Not just alu tikkis

My introduction to Agarwal Sweet Palace on Coimbatore’s DB Road came through an article that I was writing on various chaat places in the city. When I came back rhapsodising about the alu tikki chaat, my colleagues didn’t seem surprised. “Oh it’s been around for at least 20 years,” commented one.

Actually it’s closer to 30 years, says Utkarsh Agarwal. His father, Mahabir Prasad, began the joint in 1988. “We are originally from Rajasthan, though I think of myself as belonging to Coimbatore,” he smiles. “My father’s uncle worked in Madurai’s Arya Bhavan and called my father over to help him. That’s how he came to the South.”

A gift tray of sweets   | Photo Credit: S_SIVA SARAVANAN

After working in Madurai for a few years, Prasad moved to Coimbatore to manage a branch at Raja Street. In 1988, he branched out on his own. In the initial years, the target customers were North Indians and the focus was on sweets and savouries from there, says Agarwal. When he joined his father in 1996, he took a couple of years to study the market. “I realised that we have to cater to South Indians too. We cannot survive without them.” Today, you will find jangri and jalebis making an orange heap in one counter, while the mullu murukku sits alongside the Bombay mixture in another.

Chats over chaat

Forever favourite Their savoury creations hit all the right spots   | Photo Credit: S_SIVA SARAVANAN

It is in the evening that Agarwal Sweet Palace comes into its own. The place is not very big, and a lot of the space is taken up by sweet counters. The few chairs and tables can seat 10 people with some difficulty. None of this deters the crowd that throngs the place for chaat. A counter just outside has the stove to prepare the hot items. From samosa, cutlet through dhokla and khandvi to bhelpuri, pav bhaji and papdi chaat, there is quite a variety on offer. My vote goes to the matar alu tikki with curd, which is doused in spicy mint and sweet tamarind chutneys and then drowned in a sea of curd. The speed at which they serve doesn’t allow the curd to soak through. So you get a crisp exterior, a melting, soft interior and an amazing range of flavours. My son prefers the pani puri and the dahi puri. In the latter, the puri is filled with an alu-channa mix and placed on the green chutney. Thick curd is poured on the puris and topped with a thick layer of sev and dollops of sweet chutney. My husband usually opts for a grilled sandwich, which we turn up our noses at.

Alu tikki chaat  

Right now, at 10.15 am, people walk in to buy sweets and snacks. An elderly couple argues in whispers whether they should buy half a kilo or a quarter kilo of dhoklas.

Agarwal says he introduced chaat in 2000 to increase the footfalls. “We got more people coming for a snack and then they would buy some sweets, mixture or chips,” he says, even as he takes care of payments for purchases. He offers 100 varieties of sweets, and 50 each of savouries and chaat. The branch near Hope College at Peelamedu also offers parathas and rotis at lunch time. “I don’t have the space here,” says Agarwal, adding that he plans to expand the DB Road restaurant. He has bought a place on the road opposite and is waiting for approvals. “It’ll be two years before that opens. I want to visit restaurants in other cities and pick up ideas before I do it up.”

No compromise

Panneer Grilled Sandwich  

What’s kept them going for three decades is attention to detail. Agarwal cites the story of a sculptor who destroys his creation because it has a tiny blemish that only he can see. “There is no question of compromise,” he says firmly. “If I know something is not okay, I won’t sell it.”

This attitude, according to him, has filtered down to his staff as well. “So even if it escapes from the kitchen, someone here will catch it,” he states proudly. It helps that his staff have all been with him since 1995.

Most of the ingredients, he assures me, are sourced locally. “Only things like kesar (saffron) and silver leaf are brought from the North. I also buy the bread for the sandwiches and pav. I can’t bake them here.”

A good time at Agarwal’s Sweet Palace  

Their most famous and fast-selling item is the Agarwal laddoo. “It’s motichoor from Kanpur, and we introduced it here.” He’s also very proud of their gift tray combinations. “During wedding seasons, we sell around 20-25 trays every day. Some people even bring their own trays and ask us to arrange the sweets on them.”

What are the changes he has noticed over the course of the years? “Ups and downs are part and parcel of the game,” he shrugs. “But even in difficult times, our customers have not left us. They may reduce their quantity but they continue to buy from us.”

In this weekly column, we take a peek at some of the country’s most iconic restaurants