The Foodie's Guide to Pune

I know I have not been updating this blog lately-was busy with examinations (the last exam of my LIFE! Yippeee!!) and then was away on a much-enjoyed vacation. As a result, this blog has suffered.
But not any more!
I just got back from Pune and it is a foodie’s HEAVEN. Unlike Mumbai, where restaurants are really crowded only on weekends, in Pune, every single restaurant is overflowing with people every single day. Plus there are shops selling snacks like wafers and the like which ALSO sell fresh-from-the-fryer goodies like matarchya karanjya (green pea dumplings), batate wade (spiced potato croquettes), sabudanyachi khichadi (a Maharashtrian delicacy, just cant translate into English) and more….. I wonder if Puneites bother to cook at home at all!
In recent years Pune has undergone a metamorphosis – from being an academic centre with small-town charm, with green, leafy lanes, old bungalows and an unabashedly Marathi feel it has gone to being a sprawling metropolis with all the traps of a modern city – flyovers, thousands of smoke-spewing cars, international chain stores, malls – you name it.
Of course, there are advantages of this – you can now scarf down some fried chicken a la KFC or some pizza (Pizza Hut, Dominoes), buy your Nikes/Reeboks/designer wear without a trip to Mumbai. But gone is the ‘Puneri’ feel of small stores often tended to by gruff and rude store owners, the (in)famous ‘Puneri Patya’ (signboards) outside/inside shops which had nitpicking, mean instructions to pedestrians/shoppers, and the Marathi feel of the whole place.
In all fairness, some parts of Pune do retain their original culture – the old city across the river, for instance, and some parts of the (now-) hip shopping-and-eating-out-area of Deccan Gymkhana. But new districts like Aundha, Baner, Koregaon Park are all a tribute to metropolism.
Coming back to food, luckily, the influx of international (read US) fast food hasn’t diluted the stronghold of Marathi food in Pune. You can get amazing Maharashtrian food in Pune – way better than any other city in the state. And the variety is to die for! I can go on and on about the epicurean delights that Pune offers, but to keep things concise, I have compiled a list of must-eat and must-shop delicacies when in Pune. I haven’t bothered to include all the Greek/Thai/Chinese/American (is there such a cuisine at all?) joints in the city – I believe that when in Pune, one must sample the USP of the city, which is authentic and yummy Maharashtrain food (With a few notable exceptions). After all, all your international stuff is readily available in Mumbai (or any other metro). But Marathi food sure isn’t found everywhere.

Must-Eat:
1. The thali at Krishna Dining Hall (there are several ‘dining halls’ of repute in Pune, but this is my favourite).
This place on Law College Road serves a set meal of piping-hot and tasty Maharashtrian food – but is not afraid to experiment with the cuisine, with delicious results.



2. Appachi khichadi
Fabulous sabudanyachi khichadi (a savoury dish made of sago and patotao), served with a sweet yoghurt-and-cucumber koshimbir (salad). I don’t know who ‘Appa’ is, but his shack (yes it is that) serves up an amazing sabudanyachi khichadi thrice a week – Mondays, Thusdays and Saturdays. The kind that Ajji made.

3. Joshi Misal (Tulshi Baag)
Misal is a jumble of spiced lentils, crunchy fried chivda and poatatoes and onions.
This place sevres not the eye-wateringly spicy Kolhapuri version, but a milder one suited to the palate of Puneri Brahmins. :P

4. Kolhapuri dishes at PurePur Kolhapur
This restaurant has 2 outlets, one at Kothrud and the other at Peru Gate. Authentic, spicy Kolhapuri curries.

5. The Gavraan thali at Mathura (J. M. Road)
A set meal of ‘gavraan’ (village/country cuisine) dishes

6. Jhunka Bhakar at Shabri (F.C. Road)
Traditional Marathi-heartland fare comprising bhakari (thick roti-like bread made of jowar/bajra) and jhunka (tasty, toasted chickpea flour paste)

7. Parathas at Chaitanya Parathas (F. C. Road)
Authentic and delicious Punjabi parathas at extremely affordable prices (Rs 45-55 per HUGE paratha). Served with a generous dollop of butter and refreshing mint chutney. Also on offer – other Punjabi dishes like daal makhani, bharta, rajma etc and soothing lassis.

8. SPDP at Wadeshwar
SPDP stands for Shev Puri-Dahi Puri. This chaat dish is better known as Dahi Batata Puri, but Puneites like to call it SPDP, for some reason. Wadeshwar also serves nice appe, mini idlis and Set Dosas which you wont get easily at other South Indian restaurants

9. Chicken Roll at Marz-o-rin (M.G. Road, Pune Camp)

10. Chana Bhatura at Mona Foods (M.G. Road, Pune Camp)
Too yummy for words, botht eh above dishes, and consistently good, over the decades!

I know several Puneites will gnash their teeth when (rather, if) they read this post – since I have skipped their beloved restaurant-duo of Vaishali/Rupali and the famous Puneri Mastani.
But face it guys- Vaishali is more hype than good food and Mastani is just milkshake with icecream.

Must-shop:
1. Bakarwadi at Chitales
Chitale is a Pune institution with several branches (and stockists) around the city. The bakarwadi (a fried savoury snack) is their signature product. Also yummy are their chivdas, the malai barfi and their fresh snacks like matar karanji. They also stock melt-on-the tongue, sweet, crisp chirote (made elsewhere)

2. Shrewsbury biscuits and plain/Mawa cakes at Kayani Bakery (East Street, Pune Camp)
This family-owned bakery used to be notorious for their stubbornly limited production of biscuits and cakes (which would be sold out by noon) They have bowed to public pressure, though, and now churn out consistently delicious cakes and melt-in-the-mouth Shrewsbury biscuits all day long.

3. Potato Wafers/Potato Sali (sticks) at Budhani Wafers (M.G. Road, Pune Camp)

4. Chirote from Bedekar Misal (Sadashiv Peth)
A chirota (pl: Chirote) is a million-layered puff of fried dough (creamy white, despite the frying) dusted with snow-like castor sugar. Heaven in a bite.

There are MANY more eateries and shops which boast of delights I havent even started sampling yet, so the list is definitely NOT exhaustive! But it certainly is a good palce to start. J

The King of Fruits is here!

It’s the season of mangoes. The King of Fruits visits us just for 2 months, but oh, these 2 months!
If the mango is the king of fruits, then the king of all mangoes is the Alphonso. (Hapus in Marathi). This is entirely my personal opinion and though there might be other variants like Langda and Dashehri and Ratna, for me its only Hapus.
Mangoes can be relished in myriad ways-
-The fruit, as-is (cubed, segmented or whole (yes!!))
-In the form of Aamras – the pulp+juice of a mango (actually, several mangoes) – a fragrant puree to dip your chapati (or if you’re lucky, your puri) into
-Cubed, with vanilla icecream on the side
-In mango sheera (mango-flavoured semolina halwa, rich with raisins and almonds)
-Cold mango milkshake – a great start to a summer day
-In Aamrakhand – mango-flavoured shrikhand (hung curd mixed through with mango puree and sugar)
-And finally, the SUBLIME mango cream.

I am not a true mango fan(atic) like a lot of my friends and family. I do not long for April to come. I don’t despair when I hear news of the mango blooms being swept away by winter storms. (A routine bit of news every December, to hike up the anticipation) My ears don’t prick up at the sound of the mango seller’s call – “Payari - Hapuuuuuuuuus!!”

But yes, I do enjoy a good mango, with its glowing orangey-yellow colour, luscious sweetness and heavenly fragrance. I simply tolerate aamras (much to the shocked horror of my Aamras-loving extended family) but love having the fruit as-is – whole. Wearing old clothes (or a bib!) is a must when gorging on mangoes in this fashion – the juices WILL trickle down your chin and leave permanent tell-tale yellow stains. It is also recommended that you are alone (or with your nearest and dearest ones who have seen you at your worst) when you eat mangoes so – it is quite a sight to see a mango being WOLFED DOWN whole.

But when you do sit down to it, eating a mango whole is delightful. First, the smooth skin needs to be peeled (or is it pulled away?) by the teeth. Then a moment to sit back and ogle the treasure you’ve uncovered - the glorious orange hue, the mind-swooning scent. Then after a moment of reverie, you start feasting on the glistening nuggets of sweet, succulent flesh – and don’t stop until you reach the seed at the centre. Even then, you don’t stop – you just change strategies and nibble on the seed for every last scrap of deliciousness. Deep, deep pleasure! (a la Nigella!)

I DO enjoy the more civilized forms of the mango (all except the aamras!) but of them all, mango cream has a special place in my food-loving heart (or is it tummy?)



This ethereal dessert is the marriage of bite-sized cubes of scented mango, heavy cream and just the teensiest bit of sugar. Just mix the lot and chill. And then enjoy every single delectable mouthful!

Store Review: Godrej Nature's Basket

Today saw me going to the Nature's Basket store (http://www.godrejagrovet.com/) near the Mahalaxmi Temple for a quick peek while Ma shopped at the Nallis next door.

And was I impressed! The range of products available is mind-boggling. From fresh snacks (like pies, cakes, sandwiches etc)to cold cuts to cheeses to fresh produce, the store is a treasure trove of epicurean delights.

Among the more elusive stuff, I spotted the Bonne Maman range of jams and preserves (Rs 285 a jar), small logs of chevre (goat's cheese) (Rs 325 a log), smoked cheese, baked hams, avocados, vanilla pods (in hermetically sealed test-tubes!) (Rs 185 for 3 pods), harissa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harissa) , truffle oil, and my favourite wasabi peas (sadly not as strong and pungent as the ones I had bought at Rakhangi Stores at Worli) (Rs 100 for 170 gm)

Awesome place to shop for exotic foods (no need to do any food shopping aborad any more!) - if you have the money, of course.

Godrej Nature's Basket
Tirupati Apartments, Bhulabhai Desai Road,
Opposite Mahalaxmi Temple, Mumbai, Maharastra
Tel: 022 - 39595959

Tadgolas!

'Tis summer here and the heat is sweltering. Sultry, humid, opressive weather which brings on rivulets of glistening sweat....
But Nature has her own cures and remedies. Come the heat waves of April, and a variety of juciy, cooling fruits make their presence felt in the markets - watermelons, grapes - and tadgolas.

Tadgola (pl: Tadgole) is the Marathi word for the fruit (edible seeds) of the toddy palm (Borassus flabellifer). The tree is pretty, and has fan shaped leaves:

The fruit is a marvel of Nature. Found in clusters of large, glossy green-and-black diamond shaped nuts, the inside of each husk has 3 jelly-like fruits, each with its own thin, rubbery peachy-brown skin.

Peeling this skin off needs nimble fingers and patience! But the result is worth it! Inside nestles clear, transparent, jelly-like flesh which is juicy and sweet and delightfully refreshing. Kind of like a super-sized litchee, without the pit (What can be better?!)

The flesh is hollow with a large-ish cavity - which, if you pick the fruit at the right time is filled with nectar-like juice!
Thank you, Mother Nature, for bestowing us with such jewels from your bounty when we most need them.

Sugar and cream, and desserts of dreams

I have been nibbling (ok, ok, feasting!) on desserts this week. What bliss!

First up was chocolate cheesecake. Baked at home, by yours truly. :)
As exams come clser and closer, all my creative instincts flare up - be it culinary or literary or musical. And I cook, write, sing rather than study.(Anything than studying!)

So 2 days before the finals, I got down our old, temperamental oven ("temperature controls - what are they?")from the loft and set out all the ingredients for Nigella Lawson's chocolate cheesecake. [There was a tub of labneh (Turkish/Lebanese cream cheese) lying in the fridge ever since I bought it on the Qatar trip waiting to be used. Ditto a pack of semisweet chocolate chips. But lets leave that for now]

So after a bit of subsitution in the recipe (What are graham crackers?!), I shoved the pan with the cheesecake batter into the oven. And nearly had a heart attack!
The oven, which had, under protest, heated up for the pre-heating, now gave up. The heating coils were a depressing, cold grey rather than luminescent orange. Despair clutched at my heart (and I clutched the table edge)What ws I to do with a panfull of uncooked chcolatey, eggy, creamy batter?!!

But the tide turned - Lady luck deigned to smile - and after a bit of tinkering by Dad, the oven toed the line. Whew! But this harrowing experience had me all jittery till the cheesecake was done, covered with chocolate sauce, garnished with cream and pushed into the fridge.

Luckily, my nervous sytem is directly linked to my tummy, and so just a bite of the thick, rich chocolatey cheesecake was enough to soothe my ruffled nerves. :)
Thank god for "comfort" food.