steaming toast of anna nagar

Shree Mahalakshmi Milk Depot 40/83, 5th Main Rd, I Block, Block U, Anna Nagar, Chennai 600040. 

open at 4 am and within 15 minutes, a crowd builds up. Hordes of early morning joggers from Anna Nagar Tower Park come to sip at tea and lemonade, as do IAS officers, MLAs, office-goers and auto drivers, from all over the city. “In summers I drink cold buttermilk, and in winters I drink hot badam milk.” declares Khaja, a 42-year-old resident of Anna Nagar. Samosas, bajjis, bondas and vadas prepared in the attached kitchens complement the beverages.

“We don’t use packaged milk,” Purushothaman assures. “We source raw, organic milk from the villages of Thiruvallur and Arakkonam, bringing it to town on the Villivakkam train at noon and midnight every day.”