by Ahmad Rashad Arafa

Upon discovering that Amman Bhelpuri, an iconic, all-vegetarian Indian street food joint that’s also one of my favorite haunts, is celebrating its 50th year anniversary this year, I quickly jumped at the chance to write a piece on it. I wanted to commemorate this monumental moment and pay homage to a place cherished by so many.

To put things into perspective, the restaurant is only ten years younger than Kuwait itself, which was officially established in 1961, thus making Amman Bhelpuri one of the oldest, long-standing Indian restaurants in the country.
I sat down with Mr. Hitesh Joshi, the second-generation owner of Amman Bhelpuri, to talk about the restaurant, its humble beginnings and its Golden Jubilee.

“My father, Mr. Pranshanker Joshi, came here to Kuwait in 1969. He was the cook for a Kuwaiti family that owned a large jewelry business. His dream however was to open up a restaurant. He wanted the restaurant to be next to an Indian school so that he can cater to them and the neighboring community. He eventually chose to open next to the Indian Community School in Salmiya.

At first, the restaurant just served vegetarian samosas and then, as time went on, he started selling other street food items like Panipuri (a hugely popular Indian street food that’s also known as “Golgappa” in certain Indian states) and Bhelpuri, another popular Indian street food snack that’s the restaurant’s namesake.”

Knowing full well that the restaurant market can be cripplingly capricious with restaurants and cafés opening and closing in the blink of an eye, I asked Mr. Joshi how Amman Bhelpuri was able to remarkably sustain itself over the decades.

Apparently, it all boils down to Mr. Joshi’s no-fuss, no-muss approach to the restaurant that he strictly adheres to – “Fresh food that tastes good. It’s a simple as that. We never compromise on our ingredients or our proportions even when inflation goes up. Our prices have remained the same over the last ten years.”

As someone who has been a loyal customer for ten years and change, I can definitely attest to that entire statement. Amman Bhelpuri’s food is consistently and irrefutably tasty, fresh and yes, in sharp contrast to other establishments, the prices haven’t budged.

And although the restaurant has its absolute bestsellers, the dishes that form the backbone of Amman Bhelpuri, which are “Papdi Chaat, Chana Puri, Falooda and Gulab Jamun,” I also wanted to ask Mr. Joshi about the origins of my own favorite, go-to dishes.

Whenever I find myself missing Bombay – which, sadly is always – I typically also start developing a hankering for Vada Pav, the city’s unofficial dish. Simple in theory but explosive in flavor, the Vada Pav is essentially a lightly fried potato patty sandwiched in a soft dinner roll, or pav. It’s the combination of that paired with the dish’s rich chutneys and raw onions that really make it sing. Luckily for me, Amman Bhelpuri’s Vada Pav is the closest iteration in Kuwait to the iconic street food I find in the legendary Vada Pav walas of Bombay.

“When I joined Amman Bhelpuri in 1994 after I finished my studies, I wanted to put my own spin on things so I expanded the staff and added some new items like Vada Pav and Falooda (an aromatic South Asian ice-cream dessert). I conducted a lot of research and development with my customers before I introduced those items to the menu.

“My father did the same thing back in 1982 when he introduced Dosa and what was to become one of our bestsellers, Chana Puri (a very popular North Indian dish made up of puri and a flavorful chickpea stew).”

He used to always take in the suggestions and recommendations of our customers who come from all over India and South Asia. Hence, we started to develop a taste that was suitable for the Kuwaiti market. Our Dosa for example is from South India but our recipe is distinctly ours.”

I must admit that Amman Bhelpuri’s take on the Dosa, an incredibly delicious South Indian dish comprised of a savory crepe with a side of coconut chutney and vegetable stew, holds its own among the plethora of Dosas found in Kuwait. I honest to God can’t remember the number of times I’ve heard South Indians tell me in full confidence that Amman Bhelpuri serves one of the best Dosas in the country.

However, it’s not just Indians and other South Asians that are now frequenting the restaurant. Over the years, due to the ubiquity of social media and the recent surge in popularity of YouTube food channels, people’s taste in food across the world has become much more refined and adventurous.

“People are much more knowledgeable these days about food because of social media. That’s why, in the past five years you can say, we have started attracting more and more customers from other countries and backgrounds. I remember this one time not so long ago when an Arab customer asked for Papdi Chaat because he saw the dish on Snapchat or when another customer asked us for Dhokla (a Gujarati delicacy) because she saw the actress, Kareena Kapoor Khan, eating one in the Bollywood film, 3 Idiots.”

Still, the restaurant is able to retain its core clientele, who keep coming back to Amman Bhelpuri to get their Indian street food fix even when countless, similar establishments now permeate the country’s culinary landscape, “People who used to come here in the Seventies are now bringing their children and their children’s children!”

The beautiful image pulls at one’s heartstrings. With all the crazy stuff happening around us every single day, it’s easy to find one’s self feeling over-stimulated and overwhelmed. So, to see a restaurant in the same spot, standing firmly its ground for decades on end, not withered by time or today’s fast-moving, ever-changing world brings one a sense of comfort and reassurance.

Mr. Joshi however refuses to rest on his laurels, “The creativity and drive is always there inside of me. I’m always testing out new, exciting dishes to add to the menu and I’m thinking of opening another outlet.”

Ahmad Rashad Arafa is a Palestinian Bollywood writer who runs the platform, Bollywood Over Hollywood, visit bollywoodoverhollywood.com to read his latest. For more information about Amman Bhelpuri, find them on Essa Al-Qatami Street, Salmiya.