Short-eats with long-lasting taste

Nestled in a green corner of Kumara Park, Chetty’s Corner is a must visit for any food lover. Started by the late P R Krishnamurthy and his wife P Subbalakshmi in the 90s, the store is full of innovative combinations of buns, nippats, gulkand, nuts and the like. Today, it is run by their two sons — Anil Kumar P K and Vinod Kumar P K. How has the store come up with such unique combinations? “It’s been a trial-and-error process,” informs Anil. “We used to keep trying all the combinations on ourselves, before we started the store.”

Most of the dishes provided by the store have probably never been heard of, but nevertheless delicious.

Some of the non bun specialities of Chetty’s Corner include Cornflakes Masala, Sev Masala and Crushed Nippat Masala. Then of course, there are the Indian Burgers or the bun specialities that the store is known for, like Bun Nippat and Cheese, Bun Masala, Bun Cheese Masala, Bun Butter Gulkand, Bun Butter Nut with the latest addition being the Vegetable Bun.

“These are full of vegetables and extremely healthy. A person on a diet can binge on these without any worries,” jokes Anil. Most of the ingredients used for the fillings like nippat and gulkand are home-made. “That’s because we just cannot compromise on the taste,” feels Anil.

The pizzas available at the store are the usual Tomato, Capsicum and Cheese Pizzas, with a choice of combinations available. Not to forget are the tasty and spicy drinks to down the meals with, like Masala Coke, Masala Fanta and Masala Cocktail (a combination of different soft drinks) to name a few.

Health conscious people can take solace in the fact that even the masala used to spice up the drinks and eatables is home-made and extremely healthy. “It’s a combination of 15 spices and herbs,” says Vinod. Then of course, there is the healthy drink Nannari, made from the roots of a plant by the same name. “It’s a blood purifier and cools the body,” says Anil. Adds Vinod, “We are planning to introduce three more medicinal drinks in future.”

Customers from the age of 2 to 60 throng the store the entire day, with a majority being college students. Does the store plan on introducing seating arrangements? “People can’t enjoy the eatables out here while sitting. Standing and eating is the real fun behind enjoying these short-eats,” notes Anil.

The prices are reasonable and vary between Rs 10 and Rs 20. “One of our main motives is not to pinch people’s pockets. Every rupee that they pay should be worth it,” says Anil.
Some of the celebrity customers of the store are Prakash Padukone and family and singer-actress Vasundhara Das.

Late actress Soundarya also used to visit the store. “We are so honoured to have these distinguished people as our customers,” says Anil. The store is open on all days from 9 am to 10 pm.