Delhiwale: Meet KG Marg’s anda-bread walla
Private capital: It is hard to find a moment alone with Salim Khan during evenings. His omelette-bread stall in central Delhi is a busy place where he handles a barrage of orders.
He picks a slab of butter, takes out a slice of bread, breaks open an egg, chops a tomato, picks another slab of butter… These actions all take place almost at the same moment. We meet Salim Khan on a pavement off Kasturba Gandhi Marg, just next to our very own Hindustan Times House. It is evening and Mr Khan is making omelette-bread for his customers, most of whom work in nearby offices (including ours!). He is handing a toast to one, accepting payment from another, and listening to instructions of yet another (“more butter and no green chillies”). A few more are patiently trying to catch his attention.
In his late 30s, Mr Khan somehow finds a spare moment to talk. “The stall belonged to my father Neksha Khan.” Pointing to our newspaper’s building, he says, “He came from Aligrah when this office was under construction.” The elder Mr Khan sold channa. “I took over the business after my father died on December 7, 1995. We buried him in our village.”
Mr Khan buys eight crates of eggs daily; each crate has 30 eggs — he uses two to make a plate of omelette-bread. A bottle is filled with green chutney. “My Mrs makes it at home.”
Mr Khan first met his wife Sitara in a Delhi Transport Corporation bus. “Our parents did not object when we decided to marry. We had their blessings.” Now they have three children.
Does he also cook for his family?
He smiles shyly, saying, “Sometimes, when I’m at home, I make omelette toast for my Mrs and children. They…” A customer arrives and Mr Khan shifts his attention back to butter, bread and eggs.