Kachoris are the big breakfast item in Gwalior, they are made out of mung dal, and flavoured with amchur, lavang and a little saunf. And nobody does it better in the city than S. S. Kachoriwala of Naya Bazar in Kampoo, Lashkar. The shop is 60 years old and it looks it. But its jovial proprietor, Ram Swaroop Sharma, is considerably younger. The business was started by his father Ram Charan Sharma and ever since the shutters went up for the first time, S. S. Kachoriwala has not had to look back. The speciality of the house is the Kachori and Jelebi. All of Gwalior swears by them.

GBusiness starts as early as 5 a.m. here and you will be amazed at the number of people who can subject their gastric juices to Kachori and Jelebi at that uncivilised hour, but Gwalior has quite a population of them. They down shutters by midnight. But business is at its peak between 7 in the morning and noon and then from 3 to 8 p.m. Such is the rush of people that come here for the Kachori and Jelebi during these hours, that Ram Swaroop Sharma has to stop taking orders and collecting money and tell his customers over a public address system not to cause a traffic jam on the road! Entire families can be seen coming up on bikes and in cars and enjoying the fare.

The Jelebis are made out of maida and a little dahi, they are soaked in a sugar syrup after being fried in ghee, and the rest is S. S. Kachoriwala�s magic, because the Jelebis here taste out of this world. People buy them in 100 kilos on Sunday morning and take them for distribution out of the city. Along with the Kachori and Jelebi, S. S. Kachoriwala also sells what is known as Bedi-Sabzi-Chutney. The Bedi is like a wada and is made of urad dal, lavang, saunf, red chilli, dhania and salt, but what causes it sing is the chutney made out of green chilli, green dhania and ginger. The Kachori is accompanied by a chutney too, but this one is sweetish, it is an amchur chutney that is made out of jaggery. The Sabzi given with the Bedi is a mixture of aloo, paneer and kaju, it is cooked in garam masala and tastes wonderful.

Everything is made hot and fresh in front of the impatient, crowding customers at S. S. Kachoriwala. Ram Swaroop Sharma and his son, Hitesh, who helps him run the popular and thriving business, can both make the Kachoris and Jelebis themselves. But they have a staff of 18 working hard behind the scenes mixing the batter for both specialities. Apart from the Kachoris and Jelebis, they also sell Imarti, Dahiwadas, Pakodas, Bhajias, Paani ki Tikki, which is Bombay�s Pani Puri!

Another place famous for Kachoris and Jelebis is the Jodhpur Mishtan Bhandar at Katore Taal in Lashkar. But this is a newer establishment, barely seven years old, and it doesn�t have the reputation of S. S. Kachoriwala. However, there is no shortage of clientele here too. Business begins at 7.30 in the morning and continues till 8.30 at night. This place is famous for its Kachoris, Khaman Dhoklas and Shahi Samoosas. The speciality is the Jodhpur Mava Kachori and the Paneer Jelebi. The Kachori has a stuffing of aloo, pyaaz and maida, it is deep-fried in ghee, and served with a tangy chutney made of sugar and masala powders. It is a small shop, with a tiny cooking area in extremely unhygienic conditions behind, but what the eye does not see the stomach does not gripe about. And, incredibly, from this small infrastructure, the Jodhpur Mishtan Bhandar is able to produce 100 items of food that are most popular with its clients!