Pandey specialises in saatvic food - pure vegetarian cuisine devoid of garlic and onion - and has been popular given the ongoing Maha Kumbh Mela in nearby Allahabad, about 120 km away, with devotees sticking to vegetarian food.
"I come to the hotel around noon after my household chores and start cooking lunch. I cook what I want to, depending on the availability of seasonal vegetables. In winter I make gobhi matar, kadhi pakoda and aloo methi," Pandey told IANS. "In summers, the menu will change," she said.
"I usually make food for about 20-25 thalis (plates). Sometimes guests request a particular dish, and I make it accordingly," she added. In general, these homemaker chefs cook about eight varieties on the menu.
If Pandey specialises in vegetarian food, Husna Khanam, another homemaker, is an expert dishing out Muslim home food at the same hotel. Working for about a year, some of the hot favourites from her kitchen include mutton korma, shammi kabab and chicken dhaniya wala. Most of the spices are grounded, just like they would at home, and not bought off the shelf.
The customers are happy.
"When you travel for weeks altogether, hotel food everywhere starts tasting similar. Nice, but rich. The saatvic food here in my hotel here was like a breath of fresh air. It tastes good, is light, and healthy. And my local guide here says it is just the way his wife cooks it at his home - so I have tasted the authentic stuff!" said Sarah Franklin, a German tourist in this temple town.
