how crowded it gets. There’s always someone shouting or a rickshaw trying to squeeze past. We spend most of our time dealing with the kitchen and the fresh deliveries. Paneer is a tricky thing because it has to be fresh, or it’s no good to anyone. We’re not a big restaurant with waiters in uniforms. It’s more of a place where we focus on the food and getting it out to people who are usually in a hurry. The walls could probably use a fresh coat of paint, but we’re usually too busy with the stove to worry about that. My hands always smell a bit like spices or milk, and that’s just part of the job. We see a lot of the same faces every day, people who work in the market nearby or folks who live just a few streets away. It’s a small space, so things get cramped during the lunch rush. We don’t have a website or anything like that; we just open the shutters in the morning and start cooking. If there’s a power cut, we just light a few candles and keep going. It’s honest work, and it keeps us fed. We just try to make sure everything tastes right before it goes out.