The Western Routes: Culinary Tourism

How Mango-Mad Are You?

by Shruti Karkhedkar

Ratnagiri - A land of virgin beaches, cozy and welcoming home-stays, delicious sea food and yes a land of well known Ratnagiri Alphonso (Hapus) Mangoes. Having said that, it is a given that one would click on the ‘Going’ button immediately when a ‘Mango Tasting Tour to Ratnagiri’ is announced. The three day trip from the 16 to 18 May 2014 was organized by The Western Routes, a Pune-based travel company to Ganeshgule, a small village in the Ratnagiri district.

Freshly cut Hapus Mangoes | Photo: Medha Sahasrabudhe

Day 1

We started at 6 am from Pune all packed for a long weekend by the beach. The journey was rather enjoyable and very scenic, particularly after Karad city from where we left the NH-4 and took the smaller village roads. The recent sporadic drizzle had started painting the forests of the Western Ghats with different hues of green which contrasted with the bright blue summer skies and called for a snapshot by every twist and turn round the Ghats. The six hour drive had increased our craving for the much awaited mango meal by a zillion times.

When we reached the home-stay, were welcomed by Mithil Pitre our host at Ganeshgule. Mithil welcomed us with glasses of cold Panha; a sweet and refreshing drink made with raw mangoes. Mithil runs a home-stay by the beach at Ganeshgule called 'Oceano Pearl’. Our welcome was followed by a wholesome mango meal with unlimited Aamras (fresh mango pulp), plates full of freshly cut mangoes and the regular Maharashtrian thali delicacies – sol kadhi, bhakri, amti and koshimbir.

After lunch and some rest, we visited the Ganeshgule Ganpati temple. The Ganeshgule temple is about 400 years old and is one of the few south-facing temples in India. One of the villagers at the temple narrated a folklore of Lord Ganesha shifting to Ganpatipule from Ganeshgule after the water stopped surging from his navel!

Once back at the home-stay the next inevitable thing to do was to head to the beach which is literally a hop, skip and a jump away from the home-stay. The Ganeshgule beach is not known to many and hence the feeling of solace adds to the beauty of this white sand beach. We spent rest of the evening taking photographs of the sunset, swimming in the sea and walking by the sea shore. The thoughts of more mangoes awaiting us at the dinner table lured us back to the home-stay.

Ganeshgule Beach | Photo: Raphael Baumann

Ganeshgule Beach | Photo: Jayesh Paranjape

Ganeshgule Beach | Photo: Shruti Karkhedkar

Time-lapse video of the sunset at Ganeshgule beach by Raphael Baumann

Day 2

We started the day with a sabudana khichadi breakfast. Sightseeing was the agenda for the day and Aare-Ware beach our first pit-stop. The Aare and Ware beaches lie next to one another and are separated by a hill. We stopped at a turning on this hill to admire the scenic horizon over the two beaches. Some strategically located shacks served us kokum sarbat, tender coconut water and bhel with loads of kairee (raw mango) pieces.

We then headed to the Ganpatipule temple which is one the most visited and most revered temples in Maharashtra. Needless to say hoards of worshippers awaited their turn to be blessed by the deity. We decided to skip this and take a few clicks of the temple instead. Although constructed recently this red and white structure is aesthetically very appealing unlike many of the modern temple structures.

Ganpatipule Temple | Photo: Raphael Baumann

A trip to Konkan is incomplete without sea-food. On recommendation by a lot of people we had our lunch at Hotel Amantran in Ratnagiri. The lunch was perfect with its crunchy prawn tawa fry, perfectly cooked pomfret fry and a mouth watering surmai. We ended the meal with a rather generous helping of amrakhand (Srikhand with mango pulp). Visit to the Thibaw Palace came next. The palace was used for keeping Thibaw Min, the last king of Burma (now Myanmar) under house arrest. The palace is now used as museum and a number of artifacts excavated from the Konkan region are on display here.

Surmai Fry Thali

Thibaw Palace | Photo: Raphael Baumann

Our next destination was Purnagad Fort which is said to be the last fort constructed by Shivaji Maharaj, hence the name Purna (Stop) Gad (Fort). At the foot of the Purnagad fort is a rocky sea side and there wasn’t a better way of calling it a day than by sitting on the rocks and getting wet by the splashing sea waves.

Purnagad Fort | Photo: Vidyuth Singh

Purnagad Beach | Photo: Raphael Baumann

Day 3

The day started with a session of making sand castles by the beach followed by a breakfast of ambolis (pancakes made from rice flour) with coconut chutney. We followed this with a fun session of mango picking at a nearby orchard in Ganeshgule. We got to select ready-to-pick mangoes and then use an ingenious and traditional technique to pick the mangoes.

Mango Picking at Ganeshgule | Photo: Raphael Baumann

Finally with a heavy heart we said bye to our hosts. But we made sure that we bought loads of ‘food’ souvenirs. The perfect spot to do this was at the Deshmukh household in Pawas village who have a small unit where mango and jackfruit pulp is canned. They also sell high quality Alphonso mangoes which are exported across the globe. The advantage of buying Alphonso mangoes directly at the source is that they are almost three times cheaper than in Pune or Mumbai.

We bought mangoes enough to last us this season and with alphonso sweet memories headed back home!

More details about the Mango Picking & Tasting Tour for 2015 is on their Facebook page or on the event page here

This travel story first appeared in the Mumbai edition of Mid-Day in May 2014. Read the full story here

Food Trailing in Pune

Text: Jayesh Paranjape | Photos: Vidyuth Singh

Pune, like any other budding cosmopolitan has a large and ever growing food community! Like everything else, Pune and Punekars take pride in the food they eat and serve. Those who swear by innumerable gastronomical delights peppering the city, claim the spirit of any place is defined by the age-old, lesser known food joints which are generally missed out by conventional city guides.

We list 12 food joints in Pune city which have shaped Pune’s food culture over the years. When in Pune, eat like the Punekars do!

1. ShriKrishna Bhuvan

Located in one of the by-lanes of Tulshibaug and established in 1941, Shrikrishna Bhuvan serves one of the best Misal in Pune. At Shrikrishna, you get the typical Puneri misal served in the form of pohe (flattened rice) and potato bhaaji covered with shev and raw onions, served along with two slices of bread and a spicy ‘tarri’ (Curry made from onions, grated coconut and tomatoes) or more famously known as ‘sample’. One can ask for a ‘sample’ in varying forms of spice. Shrikrishna takes pride in serving ONLY misal through the day.

2. Royal Bakery & Confectionery

Started by S. A. Irani in the early 1900’s, Royal Bakery & Confectionery is located on the M.G. Road in the cantonment area of Pune. One of the oldest bakeries in Pune, Royal has a long list of customers and loyalists who make sure that the cakes and breads are off the counter by afternoon! The most famous item on the menu is the milk bread known as Milko-Vita along with the soft cupcakes and the wine and pistachio biscuits.

3. The Place, Touché The Sizzler

In 1963, Firoz Erani conceptualized a way to keep meats hot till the last bite and so he created The Sizzler, a quaint garden restaurant in the old Exclesior Cinema in Mumbai. In 1967 Erani’s son Shahrookh who had trained and worked with him started a restaurant called ‘Touché’ in Breach Candy, Mumbai which served ‘sizzlers’. In 1971 after moving to Pune, he continued his father’s legacy by opening The Place, Touché The Sizzler. Four decades later, The Place continues to be the ultimate sizzler joint for residents of Pune and Mumbai too.

4. Vaishali

In 1949, at the age of 13, Jagannath Shetty came to Pune from Karnataka and worked with his uncle for a few years. Then in 1951, he opened his own place Café Madras (present day Hotel Roopali) and then the Madras Health Home which later came to be known as Vaishali Restaurant in the 1960s. Located on the Fergusson College Road, Vaishali in those days was a tiny restaurant which served piping hot Udupi food and became particularly famous among youngsters from the many colleges in the area. Today Vaishali is one of the most popular restaurants in Pune and a favourite among young and old alike. Whenever you pass by FC Road, an aroma of Sambar literally draws you towards this place!

5. Cold Drink House

The Cold Drink House is probably the first place in Pune to serve doodh cold drink or ice-cream cold drink in Pune (Now popularly known as Mastani). Tucked away in a by-lane near Mandai, the cold drink house is run by the Gujar family and has been in operation 1923. Once you enter the shop, you are transported back to that era, thanks to the paintings, old photographs and advertisements for Kokam Sarbat and Brahmi Oil. They serve the Bajirao Mastani which is delicious, but their Mango Mastani is one of the best in Pune.

6. Garden Vada Pav

Started in 1972 by Kashinath Naiku and his mother Parvati, the Garden Vada Pav Centre has been serving yummy wada pav for over 40 years and three generations. Started as a hand-driven cart opposite the JJ Garden off M. G. Road, this place is hard to miss thanks to the hungry crowd surrounding the stall throughout the day! The vada preparation happens at the newly acquired premises nearby and the hot wadas are carried manually to the cart. The wada pav is served with raw onion, chura and pickled lemons. Voted as the best place to have Wada-Pav in Pune by food-bloggers and TripAdvisor, this place finds mention in a lot of guidebooks and food guides about Pune.

7. Vaidya Upahar Gruha

Vaidya Upahar Gruha was started in 1912 by Raghunath Ramchandra Vaidya who had migrated to Pune from the Konkan region. It was started near the bustling Phadke Haud Chowk in Raviwar Peth, at a time when not many Maharashtrians ventured into the food business. Over the 100 years, the ownership has stayed within the family and currently the place is run by Deepak Joshi, Vaidya’s great-grandson. The timings of the eatery were set by Joshi’s grandmother Sushila in 1960 as she had to look after the house along with the restaurant. The ‘Saturday off’ rule has been in operation since inception, to make sure that the staff is happy and can work in a better frame of mind!

8. Café Goodluck

In 1935, Hussain Ali Yakshi started Good Luck Café after he acquired the premises from one Narayan Seth. Good Luck is one the oldest Irani places in Pune and now one of the last few left in the city. Since the inception of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in 1965, Good Luck has been popular with the students who used to frequent the café, where one samosa with one chaai and a cigarette would cost one rupee. The café is famous for its various egg preparations along with the Baked Beans on toast, Bun Maska & Irani Chai. The café also served a range of sweet dishes which include the caramel custard, bread pudding and the fruit funny.

9. Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale

Following his father’s successful dairy business in Sangli, Raghunathrao (Bhausaheb) Chitale established Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale in 1950 in Pune, Maharashtra. Operations began from a shop on the Bajirao Road in the heart of the city, which is still in existence. Eventually, one more principal outlet was opened at Deccan Gymkhana. After years of two operational branches, Chitale ventured across the city in the form of ten franchise outlets making the products accessible to a wider audience. Chitale generates a profound recall value for its Bakarwadi, a crisp and spicy Maharashtrian snack which sells at an average of 3000 kg everyday!

10. Dorabjee & Sons

Dorabjee & Sons Restaurant was started by Dorabjee Sorabjee in 1878 with an aim to create a homely eatery which serves food that he enjoyed eating. He made sure that the portions are generous and affordable, so that his cosmopolitan friends could eat here and go away satisfied. 120 years later, Darius Dorabjee, the fourth generation descendant of Sorabjee, still honours this tradition. With specials like mutton & chicken dhansak with brown rice, patrani machhi, sali chicken and the chicken farcha, this place serves the best Parsi food in the city. Dorabjee is one of the very few places in Pune which serves the locally made cold drink – Ardeshir, which was established in 1884!

11. Marz-o-rin

Marz-o-rin was founded by Sheriar Sheriyarji in 1965 with only four items on the menu. Housed in a heritage building over 100 years old, today Marz-o-rin has over 150 items on the menu and is one of the most popular locations in Pune. Marz-O-Rin loyalists come from far and wide just to eat the chutney, vegetable, chicken and cheese sandwiches. The menu changes with time and now it includes a lot of healthy options like low fat sauce, tofu, brown bread and salads.

12. Blue Nile

Blue Nile was started around 40 years back by Haji Ali Akbar Mashallah and is housed in a beautiful heritage building opposite Poona Club. Blue Nile is synonymous with Biryani in Pune and their loyal customers throng this place to get a taste of their favourite mutton and chicken biryani. Apart from Biryani, Blue Nile also serves Irani food items like Chicken and Mutton Chelo Kabab with Buttered Rice.

The Western Routes conducts Food Walks in the old city to give travelers an authentic taste of Pune. Here are the details

www.thewesternroutes.com/punefoodtrails
www.facebook.com/punefoodtrails

The Pune Food Trails are now the #1 Activity to do in Pune according to TripAdvisor. Click here to read the reviews!

The Western Routes

Friday, 13 March 2015

Mango Picking & Tasting in Ratnagiri