Sidhi Vinayak Bhel House

Our bhel house is on Kalas Alandi Road, right near the Ginger hotel in the Dhanori area. People also call this Aundh Camp. We have a small stall where we mix up bhel and other snacks. It is a very simple operation. We have big containers for the puffed rice and we make our own chutneys every single day. The chutneys are what make the difference, I think. We don't have a lot of room, just a small counter where we do all the mixing. Customers usually stand around the cart or take their packets home. It gets really busy in the evenings when the sun starts to go down. The Alandi Road is always full of dust and traffic, so we try to keep everything as covered as we can. It’s a bit of a struggle when it rains because we don't have much of a roof. We have been in this spot for years and we know all the people who live nearby. We don't have a website or any fancy advertisements. Word of mouth is how people find us. We just focus on keeping the ingredients fresh and the taste the same as it has always been. It is a small business but it keeps us going. We are happy just being here on the road. We use newspapers or small paper plates to serve the bhel. It’s a very basic setup, nothing like a proper restaurant.