Anyone who has eaten chole bhature in the narrow lanes of Old Delhi will feel nostalgic in Pujaa’s Kitchen.
Chole Bhature is Puja Nayar’s signature dish. The 42-year-old is a Punjabi who was raised in Kolkata and now lives in the city running her kitchen for over five years. She never planned to become a chef, she says. “It all started when my guests at parties began requesting me to take orders. I finally decided to start my kitchen in 2012. Chole Bhature was the only thing I started and added other dishes eventually.”
Today, Puja runs two outlets.
“ For two years, I operated from a tiny space near a departmental store behind the Visakha Museum and then moved to the current location near Bell Park Departmental Store in 2014. In addition to this now I am running the Gallop’s restaurant which has been renamed to Gallop #Pujaa’s Kitchen,” she says.
People find the home ground spices and taste of her chole irresistible. Her aloo paratha and stuffed paneer bread pakoda are the other top-selling dishes from the menu that offers over 15 dishes. The menu is predominantly North Indian except for the vada pav. But even that she keeps authentic. “Not everyone comes looking for a tummy-filling dish, that is why we have vada pav as a small grab. I serve it with the typical powdered garlic chutney.”
It was not really easy trying to get a foothold in a South Indian city with North Indian food. “I would receive complaints that my ‘puri’ was too thick! That is because many restaurants here serve large puris and call them bhatura. The two delicacies are very different. I also had people saying my chole was too dark and hence must be burnt,” she laughs.
She remembers the days when most of her chole went unsold. “It was my mother who kept encouraging me. I had nothing much to lose as there was no great monetary investment then. I took the chole in an insulated container and would deep fry the bhature at the stall. , And, here we are!” she says proudly sitting in the Gallop’s restaurant with a plate of chole bhature in front of her.
Staying strong and determined and not compromising on the quality of her ingredients has been the story of her success, says Puja and adds that they are also available on various food delivery apps.
