The "dairy farms" of Mumbai

One problem in working in Mumbai (and probably true for the rest of India as well) is the addiction to drinking tea (cutting) at odd hours during the working period. So, after working for about 13 years, I found that I had acquired this (rather stupid) habit at having tea at the following approximate times:
9 a.m., 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m. (and sometimes even after dinner).

This seems to be a common practice among Mumbaikars. A proof of this lies in the number of roadside stalls that sell tea. You might not find shops selling milk, but I can almost guarantee that there would be a stall that sells tea within a few hundred metres on any public road where ever in Mumbai. One reason for this might be the cost: a cutting (less than 100 ml) of tea costs (even today) less than Rs. 3 at most stalls.

This post is, of course, not related to the "tea stalls"...but that is the background. An increase in my chanting kind of made me averse to drinking this tea. I cannot claim to have kicked the habit, but I certainly seemed to have developed some aversion towards this habit. Now, to overcome this silly habit and to get some proteins, I decided to have milk instead. The only problem is that there are not those many shops in Mumbai that sell milk by the glass.

There are shops that are typically named "dairy farms" that do sell hot milk. Why these are called "farms" I have no idea...since it is just a shop. A glass of hot milk costs Rs. 10; a half-glass costs Rs. 5. Either ways, it is served topped with cream.

The operation of the shop is simple: There is a large kadahi that is constantly simmering over a small flame of fire. The kadahi is filled with many litres of milk. After much simmering, the milk turns a bit brown, and has a layer of cream over it. Whenever a customer asks for a glass of milk, the appropriate quantity of milk is put into a glass (along with some sugar). Finally, the glass is topped with a layer of cream from the kadahi. In some "farms", some condiments such as crushed cardamom is added to give it a special flavor.