If there is one thing Delhites love more than cricket, its street-side chaat! And there are few places that can get your taste-buds tingling like the connoisseur of chaat - Prince Chaat Bhandar.
The owner Ram Mahesh Kashyap's story is no less compelling than a Bollywood film plot. A boy of 13, he came to Delhi and started working at Bengal Sweets to support himself. His ambition and entrepreneurial zeal to a revolution of sorts in Delhi's famous street-food business. At the age of 18-19, he started his own chaat centre as the name of 'Quality Chaat Bhandaar' in 1989. Ahead of his times, he was the first vendor to use mineral water in gol-gappas and wearing hand gloves for hygiene. Later in 2002, he shifted to M block market of GK-1 with the name of 'Prince Chaat Bhandar' and enjoyed immense success over the years.
Nowadays, most popular Indian eateries in Delhi offer the ‘Palak Patta Chaat’. But few know that this was an innovation of Mr Kashyap, back in 2006 when one day he had a Eureka moment while frying pakodas. Dheeraj Kashyap, Ram Mahesh's son recalls, "One day while frying pakodas, I don't know what happened, out of nowhere, he got an idea of doing something with Palak and he immediately started selling it. Initially, for a few months, it didn't work out, but we kept making improvements and now you see that dish everywhere. However, the original taste is ours".
The lockdown has hit this well-loved chaat spot hard. Business dropped drastically and ownership disputes lead to a loss of their original shop. However, the same spirit that made a 13-year-old boy forge his own path shines bright in the father-son duo as they are determined to overcome these hardships with their new shop in Amar Colony.
So Dilliwalon, if you want to get a taste of Delhi’s first ever Palak Patta Chaat, you know where to head. Lets get #VocalforLocal and help Delhi’s iconic business get back on track.
