Phal wali gali, Aminabad

Angad Maharaj had started selling chaat in 1880, but his shop was registered with the Municipality in 1927. Angad Mahraj was Kalyan Kumar Sharma’s grandfather. Now his grandson Amit Kumar Sharma has taken over. Amit has studied Hotel Management and has a degree from IHM, Chennai. After qualifying, he worked as a chef in hotels such as the Picadilly, Golden Blossom and Levana, but in 2019 took up his ancestoral business. He tells us that Angad Maharaj sold chaat door to door from Fatehganj to Ganeshganj for several years, after which he set up shop near the bak in Aminabad. Succeeding generations moved the shop to its current location in 1996. They also have branches in Naka Hindola, Mahanagar, etc. They offer paani batasha, tikki, samosa, palak chaat, mixed chaat and sursuri chaat. Sursuri chaat is named after the ‘susseration’ it evokes and the burning sensation it sustains on the palate! Amit tells us “Many people ask us to make the aloo tikki crunchy. You can’t make a crunchy patty from mashed potatoes unless you add arrowroot. We would never adulterate food to serve customers, and leave it the individual’s preference. There is a saying that ‘what tastes good is bad for health!”