foodmall on expressway

FOODMALL ON EXPRESSWAY

It's been 15 years since the mumbai pune expressway became functional. The daily vehicle traffic then was 15k grown now to over a lakh vehicles.

In 2002 the Foodmall was a great halt for traffic from Mumbai thane. It was the first of its kind in maharashtra and the mall was a challenge to large scale catering, catering to different classes, catering to different taste and top it all catering to daily 10000 cars/ buses.

It was like a small food town planned with food stalls serving maharashtrian, southindian, punjabi, chinese meals n snacks, along with stalls of chaat, sandwich burger, dhokla…... u name it and that item was available. Beverages hot n cold, prepared and packaged were available. There were shops for chikki to chocolate, paan and tobacco.

The magnitude of malls operation then has changed 3 fold. In 2004 just to give insight in operations read the following data -

Cars 15000, private buses 110, ST buses 300

Food cooked - batatwada 8000pc, misal 200kg, idly- wada 9000pc, samosa 5000, other foods approx 300kg, tea 20000 cups, water bottles 6000 etc

Travellers visiting toilets 25000. The average time taken to serve food (self service) from buying coupon to being served was 12 minutes….a neat competition to MNC food chains

All this managed by a team 120 staff round the clock.

To cope up with increasing crowd, Foodtrack was opened in 2004 for exclusive use of car travellers. This had a food court and AC restaurant.

Being on main connecting route of mumbai pune many VIPs made a halt, celebrities of film prem chopra, ashok saraf, sadashiv amrapurkar, TV crews, TV stars to name few were regulars.

From 2002 till date the quality is still maintained though hygiene standards have lowered. Even the grooming and smile of food counter service boy is missing.

I still recommend both these spots for halt on expressway and yes it takes a maximum of 20 minutes to have your snack and get in car back….still a stiff competition to MNC food chains.

Enjoy the batatawada, misal, kanda bhajiya, idly dosa, samosa, kothimbirwadi, chole bhature...all are yummy and not oily.

decreasing trend of home cooking

Decreasing trend of home cooking

There was a time going out to eat used to be an occasion for the family or friends group. Today it’s a necessity for working people and essential for careers oriented for networking. The role of a housewife 👩 has not decreased but from cooking the focus is shifting to children education, extra curriculam activities, chats on mobile thereby leaving them drained by end of day.

The eating out trend is catching on due to numerous choices in food outlets, from junk food to restaurants to fine diners. The brands, international and local are churning out foods with quality and variety. The availability of food courts in Shopping Malls has made it easier to source food & beverage as per individual choice at one place....groups and families find it convenient.

The food habits due to these have changed drastically from home food to fast food to junk food to fine diners & lounges. The extra spendable income with couples working, families having more earning members, credit cards use habit that allows spending without having moolah in pocket !!

The younger generation of housewives are not very adept at home cooking and not really interested in daily chores of cooking. The mothers of mother-in-laws too are becoming flexible (or given up ?) towards this genxt daughters and daughter-in-laws, not forcing the cooking routine on them. Still there are en number of households upholding the tradition of cooking & eating at home irrespective of the changes around. We love home food BUT the times have changed are changing fast.

The traditional home cooking still happens but the experiments are taking a back seat as foods are easily available, though there is a whole lot of experimenting housewife chefs at home toiling to make their family happy through the stomach. Very contradicting.

The eating out class is increasing and the number of time the food eaten outside is more and that’s the impacting “Eating at Home”.

Home delivery of all types of food has made it convenient for a member of family to order what he likes if the home food is not to his liking. For occasions, one can order food & beverage at the click of a button and avoid all the hassle of cooking. Now with Recipe Food Packet ‘cook you own food’ types are in market giving housewives chance to experiment without having skills, different cuisines at lower cost and also avoid the routine home food.

The ready to serve or eat foods available off the shelf have added to the reduction of home cooking....open packet, heat, serve and eat in 5 minutes. The brands like ITC, Parampara and Vadila’s Quick Treat make great food (curries,snacks, Indian breads) so why not take a break from home cooking and give rest to the most precious member of the family....your mother or wife or daughter-in-law ?

The decreasing trend in home cooking is not healthy though. We are exposed to junk food, oily foods, cheese n pastas etc. Calories go for a toss, sometimes hygiene is compromised with street food, freshness could be a problem for digestive system. In today’s trend one needs to balance the food habits, exercise regularly and stay away from junk food. You can splurge on junk-fashion foods with a calculated eating out sessions in a month.

Home food is nutritious, hygienic, made with love and care. That’s the reason people do miss Home Food time and again. The decreasing trend in home cooking is sad but one cant burden the lady of the house with household duty and career targets. The males 🙏 need to chip in more in the household duties if they want Home Food otherwise this decreasing trend of home cooking will continue and Home Cooking will remain a Nostalgia for many !! 💑

Kolhapur Turns A New Leaf in Hospitality

Kolhapur Turns A New Leaf in Hospitality

Kolhapur, a heritage city best known for its Mahalakshmi Mandir has a constant flow of pilgrims from all over India. The city has Shahuji Maharaj Palace which is a museum too. Rankala Talav a beautiful lake supplying water to Kolhapur.

A large MIDC area is on outskirts of kolhapur and this has the traders - business community coming to Kolhapur.

Kolhapur has no dearth of hotels but inspite of this new hotels are still mushrooming .......Some typical, some boring, some half hearted.

Hotel 3 Leaves, a hospitality unit started by a young hotel graduate reflects the enthusiasm in its brightly colored corridors, young staff, fresh menu with Indian and Global cuisine.

 The 3 categories of rooms spell comfort.

 The Conference Hall is equipped with the AV aides. 

The terrace party venue is one of largest in the city.

An ideal combination for a hotel in location, ambiance and cuisine is 3 Leaves. The names of the Food outlets make you think of the theme...... Mango Leaf Global Diner, Red Door all day lounge, Marigold Banquets.

It's on a soft launch mode currently, so go make the most of attractive offers. 🙌

DIWALI AND ITS DELICACIES....HOME MADE -3

DIWALI AND ITS DELICACIES....HOME MADE -3

One of the Diwali delicacy icon....even depicted on cracker boxes to show "chakri", is a recipe which will make your head go round n round while making and also if it does not turn out good. That’s CHAKLI....a fried savoury made from mix of rice, pulses and spices. The roasting style gives it the name Bhajani Chakli.

This chakli can be made in different combinations like -

Roasted rice pulses and spices

Only Rice butter and mild spices

Rice besan and methi

Rice pulses spices and butter.

Chakli is also called "Murrukku" in south, "Chakri" in gujarat.

It is best eaten as a snack all round the year, but Diwali time it tastes different. Yes, don’t believe ? Try this Diwali and experience the spicy, crispy Chakli.

Recipe (courtesy Madhavi Mane)

Kolam rice – 500gm

Gram Dal (chana dal) – 125gm

Moong Dal – 50gm

Urid dal white – 50gm

Corriander Seeds dhania whole) – 50gm

Cumin (jeera) – 50gm

Sesame seeds white (til)- 25gm

Chilly powder – 25gm

Salt – as per taste (25gm)

R.Oil for mixing – 50ml

R.oil for frying – 500ml

Preparation

Wash and dry rice. Roast all other ingredients (dals, spices). Once rice is dry, roast it for 10minutes till it changes color. Grind all ingredients together.

Make a dough by adding warm oil, mix properly. Add warm water for making dough. The dough should be soft enough to press through the Chakli dye.

Brush the dough with oil, and make small portions to fit in the dye. Press the dye handle while making circular motion to make a perfect Chakli (use butter paper to for putting chakli rounds). Heat oil, leave one by one chakli rounds and fry till dark golden brown. Remove on paper to soak excess oil. Do not put in tin/container till completely cooled.

On the first day of Diwali, after having bath with scented herbal powder “Uttana” and the nostalgic MOTI Chandan soap, a traditional way of morning breakfast will consist of Chakli, Besan Ladoo, Coconut Karanji, Sev, Anarse. Yummy it is !😋😋

Enjoy a Bright Noiseless Diwali.

DIWALI AND ITS DELICACIES....HOME MADE - 2

DIWALI AND ITS DELICACIES....HOME MADE - 2

#diwalihomemadefaral

The fast world, the fast food, fast cars....the world is whizzing past and the women are not left behind. Juggling with their careers, their family, their hobbies the way only women can do. To make their Diwali Faraal a little less tedious here is a recipe that will be made in a jiffy....just 20 minutes.

A Zatpat Besan Ladoo (gramdal flour sweet balls with cardamom flavour), recipe especially for the working women of today.

Ingredients: 250gm besan (gramdal flour), 50gm powdered sugar, 50gm pure ghee, elaichi powder (cardamom) 1gm, raisins 20gm.

Method: Heat 2 teaspoon ghee and roast the besan till it slightly changes color. Add the powdered sugar& elaichi powder and mix well. Heat the remaining ghee and add to the besan mixture. Mix well. Roll into small balls (ladoo) and decorate each ball (ladoo)with raisins.

Most healthy for snack and filling too. Dont worry about calories in Diwali. Happy Laddooing. 

(recipe courtesy madhavi sthalekar)

GRAND MOM’S RECIPE DOWN THE GENERATIONS 👪

GRAND MOM’S RECIPE DOWN THE GENERATIONS  👪

My khandaan (family) has been women power centric as the ration of male to female was 1:5. The ladies of the house, over the generations, have been great cooks loving to do their skills and feeding with great care n love to the family and the males were & still are foodies (khavaiiyaas). With the exception of me, who being in hospitality trade knows to cook and of course as per the khandaani tradition loves to eat different foods.

Over 20 sisters who have imbibed the cooking skills from thier mom’s and grandmom’s are being of great help in my quest for blogging on traditional Maharashtrian dishes with recipes passed down the generations. This festive season of Diwali, post my Diwali Delicacies Homemade blog and after receiving requests to provide some recipes so that some attempt can be made at home to make the “FARAAL”. I will try to be different in approach to mithais and will also provide ‘Mithai with a Difference”.

This unique quick “Mithai with a Difference” is Nagpuri Santra Halwa (to term it poetically, Orange Mandarin pulp cooked to a sweet concoction with wheat flour n milk to make a Lava consistency dessert)  

Nagpur, the second capital of Maharashtra is known for its Oranges. The rustic pock marked fruit is in season from February to March. Its juicy and pulpy and is known to be the best Manadarin variety. 

Most of the households have wheat flour, milk, ghee in their kitchen and access to Orange and hence it can be made as a last minute mithai, quickly.

Ingredients – Wheat Atta 500gm, Milk 300ml, Sugar 100gm, 3 Orange pulp, Ghee 50gm, 1pc. Elaichi, 6 each almonds- cashewnuts.

Method – heat ghee in kadhai, add wheat flour and roast till sandy consistency. Keep aside. Boil milk, add sugar/elaichi and reduce 20%, add orange pulp while stirring. Once milk starts curdling, remove from heat. Put on gas flame under the kadhai with wheat flour and start adding the orange milk mixture slowly to make it into thick “lava” or “halwa” consistency. Grease a pan or tray, pour the mixture and spread evenly. Garnish with shredded almond & cashewnut. Rest for 15 minutes. Cut into diamond or rectangle pieces and serve. The Halwa has shelf life of 2 days in refrigerator.

(recipe courtesy Gargee Mane-Raut)

Funny Points To Ponder in Hospitality Industry 😉

Funny Points To Ponder in Hospitality Industry 😉

·         Dry days - good for lazy staff in restaurants...less footfalls.

·    Paryushan (Jain fasting period) - dreaded by cooks as it's a challenge to find right food combination. Dreaded by owners for drop in business.

·         Ganesh festival - absentism of staff and guest too.

·     Navraatri - legal eateries keep open late night but roadside stalls make more business….is BMC listening?

·      Mindspace Area Malad….educated people eating at roadside vendors over gutters/potholed footpaths in most unhygienic conditions. Jago mumbaikar for health sake. 😏🙏

·         On a second note….why is roadside food more tastier ?

·         Guest demands -

1.    Chilly chicken with less chilly.🐔

2.    Kolhapuri veg less spicy

3.    Khana jain hoga, kanda alag lana

4.    Jain schezwan sauce

·         Sex on the beach...cocktail nothing to do with its theme.🍸💕

·         Screwdriver…..no connection to original tool.🍹🍹

·         Remote resorts fear the “jatra or local mela” for it induces mass bunking by staff.

·         Staff in black suits in garden restaurant…..sweating.👤😓

·         Indian ladies in swimming pool 2ft depth with sari n dress.

·         Eternal reply for delayed room service order “your order is on the way sir/ madam”.

·         Common food dish explanation by captain...it is red gravy dish ( why cant they they say it is tomato base or red chilly flavored etcs

·         Sham Savera dish with two gravies (red and green)…..makes you think which gravy is sham & which savera ! 🌗

·         Jain chinese veg fried rice….why not eat peas pulav ?

·         Kala Gora….any guess ? It's popular gulab jamun with vanilla ice cream.

·         Khada Chamacch Chai….tea with extra sugar, you can keep spoon standing. 🍵

·         Why is green salad so called when except lettuce/cucumber all other vegetables are red-orange-white !

·         Common question while taking order without offering menu “kya loge saab”

·         Restaurant staff asking when your mouth is full “how is the food”(Dammit let me eat first).😋

·         Bisleri paani puri…..but what about surrounding hygiene (chowpatty, railway station, handler).

EATERIES TO REMAIN OPEN 24x7

EATERIES TO REMAIN OPEN 24x7......govt to announce policy soon.😋

Wow ! the keeping open of restaurants, bars and shops 24x7 has been debated now for few years and rightly so if one needs to call Mumbai the business & entertainment capital of India. The first thought which come to my mind on this concept is “no rushing to restaurants & bars leaving what you are doing to beat the timeline” or “ chalo ab late raat ko khane ka tension nahii”. There must be whole lot of night birds leaving office late or coming from late night show or just going on a drive now awaiting this new policy  and sharing the same though as mine !

Talking of business, it’s not going to be easy for restaurants & bars to remain open for extended hours due to issues of staff availability, unsure about footfalls, logistics of staff travel etc. But it will surely be an advantage on weekend, holiday season and special international sports events. The challenge would be to re-engineer the menus to suit the night prowlers with their high spirits demanding tit bits to heavy meal. A short menu will sure come into play for some restaurants while some would stick to their regular menus. Bar fridge storage of chilled beverages will increase to cater to late night guzzlers. The meal combos would be one of the option to make a easier choices, restrict dependence of skilled staff at late hours (without compromising quality) for a restaurant manager.

Apart from graded restaurants it is important that small eateries also remain open as they will be the ones making life easier for bachelors & strugglers of the Mumbai Nagari ! Food only restaurant will be required to satisfy the hunger of career focused ‘gen next’  and provide fuel to India’s growth. Swacch India Swasth India 💪

Restaurant guest’s profiles will change, family to more younger generation, late night executives looking for a meal......and on lighter note, pregnant women with husband in tow 💑 to fulfil the late night cravings.  Wifi will be a must. Bars might not change much except that the drinking binge might get extended a little. Mumbai works and binging every night till 4am is not everyone’s glass of.....?

It will be a smorgasbord offer from the government to the Mumbaikars and the Tourist flocking to see Mumbai by night. Hope for the Acche Din !!!!🙌

DIWALI AND ITS DELICACIES....HOME MADE

DIWALI AND ITS DELICACIES....HOME MADE

#diwalihomemadefaral

In this world of instant food, DINK or double income couples not having time, no skills acquired from mom it is the ebbing of traditional delicacies prepared for diwali that has started. All want to celebrate the festival of lights (though nowadays very few oil diyas but plenty of LED Chinese lamps & torans) and also the festival of limitless homemade sweets. BUT HOW ? The essence of festivity... the homemade sweets are eluding the housewife due to lack of time and skills.

As usual the lower middle class has come to the rescue of upper middle & elite who are so busy with concerns of career, money growth, child education, socialisation and above all Mobile apps (to the point of addiction).

In Mumbai the many women’s groups in chawls or certain enterprising women with space take up the task of churning out sweets n savouries with the help of skilled housewives who look out for that extra income. Some of the sites you can get the Maharashtrian Faral are:

Panshikar .com (for traditional faral shop)

Ruchkar.in (group of women preparing faral)

Dnaindia.com (group of women preparing faral)

Amazon & quikr are also into the race now for getting the Faral to your door step.

In this age of google you can browse on net to find the recipes but again who has the time and skill to make them. You can select from the following list for enjoying the diwali Taste and feel at home

Bhajani Chakli

Kadboli 

Anarse 

Poha Chiwda 

Naralchya Karanjia 

Shankarpale   

Besan Ladoo 

Rawa Ladoo

Chirote     

CONFERENCING AT SAJ ON THE MOUNTAIN, MAHABALESHWAR

CONFERENCING AT SAJ ON THE MOUNTAIN, MAHABALESHWAR

#ConferenceSajOnTheMountain

The Saj Hotels flagship resort “Saj On The Mountain” is not very known for conferences and I wondered why? Is it because it is vegetarian? It is a great mis-conception friends.

SAJ = serene awesome joyful   for the families, couples and tourist.

SAJ = savvy attentive joyful for the corporate & trainee.

The conferencing at saj on the mountain in natural surroundings is professional arrangements + attentive staff + joy of fresh air after a tough day. The group activities give an extra feeling of competing when done in open spaces under the sky & sometimes cool mist.

Food is vegetarian and you will not get the varieties Saj On The Mountain has to offer in many resorts, be it traditional Gujarati or Maharashtrian or Punjabi or South Indian. The global food ranging from pastas to salads to thai curries to endless yummy starters will make you forget the non-vegetarian craving. The speciality of the staff is they understand your local diet too... a south Indian is treated to curd rice, a maharashtrian gets to taste masale bhaat & methi pithale while east Indians can gorge on bagare baingan and Bengali mithai and of course the north Indians can always rely on paratha rajmah chawal will be served if you miss your home food.

The set up and service during the conference has been impeccable.

Green House Conference Hall

hot buffet

salad counter

display at night on lawns

food hotels resorts travel: Kolhapur Pune Highway.....Maharshtrian Food Highwa...

LEGACY OF MUMBAI FOOD – 2

The mumbaikars were not known for eating out frequently till
the 1980’s. The choices were limited but at the same time for the gourmands
there were some more avenues to go and gorge on delicacies. Some places not
mentioned in LEGACY OF MUMBAI FOOD- 1 are:

Gaylords restaurant Churchgate
which was the place to be seen for elite and the celebrities. Food was great...Punjabi
and Continental. Ritz Hotel next to Eros had an authentic Italian Restaurant
with impeccable service to top up. Sundance cafe in Eros was all for beer
gulping. Brabourne stadium”s ice cream parlour was a pit stop after dining out.
 Kailash Parbat at colaba was all chaats
n sindhi food, economical and plateful. Bade Miyan behind Taj was more popular
than Tajmahal Hotel amongst die hard kabab lovers. Go towards VT railway station
(now CST) was the Poori Bhaji joint for a stomach full. Chinese upscale restaurants
like Mandarin & Kamling were flocked on weekend by families and weekday
lunches by business & corporate crowd.

Canon Pav Bhaji on junction of VT
and courts was the pioneer in mass catering of pavbhaji in the mid seventies,
though the origin of Pav Bhaji was from Sardar Snacks at Tardeo. OMG ! pav
bhaji has come a long way, still holding to its popularity since then.

Wada Pav (potato pattice with pav
or bread) came into being as a small business for unemployed youth in the 1960’s.
It was & still is the cheapest, tastiest and usually served hot snack all
over Mumbai. From 15paise/piece in 60’s to current Rs.5/- has not kept up with
inflation rate.

Mumbai’s Sion Koliwada, a sikh
dominated area could be smelled for a km and you just drifted toward the aroma
of masala fried fish “Fish Koliwada” synonymus with the place. There were
stalls/ shops serving different varieties of fish, prawns, chicken kabab,
gizzards etc  with a choice of eating on
benches or in the comfort of your car ! Sion’s Guru kripa Samosa is still
revrred for its consistent taste and was the mainstay snack of all cinema hall
canteens (now we call at food counter).

Aaram restaurant chain outlets
dotted the city from kalbadevi, girgaon, chowpatty, mahim serving kathiawadi
vegetarian fare with dhoklas- jalebi- fafda being a very popular breakfast
snack. Elco arcade small stall of pani puri was the place to find housewives,
girls crowding during afternoon to evening time. Elco too has grown leaps and
bound and now is a landmark of Bandra.

One cannot leave out Mysore Cafe
at Matunga for its mindboggling taste, consistency in South Indian dishes and
awesome – refreshing – wakeup call Filter coffee. Rambharose Hindu hotels,
basically Chai (tea) joints dotted the south and central Mumbai areas serving 12
varieties of tea...khada chamach (u could make spoon stand in sugar in the chai
cup) or 100mile ki chai (keeps you awake to drive 100miles) or paani kam chai
(tea with more milk) and so on.

On this “chai” note i too will
take a chai break......see u till next blog. Do post your comments.   

mumbai's food legacy

   

MUMBAI'S FOOD LEGACY
Mumbai food has been around years but has had additions at intervals from traditionally local to locally created dishes to global fused to local taste dishes.

I take off from 1950’s since the time i have understood or remember food. Staying in south Mumbai Girgaon we were at the heart of Mumbai activity then... especially the maharashtrian food & food outlets.

Mumbaikar outlets - The Kulkarni Uphargruh famous for its Batata Bhaji (potato fritters) and a variety of other bhajiyas with awesome lassoon (garlic), green chilly pudina, coconut chilli. Then there was Kelkar Bhuvan with its awesome Misal, a meal itself popular with the traders/vegetable hawkers as well as the middle class of Girgaon.

A stone’s throw away were Panshikar Sweets (sikka nagar, majestic cinema, thakurdwar branches) outlets offering the best Piyush (a drink made from buttermilk & shrikhand), delicious sabudanawada (sago pattice), farali missal and of course mawa mithais. Tambe arogya Bhavan at Dadar also was famous for Piyus, bhajiyas and thalipeeth. Mama Kane’s batatawada was all india favourite. Samant’s outlet was famous for its purity of milk produce, mainly ghee.

Piyush  sabudanawada

Anand Ashram a very non vegetarian household eatery run by a family and open for lunch used to serve fish, mutton, bheja, chicken all maharashtrian style and unbelievable but true....food for lunch used to be over by230pm. Gomantak fish eateries were the popular place for workers for its value for money seafood.....yummie spicy and tangy.

Non Maharshtrian but Mumbaikar outlets -The Parsi Dairy at princess street known for its milk products. Lassi, curd, ice creams were marvellous. Shetty Bhel house at nana chowk served some delicious chaats, Merwan’s bakery at grant road baked tray after trays of cup mawa cakes, Delhi Darbar at Pilla House a place for biryanis & kabab, The orient restaurant at grant road known for its patrani macchli and dhanshak, Cafe Vihar on way to chowpatty served south Indian food so mumbaikar taste, Kapoor Kulfi at chowpatty, Aquarium’s cafe serving Fried Fish a delicacy not forgotten even today by many.

The legacy of mumbai’s food cannot be talked about...umm mean written about in one stir, it needs a lots of explaining. I shall do this in the subsequent series. WATCH OUT FOR THIS SPACE.

.....and many more

Kolhapur Pune Highway.....Maharshtrian Food Highway

Kolhapur Pune highway...maharashtrian food highway part2

September 06, 2017

Kolhapur Pune highway.... Maharashtrian food highway ! Part2
Nice roads and equally nice full bloom monsoon seasonal flowers...yellow, orange, bouganvillia if various shades red purple white lavender quite pleasing drive.

The scene keeps on changing with boards announcing food ready or in marathi 'जेवण तयार आहे'. Almost the menu u can read through a 6 km patch....pithle bhakri, methi pithale, bharli vangi, telatli vangi and for the meat loving travellers mutton thali, chicken thali.

Feeling hungry, halted at vaishali dhaba, simple, clean place always having foodies licking thier fingers enjoying maharashtrian lunch. The besan pithale is awesome with ribbed gourd chutney, bharli vangi though not my favorite i liked the masala, jowar bhakri is a must. Try the chilli thecha if u want extra spice. Wash down the meal with a glass of solkadhi (kokam kadhi). For the dessert try the kharwas made from lacto -milk and jaggery, its delicious.
One more delicacy all must try is Akkha Masoor Bhaaji with chapati or crisp tandoori roti. Guaranteed to linger in mind for long.
Stuffed we move on. Enroute buy some satara kandi pedha (milk jaggery) or the bhadang (spiced puffed rice) or the famous Kailash Bhel (now they have ready to eat packs too.)
Now almost reaching pune, concrete jungle begins, food dhabas vanish, ccd and mcd appear.....end of tradition.

Kolhapur Pune Highway.....Maharashtrian Food Highway !

Kolhapur pune highway...maharashtrian food highway

September 06, 2017

Kolhapur pune highway...a Maharashtrian food highway !

The journey begins in morning with the darshan of mahalakshmi at the heritage mahalakshmi mandir in kolhapur.

While walking down to the car the fresh fragrance of flowers makes the morning more pleasant. Drive down thru the town to famous misal joint to taste the best fiery mix of pulses ground spices coconut garli ginger with the watery gravy topped with farsan, squeeze lime sprinkle chopped onions and you just cant wait to gorge on Misal....the first mouthful and resulting 'thaska' or spice cough is the real test of misal being authentic. Eat with bread to absorb the oil n spice. Its filling and you now get out on road in a bylane to have masala chai (tea)

.

Refreshing cardamom tea will assure you comfortable drive for 100kms.

We move to highway Nh4 lined with snall eateries & restaurants screaming on boards "served here Misal, Kanda Bhaji, Batatawada, Kothimbir wadi,  kurma puri. 

Kothimbir Wadi

Kanda Bhaji

We halt near Karad to taste the local ( 10I'm area only) Kurma Puri.... vegetables in mild spiced watery gravy or rassa as u call in local lingo is yummy, though the puris are oily. Stomachful @ Rs..40. VFM really.
Journey continues further....next part.