Puneet bhojnalya

You can find us over at Amar Niwas in Sanjauli. We are pretty close to the Meena Bazar, so there’s always people walking by our door. Shimla is a beautiful place but it gets very cold, especially in the evenings when the fog rolls in. That’s when the kitchen really gets busy. We run a simple bhojnalya, focusing on the kind of food we grew up eating. It’s mostly dal, subzi, and rotis. We do not have a printed menu because we just cook what is fresh that morning. The kitchen is small and the steam often fogs up the front windows. We have some long benches where people sit together. It’s common to see a stranger sharing a table with a local shopkeeper. We aren't a big restaurant with waiters in uniforms. It’s mostly just us family members serving the plates and making sure the tawa stays hot. People like coming here because the food tastes like it was made at home. We start early, around six or seven, to get the lentils soaking. By lunchtime, the place is usually full of workers from the bazaar who need something filling and cheap. It’s a lot of work and our hands are always busy, but we’ve been part of Sanjauli for a long time now. We just try to make sure nobody leaves our place feeling hungry after their meal.