Hotel Shreyas, Apte Road.

Hotel Shreyas is celebrating their 51st Anniversary!

Maharashtrian cuisine has something for everyone. A Marathi Manoos will always prefer Vada Pav over Burger. And the most popular snack after Vada Pav is Misal Pav. Maharashtrian cuisine is full of flavors and spices and covers a wide range from extremely mild to very spicy dishes.

And we were lucky enough to have witnessed their Maharashtrian Food Festival, where we tried the regional delicacies, right from Konkan to Kolhapur to Khandesh.

So we tried alot of items. The thali consists of Kolhapuri Misal, Pandhara Rassa, Kokani Kolache Pohe, Ukadiche Modak, Khandeshi Vange Bharit, Shevechi Bhaji, Varhadi Gola Bhaat along with unlimited Panchpakwana.

So we were welcomed with

1. Kokam Sharbat – Kokum Sharbat is a summer coolant drink. This drink also aids digestion and improves appetite.

2. Kolache Pohe – I love Kolache Pohe. Now what exactly is Kolache Pohe? Flattened rice cooked in coconut milk, jaggery, ghee and finished with cumin and topped with papad churi. Must try.

3. Misal Pav – Quintessentially from Pune. Misal is a water based curried preparation of cooked sprouted lentils and is topped with finely chopped onions and farsaan (mixture).Punekars like their Misal to be extremely spicy but this one was medium spicy. Just the way I like it.

4. Pithla Bhakri – Pithla Bhakri is rural food of Maharashtra, the staple food amongst the farmers and village folk. Pithla is prepared from gram flour and bhakri, a bread made from either ‘Jowar’ or ‘Bajra’, both of which are cereals. Their Pithla is so good. Reminded me of Maa ke Hath ka khana ❤

5. Vange Bharit – Vange Bharit is known as stuffed eggplant. Eggplant lends itself to being stuffed in a variety of ways. And talking about the stuffing, it can be anything from coarsely ground peanuts to grated coconuts along with a variety of spices.

6. Pandhara Rassa – I’ve had non vegetarian pandhara rassa but this time I tried a vegetarian version of Pandhara Rassa. And what is the hype all about? Well, Pandhara Rassa is generally made from chicken broth but this one was interesting. Since this is a vegetarian version, it is made from yogurt, coconut and onions. A must try item.

7. Gola Bhaat – Bhaat means rice. Okay, so this was the first time ever I saw and tried Gola bhaat. Steamed rice tossed with carom seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander powder, red chilli powder. And ‘Gola’ are these tiny balls made from gram flour. Interesting!!