brings to me a flood of fond food memories, first. But I have to mention (atleast in passing ;) ) that the friends & tons of activities we managed to indulge with a generous sprinkling of travel, are cherished too. Of course, with me doing the talking..rather..writing, how can food not take a priority. Here are my top picks from Pune through my years there. Each time I go back, I manage to cover at least two on my favorite list.
- Arthur's Theme, Malaka Spice and German Bakery
- Marz-o-Rin - Their Zoom Sauce & Mayo are simply to die for with an unmatchable taste.
- Zamu's were good at some point, I don't know now
- Vaishali - even the water here is special for me :), and Vadeshwar in more recent times
- Manmeet - their chaats are tops, hygiene...who cares
- Dabeli wala outside Fergusson main gate
- IMDR canteen (in the Fergusson College campus) - Double Special chai and street style Chinese food
- Batata Vada wala near the rear gates of the college campus
- More Batata Vada walas in various parts of town
- La Pizzeria - I guess they are now owner of a Little Italy franchise, but it was a favorite haunt for the family about...a decade back(wow ! time does fly)
- Then there is/was a little hole in the wall shop near an old old house on Fergusson College road that sold the most awesome samosas & patties. I need to find out if they still are around !
- The rolls at Olympia - largely non-vegetarian but the vegetarian is fine, pretty nice
- Sujata Mastanis - they serve superb milkshakes with every possible combination of fruits & dry fruit. You need to go on an empty stomach, have loads of love for all things fruity.
- The multiple teashops - Amrutatulyas near Laxmi Road and another one memorable for me was opposite college
- Garden Court atop a little hill in Chandni Chowk for the food and scenery on a rainy day
- Fried ice cream - that we tried the first time ever in Panchshil
- More recently I found East Street Cafe, Flags to be nice
- Sigree, Bombay Brasserie on Dhole Patil Road
- Thai & other asian food in Magnolia in Aundh, my backyard
- Thousand Oaks, Sarjaa, Smokin' Joes from long ago
- Nandu's parathas
- Ramakrishna next to our school
- Kayani's biscuits & cake are a must buy every visit
- Shreyas, Shabri(unsure about how they spell it) and Mayur for their thaalis
- Dorabjees for their assortment of delicious goodies
- For sabudana khichdi it was Appa's near Deccan Gymkhana (I owe my pals for taking me here). For more on Appa, check out http://www.punelifestyle.com/appa_canteen.htm
- Shiv Sagar, Kamat, 4 Seasons on the Aurora Towers top floor, Mirchi Kola at some point though briefly, were other haunts.
- I remember all the little bakeries - Copper Chocs for their rum balls, Monginis for their savories, Baker's Basket for their cake
- Budhani wafers (exclusively for their potato chips)
- Then the numerous fancier places that we started frequenting later with great food but with no significant firsts or any memories attached.
I know I could go on & on with this list endlessly.
Pune for me goes beyond this list. Its about the culture, the architecture, its fantastic people and so much more. To me Pune epitomizes a lifelong celebration of life and a city of simple delights that anyone can cherish.
I so badly want a bite of Pune...NOW!
Simply delicious and very simple too. This is a lovely eggless cake recipe that my mum has been experimenting with since we were little kids. Till date this is the best homemade cake I've ever had. Here is your chance to test your baking skills even without requiring to bake. Yes...this is a 5 minute microwave recipe for a no bake yummy cake !
Ingredients:
1 cup of refined flour
1/2 cup of butter/vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsps of baking powder
6 tbsps of cocoa
1 tsp of vanilla essence
1/2 tin of condensed milk
1/2 cup of milk
2 tbsps sugar if the condensed milk is sweetened or 6 - 8 tbsps if unsweetened( smaller quantities of natural sugar substitutes are also good here for the calorie conscious)
Method:
Sift the cocoa, flour and baking powder. Beat the butter/oil with the sugar till fluffy. Add the condensed milk, milk and vanilla and beat well. Gently fold in the flour mixture to this. Grease a medium sized microwaveable cake dish and pour this mixture. Microwave on high for 4 to 5 minutes and test with a knife so it comes out clean. Note that the cake rises quickly and pretty high so use a deep dish.
Once done set aside to cool, cut 'em up and dig in !!
My favorite serving suggestion is a generous slice of this cake/any chocolate cake is with some vanilla icecream topped with raspberry sauce.
PS: Will upload a snap in this space soon. I had to capture this while mum was around :)
The Doc & I had our usual long days. While I sat pondering on the usual "what do we have for dinner ?" question, the Doc expressed his craving for "Boombai Chutney".
Doc: I feel like eating "Boombai Chutney"!
Wife: Errrr "Booo...." what?
Doc: Well...my mum makes it and its delicious, I feel like eating it with rotis.
Wife: Okay...lets call your mum and ask her how its done.
We made the one last phone call of the day(while I am about to faint from my hunger pangs...), the ingredients are called out she spoke of the basic seasoning and the word besan*....Thats when it occurred to me that it was nothing but "Pithla" !! Jeepers...the mysterious "Boombai Chutney" is "Pithla". This is a very basic, humble but very tasty concoction prepared in Maharashtra. After having lived in Pune for 10+ years...surely the Pithla has not escaped the ever craving foodie in me! Pithla is typically had with bhakris** all over the state of Maharashtra, I relish it with rotis while hubby likes a more liquid consistency with pooris, its pretty simple and makes for a nice quick meal. You could skip the rotis/pooris and stick to some rice or bread. So here I am with a first truly official post on my recipe.
Total Cooking Time: Between 10 & 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1/2 to a 3/4 cup of Gram Flour/Besan*
1 large Onion - finely chopped
2 or 3 small sized fresh tomatoes cut into cubes
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Cumin Seeds
3/4 tsp Coriander Powder (I ran out of fresh coriander/cilantro and used this as a substitute. Roast some coriander seeds and grind it to a fine powder, I just pick a box off the shelf from the local grocers.)
1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
2 medium/long green chillies split lengthwise in two (you could add more per your taste)
Some Curry Leaves
1/4 to 1/2 tsp Asafoetida (powder)
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
Some water & a little vegetable oil ( 1 tsp should do)
Method:
Preheat a pan on medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes and roast the gram flour until you smell the aroma and the sort of raw smell of the flour is gone. A couple of minutes on a heated pan should do. Remove and set aside. Add enough water to this to get a free flowing paste without lumps.
Add a teaspoon of oil in the pan and heat it a little. Add the mustard seeds. As they start to splutter, add the cumin, curry leaves and green chillies till its just about done spluttering(don't let the curry leaver/green chillies turn brown). Add the ginger-garlic paste, the powdered coriander seed & asafoetida and stir a bit. Add the chopped onion and saute until the onion and the smell of raw garlic fades away. Add the turmeric and the paste prepared earlier.
Stir constantly on medium heat until the mixture starts to thicken and little bubbles start to appear and burst on the surface( you could add a little water while stirring if it turns too thick). Take off from heat, garnish with freshly chopped coriander/curry leaves and serve hot with rice, rotis, pooris, bread or bhakri.
*Besan - Roasted gram flour
**Bhakri - Flat bread made of millet/sorghum/maize flour
Phulka and Pithla meal for 2
The much relished first mango of the season !!
