If I have a secret, it's a great love for chholey-bhaturey. Some people eat chocolates on the sly, some are addicted to hot rice and sambhar (with bits of appalam crushed over it) and a few secretly love pumpkin. But I like my greasy bhaturey and greasier chholey. I am glad I am not a spy. Any enemy nation could have got the most sensitive of secrets out of me by just waving a plate of chholey-bhaturey in front of my nose.
So when the craving was making my stomach do somersaults, I went towards Shankar Road, in search of Standard Corner. I had written about this place two years ago, and how a quiet and nondescript shop in the busy market had wowed my soul. I wanted to see if it was still as good. I reached Shankar Road market near New Rajinder Nagar — and almost jumped out of my skin: the shop had vanished!
But when you are a devotee, you don't let small events such as this dampen your spirits. I went to the market and asked other shopkeepers about the closed shop. And I learnt that Standard was very much alive, but had moved to Old Rajinder Nagar.
So I moved towards Old Rajinder Nagar. Once I reached the main market, I looked out for a juice-wallah called Prince, as I had been advised to do. I found Prince, and went into the lane right opposite it. Standard Corner is right here, behind the Oriental Bank of Commerce. The phone numbers are 9311609696 and 25753839.
Standard makes wonderful chholey and bhaturey — the bhaturey are soft and fluffy, and the chholey spicy with bits of paneer. This is served with slivers of fresh onion and radish, and a tart pickle made with amla, carrot and lime. A plate of two bhaturas with chholey is for Rs.25, one bhatura is for Rs.15.
The best
They also serve chholey rice and paneer rice — a full plate is for Rs.25, and a half plate is for Rs.15. I haven't tried those out yet, but I believe Standard Corner's chholey-bhatureys are among the best you get in the city. The chholey doesn't give you heartburn, and the bhatureys are soft without being stretchy.
I thought I should spread the word that Standard Corner is still around. Die-hard chholey-bhaturey fans need not fret — the shop's new location has been found. And what's great is that the fare is as good as ever, even though the prices have gone up marginally since I was there last.
In this fast-moving world, when technology changes as soon as you've mastered it, it's nice to know that some things remain just the same. And let's raise a toast to that. Better still, a bhatura.
