New Delhi, May 1 -- Benne dosa for Rs.99", reads a board outside Maa Annapurna, a small eatery tucked between coffee shops and snack joints in a residential neighbourhood in Mumbai's western suburb of Andheri. The menu has the usual idli-vada, chaat and pav bhaji. But the real draw is the benne dosa. With the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan campus a few blocks away, it has, in just a couple of weeks, become a favourite among students and those in nearby PG accommodations.

Even as his small eatery clocks over 100 benne dosas daily, owner Animesh Shah says he is perplexed by the long queues at a popular dosa spot in the city. He had introduced the special price as a limited-time offer for students from 12-6pm last month.

The queues are for real, a...