People visiting Gopalpatti now join the queue for soft pal buns, a local tea shop delicacy
“Guru ji, oru Chai!”: This command forms the background score at the RMS Sweets Marimuthu Tea Stall located in Gopalapatti. The small town, 47 km from Madurai, is popular for tamarind, fragrant senthuram Mango, and a unique, indulgent sweet treat – shift buns
We break into a crowded shop one evening – in front of a crowd of school children placing orders WadasiFarmer cutting murukku And the khaki-clad bus drivers sip tea – and reach the glass counter, where buns await.
This shop, which has been running for almost three decades, is making shift Buns for 24 years now. This is one of the city’s most popular hunts for deliciousness. “Flours, yogurt, cooking soda, and sugar,” lists owner M Shubhash, explaining how the breakfast is made. “We knead the dough around 10 in the morning and let it ferment for half an hour. Then, we roll up small portions, fry them in hot oil, and dip them in sugar syrup. ,
A worker carrying Pal buns at a tea stall at Gopalpatti near Natham in Dindigul district. photo Credit: karthikeyan ji
Each tea stall in Gopalapatti, which houses about 3,000, has a large aluminum tray with golden buns, each the size of a large lemon. Unlike tea shops in other parts of Tamil Nadu where Wadasi And bajjis dominate, in this small town most customers order shift Buns first, followed by some spicy, before washing down with hot tea. Snack tastes like squishy Badhusha: – Soft and mildly sweet as soon as it comes in between.
R Raj Mohan, the driver of a local bus of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, tells us that he has made buns for several friends over the years. “The moment someone hears that I travel on the Gopalapatti road, they ask shift Buns,” he smiles. Although they have been popular with locals for more than four decades, it is tourists and travelers who make them popular.
“Gopalpatti is the only small town for nearby villagers who want to shop for clothes or jewellery,” says Shubhash. “Pilgrims going to Palani on foot from Madurai and Karaikudi also pass through there,” he says. Slowly the breakfast started from the small tea stall of Gopalpatti.
Eventually visitors from Madurai and even Ramnad, who otherwise would not have stayed in the city, started making it a crater. Surprisingly, despite its fan following, the snack is not sold in large bakeries. K Gautam, who works at RMS Sweets, says, “It’s a tea shop. “We make five plates a day, each containing 20 buns, each costing ₹4; We are sold out by 2 pm,” he adds. Across the street is another tea shop doing brisk business: very hot Ulundhu Wadasi their trays are fried shift Buns priced at ₹5 are selling out fast.
A few blocks down the road, there is Thamodharan Tea Stall. That’s where we trace the history of this snack. between handing over to customers shift Buns, K Narayanan, who runs the place, explains how he has been making these buns for over 40 years. “It all started in Alanganallur,” says Narayanan, tossing the coins into a drawer. He adds, “They make something similar at the tea shops there. Many years ago a ‘Guru’ from the town came to Gopalpatti. They introduced it here and slowly it attracted the likes of locals and tourists alike.
N Suppuraza, the oldest employee of RMS Sweets, knows the story very well. The shop has been there since its inception. “The first day we put it up for sale, it didn’t go over well,” says Toothless, 75. But before he knew it, shift Buns were disappearing from their trays. “It’s called the ‘Pal Bun’ of all things,” he laughs. “But there’s not even a drop of milk in it.”
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