Bread rolls for Anand

Anand’s story

I lived with my friends, in a flat near my college on Sinhagad Road (in Pune). We were surviving an engineering college on student budgets, so you can imagine the food situation. One time, we saw an advertisement for a restaurant opening, offering us a 30% discount on our first order. We used the discount code to order bread-rolls. They were amazing. So we ordered again. And again. And every time we ordered, we used the code that was only supposed to work on our first purchase. We ordered bread rolls every day. The guy would deliver even though the restaurant was in Kothrud, which is about 15 kms and a lot of traffic away.

One time, their website was down, so we ordered the rolls on call. On the call, we told the guy about the discount coupon. He said he knew that we had been using it and that we order every day. And because we were literally his regular customers, he gave us our 30% off again.

Now the place is popular and does not deliver outside 3 kms radius. But during those months, the guy delivered to Sinhagad without complaining once.

My experience making, eating and feeding Bread rolls

Now that I rate food on their ROI, I must state that bread rolls’ is high. Imagine saying that about fried soggy bread?
I would never have tasted something that has fried bread as a casing, let alone make it, if not for Via Dil. And boy am I glad I did! It was the perfect blend of crunchy and soft. It was such a hit, rolls were eaten and packed in tiffins to save for loved one to taste. They were over in 3 minutes. Based on this experience, one day I may even brave bread-pakodas, which have bread INSIDE some batter (sounds dreadful to me).
I want to say that bread-rolls are like a Wada-pavs without the middle-man which is the besan; or a reverse KitKat sans the milky-chocolate-crap. I am still trying to make sense of it.

Dadi and I are the only people in this household who believe in breakfasts. I woke up early in the morning to make bread rolls for us.

This commitment felt like a mistake as soon as my alarm rang at 7:30 am. I dragged myself out of the bed with the mere pretence of adulthood.

Many mishaps were due before I could get breakfast on the table. I was to borrow potatoes, scavenge for coriander and fight for a spot on the stove, all while papa tried to build a bread out of the cut-off sides of the used slices of bread. The slices in turn crumbled and while I fashioned a covering of it, babyR arrived, announcing that she would too have breadrolls for breakfast and could not wait. The first bread-roll landed in a recently-banged-from-impatience plate, heavy with permormance pressure. And it did not disappoint!

I have started cooking without Via Dil too. I made bhakris for everyone, chola for mummy and salad for ruchi. I plan on making tacos for myself. I don’t use recipes anymore. I don’t try to find a time when the kitchen is empty. I don’t plate food for photos. I have been cooking my own dinner. It makes me feel like a whole human.

I am a different person than who started Via Dil. This project has been an education.