Taking over Vashi, one samosa at a time

V irat A1 Samosa started in 1987 as a little stall in Vashi, selling 20 samosas a day. Today, the snack it’s named after has garnered such fame that the shop sells no less than 1,500 of the deep-fried, potato-filled, puff pastry- covered goodness every day.

Business is booming , says proprietor Chandrashekhar Singh. So much so that Virat A1 Samosa has added quite a collection to its repertoire. It churns out sev puri, bhel puri, pani puri and other chaat specials along with a list of south Indian dishes with as much gusto as it does the samosa.

So what made former RTO employee Singh make a career shift from vehicles to eatables? The need for a place where people could grab a quick bite that was tasty, reasonably-priced and didn’t err in quality.

“Navi Mumbai was just starting to grow when in 1987, while working at the Tardeo RTO office, I set up the samosa business in Vashi. At the time, there weren’t many eateries in the area, so there was a great demand for mine,” he says, adding, “Seeing the response, I paid special attention to how the samosa was made. I ensured that the recipe was perfect. I wanted to make sure people would keep coming back for more.”

As his business grew, Singh quit his RTO job and became a full-time restaurateur. He credits his success to quality control. “One should never compromise on the quality of food. I have a special recipe for the samosa in which the finest ingredients are mixed with a special masala I created. Even the oil I use is the best.”

BACHCHAN KUMAR Proprietor of A1 samosas, Chandrashkhar Singh, used to be an RTO employee.