THE BUDGET RESTAURANT
For irresistible Indian food at a laughably low price, it’s hard to beat these takeaways, writes Shanthini Naidoo
AR20 note barely covers a muffin and a filter coffee these days, but at Kara Nichha’s Fast Foods you could get a drink, a meal and a sweet ending to boot. The budget vegetarian takeaway chain was born in Pietermaritzburg in 1936, and the prices seem to be from that era, too.
A platter of basic biryani plus dhal and two curries goes for R14, a tub of two vegetarian curries is R8.50, and a roti will put you back R2. Add a cup of tea (R2) and a sweetmeat (R3) and it will still come in under budget if you were trying to get rid of that R20 note. It seems impossible, but high volumes and good business practice makes it possible, says family spokesman Bablo Ichharam.
“It is our secret! But it is a basic story of a person who had a business plan and a target market. It is a business, at the end of the day, so we price ourselves well, but prices are in line with inflation and escalation.”
According to the story posted on every takeaway’s walls along with a picture of Mr Nichha, he arrived in South Africa in 1908 “to seek a better future”. He was employed as a cook in 1929 by a businessman who later returned to India, leaving Nichha the run of the shop. Being of humble beginnings, he promised “affordable food for the less fortunate,” a principle still followed today.
“People have lost their sense of value,” says Ichharam. “Nobody questions why a toasted cheese and tomato sandwich sells for R25. What are the ingredients? We choose to sell good quality, affordable food. If food is overpriced it becomes a luxury, so we think carefully before adding on even R1.”
Never mind the charitable element, the food is simple and delicious. Locally sourced produce and home-blended spices go into the meals, which change daily.
Kara Nichha’s is also renowned for savoury snacks, which are now available at Pick n Pay on William Nicol in Johannesburg, and decadent sweetmeats.
But ask any Wits student, or well-versed Durbanite — the Special Sandwich is the one to try. The carb-fest of fresh potato chips, cheese, chilli, onion and a secret tomato-based sauce on toasted white bread cost only R3 for many years, but the price has now crept up to R7.
The takeaways, located in the CBDs of Durban, Pietermaritzburg and Lenasia, at the Wits university campus and in Midrand (which has recently opened), are packed at lunchtime.
They offer a clean and efficient operation that sees hundreds of polystyrene tubs of curry and biryani, bunny chows, roti rolls and more fly out of the shops. Then there is the snack display: chilli bites, R6 for 100g; savoury snacks and sweetmeats R7 for 100g; samoosas for R2.50; or puri patha for R3.
The takeaways are family run, not franchised, says Ichharam, and emphasis is placed on staff development.
“That is the best way to develop the business. We have staff who were never afforded education, who started off as potato peelers, who now own branches of Kara Nichha’s. We grew from strength to strength in CBDs so we are committed to develop people and CBDs too. You won’t find us in malls.” ................................................... We visited Kara Nichha’s in the Midway Mews, corner 7th and Harry Galaun roads, Midrand, and spent R60 on two main lunches and plenty of snacks.