Set up a few months after Independence, Prakash Dugdha Mandir, purveyor of milky tea and crispy sago Vadas remains unchanged. Even as the third generation owners contemplate taking the South Mumbai and Dadar snack stall to the suburbs by the year-end, the recipe, menu, tea and sweets still follow the meticulous brief laid down by their grandfather, 65 years ago
Set up a few months after Independence, Prakash Dugdha Mandir, purveyor of milky tea and crispy sago Vadas remains unchanged. Even as the third generation owners contemplate taking the South Mumbai and Dadar snack stall to the suburbs by the year-end, the recipe, menu, tea and sweets still follow the meticulous brief laid down by their grandfather, 65 years ago
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Turning his back on the bulls, school children, mothers in nighties, yawning and holding heavy school bags, earlyu00a0 morning office-goers and honking buses and taxis, 33 year-old Ameya Joglekar pulls up the shutters of his hole-in-the-wall shop, located in a chaotic lane in Prarthna Samaj.
Within minutes, his staff fire up the oven and start making the paste for Sabudana Vadas, grinding the coconut for the chutney and frying curry leaves and cumin seeds to add to their dishes. By 7.30 am, the first customer arrives and Joglekar's day has well and truly started. Inside the kitchen, the cooks work silently and in tandem, having done this for years, now.
Established in 1947, Prakash Dugdha Mandir, is one of the city's most well-lovedu00a0u00a0u00a0 Maharashtrian cuisine eateries. Serving staples like Misal Pav and Thalipith, it is however, most known for its Sabudana Vadas (more round than flat), and with good reason. Joglekar's grandfather, who set up this shop in a building hallway -- with the blessing of the owner of the building (those were different times in Bombay) -- spent months perfecting the recipe of the vada. He added peanuts, he thickened the consistency of the paste, and knocked off certain ingredients, which his three grandsons, who now look after his legacy, are hesitant to name.
The recipe he hit upon has spawned generations of loyal patrons.
Taking the first step
Shivram Govind Joglekar, a priest in Hedvi village in Ratnagiri, arrived in Mumbai in 1946. He worked as a milkman, initially and with the money he made, and with the generosity of a certain Dr Bhalerao, who owned a building in Prarthna Samaj, Shivram opened Prakash. Primarily a tea stall, Prakash served vegetarian Maharashtrian snacks to workers who would drop by for a quick and cheap meal. This was barely a few months after Independence Day, and Bombay Province -- as the state was known then -- remained a hotbed of political activity.
In a few years, Bombay Province would be reorganised into Bombay State, and the princely states would merge into the new state.
For Shivram, this spelt good business. Within a year, he called his wife and three sons to Mumbai. Within three, he began catering snacks to offices in the locality. Two decades later, he opened another branch of Prakash in Dadar, and a hotel in Prarthna Samaj (this he shut down later, as it took his attention away from their family temple back in Hedvi).
By 1973, Shivram was ready to retire to his village, and left his eateries in the able hands of his sons. Now, his three grandsons -- Ameya, Ashutosh and Nilesh, all cousins -- look after the two joints, and catering service.
Moving to reclaimed land
"When our grandfather opened Prakash in Dadar in 1971, there was nothing on this road," says 38 year-old Ashutosh, who looks after the branch on Gokhale Road. Now, the bustling street is witness to queues that run outside Prakash Shakahari Uphaar Kendra at all times of the day.
Standing between tables, Ashutosh directs customers to tables in this 48-seater restaurant. Here, business is brisk, waiters efficient, and the food that arrives piping hot on the table is polished off within minutes. In this branch, the chaotic yet slow-moving feel of Prarthna Samaj is replaced by quiet, business-like hunger.
But the Dadar branch has its loyal patrons too.
Ashutosh recounts an incident when a Parsi couple, regulars for Sunday breakfast, once reached barely 15 minutes before closing time, and ordered dinner. Surprised to see them so late, Ashutosh enquired where they were coming from.
"A wedding," the wife piped up. "But we didn't touch a morsel there, since we wanted our weekend's dose of Prakash," she added.
"Several celebrities come. Once, I overheard a customer saying that Rajkumar Hirani was sitting on the opposite table, but I don't know what the director looks like, so I couldn't confirm if that was indeed him," Ashutosh grins. Now, 65 years later, the three brothers are finally keen to expand their grandfather's legacy.
Even as the third cousin, Nilesh, looks after Prakash's catering service, the trio are looking at properties in Vile Parle. "We hope to start a branch there by the end of the year," says Ameya Joglekar.
At: Prakash, Prarthna Samaj and Gokhale Road, Dadar.
Call: 24386094, plate of Sabudana Vada: Rs 30
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