VILLAGE - The Soul of India

This place at Raghulella - Kandivali (West) is Buzzing full of Activity and party atmosphere in the typical Desi rural style. The ambiance actually takes you on a rural ride.

I was very impressed to see how they have used innovatively the tea kettles, dabbas (typically the Mumbai dabbawala types), puppets, lanterns, dandiyas, garba pots, cycle wheels etc...to create the rural look. 

They have created vidaymandir (school), daak ghar (post office), talkies (movie theater), vivaha mandal (marriage bureau), cycle rickshaw, auto rickshaw, truck, a well, trees etc...In short it like a Gaav ka Mela..... (Caution, as i have heard stories of people getting lost in gaav ka mela..lols).

 

You cannot miss out on the half truck, right at the entrance greeting you and tempts you to ride on it. 

And a typical Munimji sitting with his cash box collecting money for the entry. Infact the entire staff is seen dressed in traditional Gujarati / Rajasthani attire.

I have been here twice and both the times we ended up having food almost after one hour of dilly dallying our time in the restaurant by mingling around with the gola wala, the bangle wali, the mehendi wali, astrologer, chai wala, at the chana, imli, raw mango, star fruit and guava etc...counter, being a noisy bunch of spectators to the garba and dandiya going on.  

Suddenly there were some folk dances and folk songs being sung which we enjoyed whilst moving a leg or two with the performers. The energetic folk song and dance was followed by the string puppet show. 

You can also indulge in pottery wherein the potter dressed in a traditional attire teaches you the art of making your own pots for a nominal price.

So we spent most of our time in all such super exciting rural activities and only when our stomachs started growling we actually headed for the food counters. 

The spread consists of 4-5 types of farsaan, 3-4 types of khakaras, live chaat counters, spread of salad, live dosa counter, 3-4 veggies (dry and gravy), live tava counter, paav bhaji, khichdi-kadi, khichu, rajasthani dal bati, 3-4 types of churma, papad-gatte ki sabzi, dal pakawan, chinese rice, gravy and noodles. Desserts had icecreams, kheer, gulab jamuns, moong dal halwa, rasgulla, gajar halwa & a live jalebi counter. 

 

We started off digging into the Chaat counter with pani puri first. The pani puri was unique as they had 5-5 different flavoured paani like kachi kairi, jeera, orange, hing (asafoetida) in addition to the conventional paani. One other not so common chaat was the paapdi chaat which tickled our taste buds with its burst of flavours & texture. After having quick bites of other chaats we were too stuffed to start main course immediately & so indulged in some more village activities to kindle the hunger within.

Paani Puri Counter

Jeera and Orange Paani

Kachi Kairi and Hing Paani

  

Live Chaat Counter

Farsaan

 

Live Jalebi

From top: Jalebi, Moong Dal Halwa, Gulab Jamun, Rasgulla, Gajar Halwa

To digest all that huge spread of food they also have chaas; in addition to the activities like garba and dandiya J.

Chaas

Food out here is pretty decent and nothing very exotic. They do have this Unlimited Massive Menu for a fixed price. But quality wise and taste wise its strictly average.

Overall the ambiance is very festive and feel good kinda but if one concentrates on the quality of food by overshadowing all the distractions its becomes apparent that the food by and large is very Standard in taste.

I should mention this is an ideal spot for impressing the non mumbaites or specifically firnagee friends to go gaga over the fancy entertainment with a splash of tradition bundled together in a nice rustic village dining package.

“Innovative Bangalore” My Culinary Journey

‘Bangalore’ always gets me into full spirit. It makes me nostalgic and takes me back to my childhood. I remember, no sooner did we get our summer vacation, than our bags were packed and we headed to Ammamma’s (means Nani) house – Bangalore. Me & my brother would be super excited to visit Ammamma and Aajyo (means Nana). For us the visit was nothing but fun, getting pampered, playing with my little cousins, lots of love & traditional yummy home cooked food by my Ammammas and Mamis. During all our previous visits to Bangalore exploring street food or restaurant was never on our agenda as the traditional varieties of dishes at home were so yummy and tempting that they out-competed our cravings for outside food!!!

Over a period of time, as we grew up so did my little cousins. And just like other adolescents, they too started exploring new age food trend. This time, my visit to Bangalore included a new dimension in comparison to all my previous ones as my cousins decided to take me on a street food culinary ride.

Our first stop-over was at a bakery near my Ammamma’s house ‘Sri Venkateshwar Bakery’ at Subramanya Nagar. This bakery was started in 1962, and according to the locals they have maintained their standard and quality since then. I was told that all their items are made in pure ghee. Their popular items are masala buns, aloo buns, cakes, pastries (known as cold cake), egg puffs, chicken puffs and veg puffs.

Sir Venkateshwar Bakery and their products

I noticed many people were taking egg puffs as parcels. However, I was in a mood to try their veg puffs. The outer crust of the puff was perfectly crisp and flaky. Each layer was so distinct, that one could actually count the number of layers. With every bite you would hear and feel the crispness. Inside, the filling was flavorful and perfectly moist. One could feel the crunchiness of onion and semi-soft blend of vegetable. The filling in the pastry was sufficient enough to make the puffs wholesome.

Veg Puffs

I noticed there were varieties of cookies at the display counter that aroused my curiosity. Upon enquiring I was informed that they have coconut cookies, cashew nut cookies, butter cookies, dry fruit cookies and the most unusual Chilly cookies. I remember my mom making chilly cookies (my favorite) during my school days, so I bought them instantly. The other cookies I opted for were coconut, butter and cashew nut cookies. Every cookie was distinct in its flavor, coconut cookies had the freshness of coconut making it irresistible to stop just at one!! On the other hand cashew nut cookies were nutty and rich in flavor with small pieces of cashew in every bite. The butter cookies was smooth, buttery as the name suggest and just melted in the mouth. The best one was the chilly cookies, as it took me down the memory lane of my school days. For those who like to be little more adventurous, my recommendation is to try the chilly cookies.

Clockwise Top Left: Chilly Cookies, Coconut Cookies, Butter Cookies and Cashew nut Cookies

Whenever you visit any Iyengar bakery, you cannot miss out on their famous Milk Bread as this unique bread is available only in Iyengar Bakeries. ‘Sri Venkateshwar Bakery’ is also an Iyengar bakery, so how could I forget the world famous Milk Bread. This bread is so delicious with its mild sweet and sour taste, that it can be devoured with plain butter and you are in Seventh Heaven!!! 

Milk Bread

After this, was time for chaat, something you could nibble on anytime. According to my cousins Sai Ram’s Chaats at Malleshwaram serve some very unique and unusual chaats. If you are for some innovative, out-of-the-box chaat, then this place is worth a shot. They have nearly 100 varieties of the most extraordinary chaats with their unique names, which you might not have heard or tasted before. There are chaats like Disco Chaat, Hong Kong Chaat, Sai Ram’s Special Chaat, Congress Masala, Kiss Masala, Crazy Chaat, Ting-Tong Chaat, Student Special, Chip Masala, Gad-Bud Chaat, Time Pass Chaat, Bhel Nippat Cutlet, Kodbale Masala, Bun Masala, Bun Congress with cheese, Bun Corn Chaat, Bun Nippat with Puff, Pani Puri and Floating Pani Puri the list goes on…

As we were almost full with the cookies, puffs, & pastries; unfortunately we couldn’t do justice to chaat and went only for Bun Corn Chaat and Chip Masala. I must say they were exceptionally exquisite, something I have never tasted before in Mumbai at least. I recommend for all the chaat lovers, that this place is a must-try. In the end don’t forget to ask for pani (similar to how we Mumbaikars ask for sukha puri) and they will serve puri floating in mild spicy and sour pani in a small bowl. 

Clockwise Bottom Left: Bun Corn Chaat, Chip Masala and Pani

I always thought Mumbai and Delhi are pioneer of Chaat, but Bangalore has now taken Chaat to a different level. Try once & you will always ask for more…

Now on my next visit to Bangalore, I would definitely treat my taste buds with more varieties of chaats at Sai Ram's Chaat.