Farasaan Bhel at Kalyan Bhel

Weekend snacking at Kalyan Bhel on Canal road outlet. Farasaan Bhel is their specialty & comes in huge quantity. Kurmure, which is usually very prominent ingredient, is not at all felt in this Bhel. Farasaan, peanuts and other ingredients like onion, coriander are bound together with mixed sauces/Chutney - the key ingredient & trade secret of this Bhel.

Place can be easily found on usually calm road connecting Prabhat road and Law College road. One can see lot of youngsters crowding around a small footpath outlet & crowd spilling over the road especially on weekend evenings. They offer many other chat items and Bhel variations. Even the Malai Kulfi is good desert after Farasaan Bhel meal!

Prabha Sabudana Vada

Though it is a fast special, Sabudana Vada is also otherwise enjoyed Maharashtrian dish. Made diligently at hotel Prabha in the heart of Pune city. Small eatery opposite Kesari Wada (Tilak Wada) at Narayan Peth. Started as a small time family business by lady named Paranjape with capital of Rs9/- ONLY! It draws good amount of crowd for Vada (Potato Vada & Sabudana Vada). Potato Vada, being a staple food, is served by every corner eateries. Sabudana Vada is a sticky business, for most of others who have not mastered this art...
Vada here is big, a plate with two is meal. Though stout, it is thoroughly cooked (fried) without getting burnt. Taste is good, bit more spicey and crispy. I enjoyed this delicacy at Prabha while monsoon was pouring outside, it was awesome! One flip side, as you can see below, is " It is not served with any fingure licking chutney :-("
A Puneri Pati for the conclusion: Sunday closed!grrr...

Nachos & Momos

Tried this at City Pride, Kothrud. It’s a small outlet started in few multiplexes in Pune serving Nachos with cheese and Momos. Nachos are very Desi, have some masala variation instead of plain Nachos usually served with cheese. These Nachos are served with cheese by side (not on top) and Salsa sauce.  Momos are spicy veg dumplings served with very hot sauce/chutney.  Wikipedia  tells me that Momos are native to Tibet & Nepal. I have not tasted authentic Momos of Nepal but these are bit spicy especially with the sauce served.

Salient point is availability of such different munching food while watching a movie. As such Nachos are not very commonly available in Pune (I wonder why? I think they deserve better than burgers & pizzas). Little Italy in Pune serves good Nachos, but as a starters before mail course meal. There is no Taco Bell yet  in Pune :(

Daal Baati

I do not think I ate Daal Baati at enough places to comment on this dish with authority. However, this Daal Baati drew me there couple of times in spite of the place being over crowed and not as great food to motivate myself driving down 15kms even on the weekend.

The place is Hotel Village in Amanora township, Hadapsar.  Its buffet with all kinds of food stalls. Daal Baati is classic Baati socked in desi Ghee. The helper crushes the Baati in a steel bowl pouring warm Daal and couple of spoonful of desi Ghee over it. Sprinkle some Churma over it & taste is awesome! It’s funny to see this counter placed between Zunka Bhakar counter at one side and Hakka noodle-Manchurian counter on other side with 1 attendant for all 3! But then I was very focused with my goal & had emptied 9-10 bowls of Daal Baati. 

Bedekar Misal

After writing about few Misals around, I ought to write about this one. Has been pride of downtown Pune for few decades now. I can’t wait in long queue especially on holiday mornings here, take away is preferred (queue is smaller!) and parcel is given at backdoor. Location is Mujabacha Bol, Narayan Peth, Pune. Location link below will help you. It is very near to Ranka Jeweler shop on Laxmi road.

Out of Misals I have written about, I feel this one is richer in terms of number of ingredients.  It has mixture of pulses, potato subzi, roasted rice flakes, Sev, onion & coriander as a base. Curry added on top (Tarri) has very unique hot & sweet taste. Tarri also have pieces of pumpkin. This bit is unique (can also be seen as odd) I met few people who don’t like this missal as there is a trace of sweet taste. It is different and I like it! Misal is not a sweet curry for sure but bearable hot so one can enjoy taste of ingredients.  I feel the variety comes together well to make it popular Puneri Misal.

Mamledar Misal Thane

First out of Pune eatery post. Happened to be in Thane today morning & went to Mamledar for breakfast, well known Misal eatery in Thane.

Basic ingredients include peas, farsaan, some matki, & rice flakes chiwada. Tarri is thick, oily & hot, perhaps too hot against the "medium" type that I ordered. I associate hotness with two typical body reactions that I observe during eating: sweat droplets on side of the face and humming sound in the ear. This Misal has potential for both! Yet it is tasty and taste is not just hot. Recommended as a pilgrimage during Thane visit.

Peshawari Paratha

Chaitanya is quite a Paratha place!  Very popular in students. I know they have one outlet on FC road and another one on Paud road. Being near, I usually visit the one on Paud road, at the basement of Geetai shopping mall. Checkout the location link below for map.

This Paratha is huge, as in picture, covers the whole meal size Tahli. Makes a full meal at very reasonable price. Though Alu Paratha is signature Paratha, Peshawari is its variation while keeping the Alu as base and added few vegetables, cheese, served with bowl of curd.  Stuffing is quite thick, adds to the quantity. Overall excellent Paratha experience.

Special Pohe

It is interesting to know (and taste) different recipes made from Pohe! Regular Pohe (phodaniche), Dahi Pohe, Sev Pohe, Dadape Pohe (Oppressed Pohe would be too bad translation) pohe chiwada (stir fried), Peas/Onion/Potato Pohe (ingredient based categories),etc,etc... Last week I read about Lavlele Pohe (Set Pohe) being famous somewhere – I think Belgaon. But here in Pune, Karve Nagar, I tasted one more type last weekend!

It is Dadape style – but not Dadape – Pohe, they called it special phoe. It comes from a small, family run, snack center called Rajas at Karve Nagar, Near City Pride cinema, Kothrud. Checkout the location link below for map. They serve few other traditional snacks but this item is their specialty.

Pohe is not fried (oil less), wet and red in color. Has raw onions and tomatoes. Cheese garnishing is the only item that probably comes in a way to call it healthy pohe.  Served in leaf bowl, it has got different taste, bit more hotter side. Certainly makes good chatak matak evening snack.

Cheese Chili Toast

I ate many different things under this name at different restaurants. In fact, I was served with cheese sandwich (!) at one place. Many times it is not listed on menu card, probably seen as pretty ordinary, non skilled item. BUT, here is the one from 24 Carat (Ajinya) at Sharada Center, off Karve Road & it is awesome! Ajinkya is drink-after-work place for IT guys around (TechM, Persistent, etc). It goes without saying that Cheese Chili Toast had been favorite chakana on Friday evenings.

Amount of cheese and chili is perfect. Basic bread pieces, topped with cheese and grounded chili, left in oven for a while to let cheese melt over the bread. As bread gets toasted, nice layer of melted cheese forms over. Looks very simple but yet I have had such tasty Cheese Chili Toast only at couple of places & Ajinkya comes first.

Ramnath Misal

Sunday morning brunch was Ramnath Misal. I believe this is not as well known as Katakir, Bedekar (Pending for this blog – some other time). Location is Tilak road, few meters ahead in the same line of Durvankur.  Place is like any average Amrutatulya, crowded on Sunday morning hence take away was preferred option.

This Misal has proper Phohyacha Chiwada as prominent ingredient, to the extent that you can taste dried coconut, Dalya in Misal! In addition they got pohe in it. Tarri has good presence of peas like Ragda of Ragda Pattiece. Comes in medium hot and tez hotness.  Taste is different; one may or may not appreciate as much as Katakir/Sri-krishna. Served with bread slices – I think most of Misals in Pune comes with bread slices instead of bun breads. They also served onion pakodas – of the size of Potato Wada and I saw many people having it there. But I personally did not find it as good to recommend. Main objective is Misal and stick to it!

Faaso’s wraps

These wraps are good anytime except for breakfast (my theory). One wrap can be a quick snack, two or more would make a meal. Lot of such wraps are around these days with different names (Frankie, kathi role, etc, etc).  Inside wrap would be mostly kebabs or desi (actually Panjabi) subzi.  I like Tikka warps from  Faasos’s . Chicken and Paneer, both are equally good. Fresh, juicy but not too much spice with Tikkas. And the actual wrap (roti) is too good. It does not turn into a rubber even if you eat after some time, the tenderness stays!

Basic wrap is Veg Salad warp with Mayo and is my favorite! It reminds me 7 layer burrito from Taco Bell! Off course, this is better version. The butter roti, vegetables and mayo just comes together beautifully – and yes, I guess this is the cheaper one as well. Some good things comes cheaper than some not so good things.

This outlet, one of Faaso’s chain,  is near Karsihma housing society, couple of shops after Pizza Hut while going towards city pride from Karve road.

Biryani @ Vanaz Corner, Paud Road

This Biryani is not from any restaurant or an eatery.  A family brings home made Biryani for sale outside Venkey’s chicken shop at Vanaz corner, Paud road. You can find a fruit juice stall next to it. Place could be hard to find as it is nothing more than couple of containers on a small table. Only available in evening 6pm to 7:30pm or so! I had heard about this from one of my friend & tried to find it earlier without any success. But today when I was walking past it, I casually located it & the confirmed with the crowd standing around small table. Yes – being a street foodie, I do keep my eyes and nose open while strolling around.

So – the Biryani – amazing! In my opinion one of the best I have had so far & probably the best I have had in Pune. (I really loved one from a famous outlet near Chaar Minar Hydrabaad, forgot the name). I tried Chicken and Veg from this place. Chicken is awesome, nicely layered, chicken cooked to the perfection (don’t need a knife to separate it out from bones) with all aroma rich rice. Veg one was little oily, mainly the vegetables. But test was good - after all fat tests good.

The shopkeeper lady told me – they don’t get Biryani on Monday & Thursday! Don’t go there looking for one on those days. They also seem to bring other kinds, like mutton, etc. For sure, Saturday is Chicken + Veg!

Pesara Pappu @ SouthIndies

My lunch today was full of authentic south Indian spices @ SouthIndies, university road, next to Pune Central mall. Claim is all the 4 south Indian states have representation on your plate. With whatever little knowledge I have about south Indian food, my guess is, inclination is more towards Andhra food , like Briyani, Hydarabadi Paratha, Gongura pickle & few Pappus!  (Daal cum Curry cum Soup? - pardon my insanity) All those Pappus had very different and delicious taste. My favorite today was Pesara Pappu.

It was served as a soup. Made up of green moong (Split lentils), thin but very smooth & rich taste, one can easily gulp, 2-3 bowl full. I did two & half.  Overall excellent buffet experience at very reasonable cost! One more item worth mentioning was starters - mouth watering small wada (balls), boiled & garnished potatos and onion bajji with coconut chutney. Highly recommended - looking to visit again!

Shri-Krishna Misal

Sunday morning Misal again! This time Shri Krishna Misal @ Tulsi Baug corner towards Mandai. Have heard about this in past from couple of friends. Very small place, easy to miss unless you are determined eater. One way to find it is look for some crowd outside the small shop.
As you can see, base dish is mixture of fried rice flakes (too much translation of Pohyacha Chiwada!), potato subzi, sev, onions. Could not find any trace of Pulses (Usal). The other red bowl is called "sample" (Tarri or Rassa). It is not as hot as as it looks. Has some amount of Tomato in that & gives dash of curry flavour to the whole Misal. I would recommend you to ask for another half 'hot' sample and mix a spoon or two full  in your Misal - result is fantastic! I heard some people go for just "sample" with bread slices - without the base dish. After enjoying the spicy stuff - go for a glass of buttermilk  - its a necessary ritual.

Katakir Misal

Morning breakfast was Katakir Misal. Famous joint on Karve road opposite Garware College for so called Kolhapuri Misal, I guess only because it is hot, But I could not 'taste' any connection between Katakir & Kolhapour's famous Phadtare Misala or Bawadyachi Misal.

Basic ingredient of Misal is suppose to be pulses!  When there is Usal (Pulses) preparation at home, people like us sometime add some sev & curd in it to call it Misal! I could barely found any pulse in Katakir Misal, mainly made up of Farsan, Potato Subji and the special Tarri (hot,oily & Spicy boiled water having all sorts of Masala, onion and oil in it). I think Tarri is the killer here, rest can be easily copied by you & me (no distrust to your cooking skills).

So overall hot experience, pretty crowded in morning, place is small as Misal place is suppose to be! Yes - no matter how famous the misal is or how much money vendor is making, the eatery has to be small & dingy. Show me, famous misla joint with good eating hall & I will buy you that Misal. Small, again small, exception is Vihar Misla at Nasik since he changed from earlier Shyamsundar...I will write sometime about it.

Paneer Archaari Kebab

Hotel Abhishek at Erandwane is not unknown to Puneiets, especially, in western region. There are plenty of good dishes & deserts, crowded on weekends, favourite spot for lunch with office colleagues or ladies kitty parties. The one particular dish I don't miss  every time I go there is Paneer Achaari Kebab, fresh and tender paneer marinated with mouth watering 'achaar' masala. The barbecued combination of achaar & paneer is terrific!

Kebabs or Tandoor dishes would not be expected to be a speciality of pure veg 'generalist' restaurants like Abhishek who serves almost every regional dish like South Indian, Punjabi, Chinese, Pizza, Burgers, Misal, everything! But there are few good exceptions & I would rate this dish as good as Kebabs in likes of BBQ Nation, Sigrees or Kebab factory at Radisson.

Matki Bhel

Today evening visited nice Bhel eatery at nearby locality. Thought of sharing a verbose byte...

This Bhel join is near Kothrud Gaonthan. Come straight from Karve Statue, Y Chavan theater and on DP road a right at small circle (Badhai sweets and Vedant hotel corner). Few meters ahead, the road turns at a video library, the next shop is a Sadanand Bhel. I was greeted by tune of Indian classical m...usic and chef-cum-owner chanting raga while 'cooking' the Bhel with equal passion.

The specialty is Matki Bhel. Matki (Pulses) being healthy food, it is easy to fool your health conscious mind while treating the test buds. The test is amazing. It starts as traditional "farsan" rich bhel, but as you dig your spoon deeper in the bowl , you will start enjoying nice blend of matki with khajur and Imali sauce. Those who enjoy classical music, it’s a double treat, otherwise just focus on the food. Garnishing of Sev and Dhaniya is done wholeheartedly. The place is clean, serving is large enough to skip the dinner if you had a good lunch in afternoon.

Junglee Idli

Today I tickled my test buds with Junglee Idli from Steamy Affair. This is a chain specialized in different types of non conventional Idlis, Dosa, etc. Have outlets in many part of Pune by now. I know the ones in Erandawane & Karve road (near Karishma So. Signal)
As you can see the picture, it looks like marinated Tandoor dish, socked in lots of MASALA. Just when you bite enough, you realize it is not a Kebab. Garnishing is Onion & Pepper.
I know lot’s of such inventions have come and gone for Idli & Dosas. Most of them did not survive for long but some dishes came out well. I consider Junglee as one of it. Good side dish for a mid week boring dinner!

Chandrakala

Yes, I do have a sweet tooth. Sunday afternoon sweet dish was Chandrakala!...and I am still talking about the food. I found this out in one of the Kaka Halwai sweet shop. This time thought of picking up a non regular item from the showcase. Regular aka: Shreekhand, Basundi, Gulab Jamun, etc…
Similar to Maharashtrian sweet dish “Chirota” or “sweet Puri” , it’s shell is layered and seems to be made up of sugi+wheat flour combination. Socked in sugar syrup after the deep fry. Improvisation over Chirota is the stuffed Mawa inside, making it sweet bomb. A good afternoon nap follows. (No, not those healthy power naps, but rather a long one

Shegaon Kachori

I don’t know how many of you have been to Shegaon. It is famous for two reasons; a pilgrimage for great saint Shree Gajanan Maharaj and another is the Kachori that they sell at Shegaon railway station. They have a Bhatti (big stove of bricks) in a room below pedestrian bridge at the station. Usually express trains stops there only for few minutes for pilgrims & you can see numerous Kachori boys ...flocking the train with packs of 4-5 hot fresh kachoris.
The test is quite unique; it’s formula worth patenting (if not done already!). It is smaller than usual oval Kachoris, almost like stuffed Puri. The ‘Maal’ inside is really ‘Kamaal’. Primary ingredient is Gram flour.
I did not go to Shegaon in last 2 years and part of the reason is I could get this formula Kachori now in Pune! While coming from JM road towards Deccan, cross the Bus Stand (opposite to KFC) and turn left before the bridge. Few meters down the road, you will see this shop on your right. Big banners of “Shegaon Station Kachori” will greet you. The guy does not stock much, most of the time, freshly makes with every new lot of customers. The test is quite same. I heard some of the original station guys spread in cities like Pune, Nasik and started their own business with the recipe they mastered over the years. The one in Nasik is just after HPT/RYK College on the college road. At least, it was there last year. Try it – its different & has to be eaten hot fresh – not as Kachori Chaat

Bun Butter Omelet

Sunday Morning breakfast @ Café Good luck, Deccan! One of the few Iranian restaurants still surviving. The specialty is BIG bun and wholehearted spread of butter (yes, from that tin dabba). I have seen they don’t use butter knife, that is too stingy, but instead they use big spoon to take out the butter (read ‘calories’) and splash it into the cut opened Bun. Egg Omelet is crispy and goes well as a stuffing. Good coffee subsequently is a sound finish. Now thinking of skipping the lunch…

Patties from Santosh Bakery

This is not as famous as Kayani, Hindustan, Green, Pune, etc, etc. Santosh Bakery is a small- one shop bakery known for its Patties. Crispy layering and fresh potato subji baked to the perfection. Does not have glass show case or a modern cake shop outfit. Your shopping does not involve microwaving rituals. Hot patties from Bhatti comes out in a aluminum tray straight ...to you.
Placed at the end of Apte road towards Kirloskar Bungalow or near Papa John’s pizza. One of my Punekar relative who studied at Modern college says nostalgically that they would wait to see the chimney smoke near kirloskar bungalow every afternoon only to know that it is time to bunk the boring lecture & have some patties at Satosh!

Sangamner Pohe

 

This time on the way to Nasik, took a deliberate food stop at Sangamner avoiding usual food malls like Daulat or Vithal Kamat. The place I tried is "Athavan Pohe" @ Sangamner, celebrated in one of the "Highway on My Plate" travel & living TV episode, famous for its Pohe. The dish itself it very basic, not very spicy or oily, there is dash of raw onion & bit of sev. Tests like mix of traditional Po...he and "Dadape" pohe, may be because of raw onions. The combination comes together & overall experience is good.

It is maintained like any other small town ST Bus stand side restaurant. But I saw quite a bit of crowd even afternoon. I would not eat there given the ambiance (afternoon bazar, roadfront tables and ST buses hovering around with lot of dust!) But I recommend take away…By the Way…Happy New Year

Undhiyu

This gujarati subzi dish, typically made in winter, was my Sunday lunch special today. You don’t get this at too many places in its traditional form. The place I know is Sagar sweets, beside petro pump on Karve road. Yes, the petrol pump near signal of Abhinav Chouk.
As it looks, subzi is too healthy (that is why I choose Sunday afternoon for a good nap later!). Basic ingredient is “Wal-papadi” which is available in this season. Also have good presence of other vegetables like pumpkin, green peas, small brinjals, etc. And the ‘masala’ does not kill vegetables like common Punjabi curry dishes.
Undhiyu is available from November to January. The shop keeper tells me that he gets the papadi wal especially from Surat. He further adds (may be some exaggeration, I feel), traditionally it would have 3 times more oil compared to what I ate today, but people are turning health conscious & in this region he can’t sell anything with that kind of oil in it