Katthi Kabab Rolls

Down here at Nigdi Opera House, B/8, the grill stays hot for most of the day. It’s a small spot, so you can smell the onions frying from all the way down the hall. We spend a lot of time just chopping vegetables and getting the meat ready on the skewers. The walls have a bit of soot on them near the exhaust fan, no matter how much we scrub at the end of the night. It’s usually me and one other person back here, bumping into each other when the orders start piling up on the hook. We use a lot of paper napkins, and they usually end up all over the small bins we keep out front. The lighting isn't the brightest, but it works for what we do. We have a few tall stools, but they’re mostly wobbly, so most people just stand around the entrance eating their rolls while they talk. Nigdi can be a quiet area sometimes, then suddenly a bunch of people show up at once and we’re scrambling to get the dough flattened out. The rolling pin makes a steady thumping sound on the wooden board that I don't even notice anymore. We don't have a big menu, just the rolls we’ve always made. It’s a lot of standing on hard floors, and my back usually aches by ten o’clock, but the shop stays open until the last of the dough is gone for the night.