Places in Mumbai to have a sip of Kulhad chai

The tandoor bhatti is the birth place of all great food Its where maida and whole wheat doughs wrapped in the warmth of burning charcoal and hot clay transform into hot naans and crisp rotis Its also where meats melt out their juices roasting in marinades of spices and yoghurt to create the most flavourful and smokiest of grilled eats That it could make room for chai is what piqued our tastebudsStep 2 A staffer at Tandoor Chai Cafeacute in Dombivli uses a tong to pull out a kulhad from the bhatti before placing it inside a brass vesselOver the last one year Mumbais chai lovers have taken an unusual liking for tandoor chai which like shrewsbury biscuits appear to be the gift of our foodie neighbours from Pune Now that monsoon is here and our craving for hotpiping tea and pakoras is set to make a comeback we think its time to move beyond our favourite cutting to tea that owes its preparation to the bhatti We traced the most popular tandoori chai makers in town to tell you why their drink is worth the sipStep 3 Freshly prepared masala chai is poured into the kulhad at Mulunds Tandoor Chai PicsSuresh Karkera Sameer Markande AND Sneha KharabeStep 5 Owner Khodidas Kotak of the Mulund Tandoor Chai outlet allows the tea to simmer for a while Step 6 Kiran Sawant owner of Kalbadevis Tandoor Chai outlet pours the tea into a ceramic cupStep 7 Diptesh Sakpal who runs Airolis Jhakaas Tandoor Chai makes it a point to dispose and recycle the kulhadsTandoor Chai KalbadeviIts not for nothing that Kalbadevi is known as one of the busiest stretches in Mumbai From morning to dusk the area is bustling with handcart pullers and traders Four months ago Kiran Sawant 21 fan of the Pune chain Tandoor Chai saw a business prospect and started a similar franchise here Since opening in February Sawant has won a huge clientele mdash he sells anywhere between 700 and 800 cups of tea daily We keep the kulhads clay pots in a steel tandoor bhatti which is heated at a certain temperature with coal thrice a day early in the morning afternoon and evening says Sawant When we order a cutting he uses a tong to pull out a hot kulhad from the bhatti and places it inside a brass dish pouring masala chai all over it The spice mix we are told is a trade secret As the tea simmers we notice crumbs of burnt clay find its way into the tea The kulhad is disposed immediately and sent for recycling says SawantWhere 47 Shanti Bhuvan Old Hanuman Lane KalbadeviWhen 830 AM mdash 830 PMPrice R10 for cuttingRs 20 for a full glassCall 9699835951Tandoor Chai Cafe DombivliLike Kalbadevis Tandoor Chai Jitesh Patils cafeacute is also another popular franchise of the Pune beverage chain We make our tea with 11 different spices and dont use water in the preparation In fact the tea is boiled directly in milk says Patil What makes tandoor chai different says Patil is that when the tea is poured into the hot clay pot it absorbs the remaining water from the milk This makes it very thick he says adding that the burnt mitti also gives it its smoky flavour We found the tea to be kadak with a strong milky aftertaste but the tandoor flavours still eluded us Nevertheless Patils enterprise seems to be growing At his cafeacute he also offers tandoor coffee tandoor haldi doodh and bun maska thats actually heated inside the bhatti The options couldnt have been any betterWhere Tandoor Chai Jigar CHS Tilak Road Krishna Radha Society Dombivli EastWhen 9 am to 10 pmPrice Rs 20Call 9867797619The special chai is then poured and served in kulhadKesari Tandoori Chai PowaiKesari Tandoori Chai is the side business of 25yearold Mishank Choudhary Currently pursuing a course in computers he was inspired to start the stall after visiting a similar establishment in Pune I had tandoori chai at a tea stall called ChaAila in Pune The tea was slightly different it had the flavour of mitti because the utensils were made in mitti He started Kesari Tandoori Chai in September last year and shut shop within six months by January 2019There isnt a lot of crowd in Powai for this kind of tea There are a lot of rickshawwallas here and some 200 employees from LampT got transferred to Gate No 5 But I will start again in the monsoon By July 1 Choudhary will fire up the tandoor and the accompanying coal again even though business isnt lucrative The kulhad is a use and throw item which makes it expensive Even when I sell the tea for R20 I only earn R5 Which is why his plans include setting up stalls for special events like Tiranga Dandiya held in Powai last yearWhere Opp Powai Garden 76 Saki Vihar Rd PowaiWhen 7 AM to 4 PMPrice Rs 20Call 9594206100Tandoor Chai MulundIn a family of ardent chai drinkers 20yearold Vatsal Kotak has been the black sheep for his distaste of the beverage This was the case until he tasted the tandoor chai at a Kalyan stall I was bowled over by the roasty flavour he says adding that he has it at least once a day The Kotaks who run a garment business in Mulund were of the opinion that a tandoor tea stall would be a good addition to the area thats bustling with street stalls Thats the only thing that Mulund didnt have he says Last December his father Khodidas bought the franchise rights from Punes Chai La Tandoor Chai and opened their first store at MG Road Curiosity brought substantial footfalls We opened in winter when people love to sip a piping cup of tea We would sell close to 500 to 700 kulhads a day Six months down the demand for tea has dropped given the searing heatKotak though is optimistic that sales for tea will pick up once monsoon hits MumbaiWhere Shop No3 Vaibhav Coop Society MG Road Mulund WestWhen 730 am to 12 amPrice R8 for cuttingCall 8928866979Jhakaas Tandoor Chai AiroliTwentynineyearold Diptesh Sakpals catering business was already flourishing in Mulund and Bhandup suburbs but a chance outing at a tandoori chai stall in Pune introduced him to another successful business model I loved that earthern taste of the tea so decided to open up a similar shop here in Airoli Since we started in August 2018 our profits have multiplied he says His clientele includes bachelors working in the neighbouring industrial area We also serve nukkad chai which is a normal tea made with ginger But everyone prefers tandoori chai consisting elaichi and secret spices instead he shares The kulhad in which he serves tandoori chai is disposed after two servings In a day we serve about 500 glasses he addsWhere Bhoomi Colossa Shop No 16 Ojos Apartment opposite sector 20 Airoli Navi MumbaiWhen 8 am to 1130 pmPrice Rs 10 for cuttingR20 for a full glassCall 9619753042Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and also a complete guide on Mumbai from food to things to do and events across the city here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates