Lenasia, South Africa — Tucked in a strip mall off Robin Avenue in Lenasia is a takeout eatery with an eye-catching red and yellow awning that boasts of low-priced Indian vegetarian fast foods and savory snacks.
Named for its founder, Kara Nichha, who immigrated from India to South Africa in 1908, the popular takeaway is now a chain, with 23 locations all over South Africa. Nichha arrived by way of Mozambique, walking hundreds of miles to reach South Africa, according to Hitesh Kanjee, manager of the Lenasia location.
Nichha landed in Pietermaritzburg, about an hour northeast of Durban. In 1935, he bought the restaurant on Church Street where he was employed as a cook, and Kara Nichha’s was born.
“He bought the business and then he continued with that, and then his sons eventually all joined the business,” Kanjee said.
Kanjee, who married one of Nichha’s granddaughters, now carries the mantle of keeping alive Nichha’s vision of quality, affordable food for a client base of mostly working class people.
“When you go out to eat nowadays, it’s junk food,” Kanjee said. “Also the pricing is out for the average person to eat daily. If you go out, it’s a treat. So we’re filling the gap. Even the workers that work in some of the restaurants have been buying from us because it’s affordably priced. It’s a wholesome meal.”
At the location in Lenasia, an apartheid-era Indian township south of Johannesburg, the most popular item on the menu are chili bites, a spicy, flavorful, deep-fried treat made from chickpea flour and blended with chilis and other spices, and gulab jamun, a sweet confectionary dessert made of fried balls of dough.
Though some of her favorite menu items to eat are the broad beans and soya chunks, Mashuda Masuba, who has been employed at the Lenasia location for 16 years as a cook, said chili bites are her favorite food to make for customers.
“We make it with our hands,” Masuba said. “We know how to make it.”
Prices on the menu range from the soya burger at R20 ($1.21 USD) to a plain piece of roti at R2 ($0.12 USD).
Kanjee said keeping prices low as food prices in general rise in South Africa is a challenge.
Rising costs of food are the biggest contributor to South Africa’s 6.5 % consumer price inflation rate, according to the May 2022 Consumer Price Index report from South Africa’s government.
“When prices go up, the customers are also paying more,” Kanjee said. “What we always try first is when prices of food go up, we keep the price for the next few months and hopefully our volume is able to compensate for this loss.”
Most of the food served at Kara Nicha’s is prepared and shipped frozen from a central location to its franchises, according to Bablo Nichha. The chili bites and vedde, a ring-shaped fried snack, are mixed and cooked on site.
“The reason we do it from a central point is to have consistency,” Nichha said.
Nichha said this business model also helps the company plan around varying prices of vegetables and other food items.
The company plans to add additional franchises, Nichha said.
“It’s a slow expansion,” Nichha said. “Eventually when we turn the corner of having people that are knowledgeable, [I can teach them] the opportunity to escalate ventures and be owner operators.”
At most Kara Nichha’s locations, the food is meant to be consumed at home or on the go, but some locations offer customers the opportunity to have a bite to eat with a scenic view. The Kara Nichha’s beachfront property on Snell Parade in Durban is a two-minute walk from the Indian Ocean.
Nazreen Ally, a resident of Durban, said that she has been coming to the beachfront Kara Nichha’s location since she was a child for the very reasons that Kara Nichha’s exists.
“It’s good, it’s tasty, quality, clean, [and] very hygienic,” Ally said, who was about to enter the store for lunch one afternoon in late June. “It’s also economical and affordable.”
Wilson Copesville, a customer of the original Pietermeritzburg Kara Nichha’s for over 50 years, said he continues to visit the eatery for similar reasons.
“They are always fresh, friendly, and [provide] quick service,” Copesville said.
Mahindra Rajkumar, a loyal customer at the Pietermaritzburg location since his childhood in the 1970s, said the original founder made sure no one went hungry, giving food away if someone could not afford to pay.
“This place is blessed,” said Rajkumar, holding in his hand a paper cup of tea and a bag of chili bites.
