Trichy: Babu Road, a street running parallel to the East Boulevard Road through vintage Trichy, is dotted with decades-old hospitals, temples and commercial establishments. But the one spot that has been catching all the attention is ‘Paniyaarakadai’, an evening snack shop run by an ageing couple. For close to a decade now, the shop has seen avid fans of all ages swarming it to have paniyaaram, a traditional sweet or spicy dumpling.Babu Road’s Paniyaarakadai was originally christened Vasantha’s Paniyaarakadai and operates only for limited hours a day. The shop measures less than 100 sqft but often attracts a crowd which is several folds more than what it can accommodate. Business starts at the corner around 4 pm — when the couple begins to fry and lay piping hot paniyaarams — and ends at 9.30 pm. “We serve only two varieties — sweet and spicy. We want to sustain the quality and standard of the snack and that is why we have restrained ourselves from venturing into new varieties,” says S Vasantha, 58, the proprietor. According to her, utmost care is taken while preparing the batter and mixing the ingredients such as powdered rice and black gram. snack — be they bachelors or families in the neighbourhood out to surprise their guests with a local delicacy.Offering six pieces of paniyaaram for Rs 10, the shop satiates the appetite of several load men and daily wagers working on the commercial streets near Gandhi Market in the evening. “It is not just bachelors and daily wagers, even families residing close to our stall buy paniyaaram from us. Initially, these families bought it to treat their guests, but have ended up being our regular clients,” Says Vasantha’s husband S Sivaraman with a proud smile. When the batter runs out of stock, Vasantha rushes to her house located nearby to source it while Sivaraman handles the spatula (thin rod with pointed end to pick paniyaaram from the pan).People throng the stall not just because of the paniyaarams but also to taste the lip-smacking chutney. “Spicy red chutney made of chilli and tomato is served with paniyaarams on all days except Sundays when we make mint chutney. There are regular customers who purchase additional packets of chutneys from us for a price,” Vasantha adds. For sweet paniyaaram, the duo has been sourcing jaggery from Salem so as to induce a traditional flavour in the sweet variant of the snack. Unarguably the “most famous couple” of Babu road, Vasantha and Sivaraman say “it’s a good feeling” to realise that they make a living out of selling paniyaaram for an affordable price.Signature dishes:1) Spicy paniyaaram with red chutney2) Sweet jaggery-filled paniyaaramWhen:4 pm to 9.30 pmWhere: Babu road (Allimal street corner)

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