A native of Uttar Pradesh, Laxmikant Mishra, 50, has been hawking aloo handi at a stall near SIES College for 30 years. His modest stall is strategically located on a footpath next to a busy road adjoining Sion Circle. Hungry students gather here to gobble little potato "caps" spiced with onion and masala.

He inherited the business from his uncle, who ran the stall for 60 years before him. "He used to sell chana chaat. He was having an easy day once, and he absentmindedly scooped out the innards of a potato. A customer, who happened to visit his stall, asked him to fill it with chana. He played along and the customer loved the new creation. That's how the aloo handi was born," recounts Mishra, who hopes to pass on the business to his son Shubham. His older son is already an apprentice, dutifully peeling boiled potatoes as the father whips up a plate of the signature dish for this writer.