Shepparton family food truck sells sensational Indian snacks

By Rosa Ritchie

Oct 31, 2021

Crowd favourite: Manjit Singh makes every element of his delicious samosa chaat by hand. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

A new food truck run by a family serving up superb Indian street food alongside Aussie fast food favourites has quickly gained an adoring customer base at Victoria Park Lake in Shepparton.

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On New Year’s Day 2021, Manjit Singh declared this would be the year he followed his dream to earn a living from his passion for cooking and, with the help of wife Rajbir Kaur, niece Gurleen Kaur, 21, and son Taranbir Singh, 16, his vision has finally come to life.

Potato chips, onion rings, pizza, toasties, lamb and chicken kebabs, chicken burgers, parmigianas and souvlakis are all on the menu.

But that’s not where it ends.

Every weekend Grill on Wheels puts up a different Indian street food special, like chicken curry, panipuri, tikka chaat, panipuri chaat or samosa chaat.

The latter quickly became so popular it’s now a permanent offering.

“Every day I sell more than 100 pieces of samosa chaat,” Manjit said.

Preparing delicious food is his passion, and he has experience working in the hospitality sector in India.

“All the time I’m cooking at home,” he said.

Every aspect of Manjit’s samosa chaat is handmade from scratch.

The beauty of the dish is in the complexity of flavours and textures - deliciously soft, spicy fillings of potatoes and peas contrast crisp pastry and the crunch of fresh red onion.

Meanwhile, the refreshing tang of yoghurt and mint juxtapose the zing of date and tamarind sauce.

Each mouthful is a joyful harmony of flavour.

“That’s normally how we Indians make things,” Rajbir said.

Dream team: About six weeks since they opened Grill on Wheels, Manjit Singh, Gurleen Kaur and Rajbir Kaur are loving working together as a family. Photo by Rodney Braithwaite

Grill on Wheels will pop up in the lake’s car park from 1pm until late every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Outside of those times, all the three adults of the family have full-time careers in the health and aged care sectors.

Manjit works in aged care, Rajbir is a registered nurse and, following in her aunt’s footsteps, Gurleen is completing her final hospital placements before gaining the same qualification.

Manjit and Rajbir hope to operate the food truck on public holidays, school holidays and, eventually on Thursdays, dedicating as much of their working week to the new business as they can.

All three love the creativity, flexibility and satisfaction found in running a family business.

“When you’ve got your own business you don’t feel stressed, you’re not working under someone which is more pressure,” Rajbir said.

“It’s the teamwork and contribution that everybody puts in . . . When you’ve got the passion you just do it,” Gurleen said.

Resounding approval from the community on social media is a welcome support as well.

“When people try the food, they love the food and they give us feedback straight away - they even tag their friends to come in and try it,” Rajbir said.