Kochi: A Tamil touch makes all the difference to evenings when snacks are sold by countless roadside eateries here.

As clock ticks past 2 pm, these mobile snack shops start the day’s work and remain active past 8 pm or even beyond.

Work starts after lunch and by about 3 pm, things get ready one by one.

Dal vada is one snack that lures people to these shops. The savoriness of fresh dal vadas pervades through the air, making it tempting and irresistible to the passerby.

These shops have regular customers who know at what time each snack will be available. Most of the vendors start off with dal vada followed by different bajis made of chilli,onion, egg, raw plantain and potato.

They are inimitable and delicious which no permanent hotels can imitate. Local hotels focus on items like ‘pazham pori, ada, kozhukatta, pathri, sugiyan, undanpori and the like.

Some roadside vendors have started foraying into ethnic food like pazhampori and have tasted success. The main mantra of these shops is to offer snacks at budget rate suiting the pocket of the common man.

Most of such stalls are run by couples from Kanyakumari, Tirunelveli, Palani and Madurai.

The best feature about them is that they close their shops for a few days only during Pongal and Diwali.

Somaraj of Tuticorin is one among them running a shop in the suburbs of Eroor. Unlike others, he does not bring his wife to assist him.

“She is already busy with household chores and has to take care of two children when they return from school,” he says.

Somaraj has invested money in his native place. “Actually I am keen to buy a small piece of land in Kochi, but it appears to be a dream. The land cost is very high. It will turn a reality if I hit a jackpot,” he says.