In Kinari Bazar, where crusty old jewelers crouch in spaces the size of toppled telephone booths sorting through scores of gemstones, lies an unexpected diamond in the rough. Huddled in these by-lanes is a venerable eating establishment with a culinary history as rich as the goodies it serves up: Rewari Wala. 

Since the digs are grubby, Rewari Wala really is all about the grub. The hole in the wall works many a wonder with gallons of ghee but its reputation rests on plates of puri-aloo.

Puri-aloo isn’t an easy sell. Dished up for picnics in parks and breakfasts for brown sahibs, it also serves as humble workaday vittles for farmhands and laborers. Every Indian household has its own recipe, and every Indian has a decided opinion on what the precise taste, texture, even temperature should be.

Yet, in the time it takes to scarf down a single helping of Rewari Wala’s puri-aloo, approximately five minutes, six times as many customers are served and sated. This isn’t just the bon ton slumming it in-between bling-shopping. It’s regular folks from the neighborhood, getting their food on the go. And as the conventional wisdom goes, if the locals like it then it’s likely the real deal.

It’s eminently likable, addictive even. Rewari Wala’s puri is whole wheat flour dough rolled out and deep fried to puffy, crispy, pitted, glowing, earthen brown. How an unleavened bread can be dense and airy at the same time is a mystery for meta-physicists. It’s accompanied by a thickened gravy that glistens with ghee and is generously studded with potatoes (aloo), that like M&Ms melt in your mouth but not in your hands.

There’s even a secret ingredient, a super spicy fenugreek chutney dolloped into the curry, when clients claim they can handle the heat. The first bite banishes the best intentions to limit intake to a single plate.

And if the proprietor is to be believed, every venture capitalist worth his salt and puri should be scorching a path to his shutters.  Rewari Wala does brisk business, over a thousand portions ladled out each day. The price points may need readjustment to turn major profits but right now it’s a banging puri-aloo for your 15 bucks.