Photo: Collected
A restaurant was on the verge of closing under the weight of debt. Capital was meagre and customers were few. Just then, an order for only two plates of chole bhature changed the whole story. That order was for Indian cricket star Virat Kohli, and it was placed by his wife, Bollywood actress Anushka Sharma. After that, the fortunes of the two brothers’ restaurant changed overnight.
‘Delhi Se’ is the small restaurant of Jaspal Singh Khalsa and Mahendra Singh Khalsa in Chembur, Mumbai. Including the kitchen and seating area, it measures only 250 square feet. The business ran with just three tables and nine chairs, though on most days even those chairs lay empty.
The main attraction of the restaurant, which began its journey in October 2021, was Delhi-style chole bhature. But the taste was taking time to become popular with Mumbai residents. Within a year, the two brothers were saddled with a debt burden of about Rs 18 lakh. By September 2022, they were even preparing to shut the restaurant down. Just then, something unexpected happened.
On 13 September 2022, popular comedian Abhishek Upmanyu suddenly visited the ‘Delhi Se’ restaurant and ate chole bhature. As he liked the food, he shared his experience on social media and praised it, saying chole bhature with an authentic taste like Delhi’s was available in Mumbai.
Right after that, crowds began to grow at the restaurant. But the two brothers still did not know that an even bigger surprise was waiting.
That post by Abhishek caught Anushka Sharma’s eye. She had long been looking for a good chole bhature spot in Mumbai for her husband Virat Kohli. Anushka has spoken many times of Virat’s weakness for this dish.
After seeing the post, the actress did not delay. She ordered two plates of chole bhature from ‘Delhi Se’ for Virat. However, even after receiving the order, Jaspal did not realise how important the matter was. The distance from Chembur to Juhu is about 13.5 kilometres, and the price of two plates of food was then only Rs 240. When told about the additional travel cost, the person placing the order said all the costs would be sent as soon as bank account details were provided.
This, rather, made Jaspal suspicious. He was afraid to give bank details to a stranger. In the end, the order was accepted on the advice of his brother Mahendra. Then came the real surprise – the woman on the other end of the phone said she was calling from Virat Kohli’s house and that the food had been ordered for Virat himself.
Still, Jaspal could not believe it. That food from a tiny restaurant in Chembur was going to Virat Kohli’s house was unbelievable to him.
Finally, on 5 October 2022, the two brothers delivered the chole bhature for Virat. As soon as they returned to the restaurant, they received even bigger news – Anushka had posted on social media praising their food.
What happened next was entirely like a scene from a film. Within just half an hour, crowds began to gather at the restaurant, and within a short while all the day’s food was sold out. Order after order kept coming in by phone. In the end, even the police had to be called to manage the crowd.
The situation became such that orders kept coming for six to ten plates at a time. But they simply did not have the ingredients to meet such demand. The two brothers bought chickpeas and spices from nearby houses and started cooking.
Where only eight kilograms of chickpeas were cooked every day before that order from Virat and Anushka, within a short time it rose to about 100 kilograms. At present, about 125 kilograms of chickpeas are soaked every day, which amounts to about one tonne after cooking.
Today the ‘Delhi Se’ restaurant has four branches, in Mumbai’s Chembur, Mulund, Andheri West and Vasai. About three thousand plates of chole bhature are sold every day.
The most unbelievable thing is that the very restaurant that was on the way to closing under the pressure of Rs 18 lakh in debt in 2022 is now selling food worth about Rs 2 crore every month. That order for two plates of chole bhature changed the entire lives of the two brothers. Source: Anandabazar
