Food Friday | Tasting charm and tradition in Mahabaleshwar’s old-world eateries

Food Friday talks about some hidden gems in the country, some forgotten cuisines and some simple food with a twist. So, if you are a foodie and you relish what’s on your plate. This is the space to look out for. Summer, to most Mumbaikars, is a trip into the winding mountains that lead to Mahabaleshwar . It’s a different world once you ascend the Pasarni Ghat and take those quick bends in the road, with the lush greenery, scent of mountain air and serenity soon making you leave all thoughts of the city, behind. This is the hill station that conjures happy faces tucking into strawberries and cream, sweet mulberries, freshly-made corn tikkis and hot bhutta, slathered with masala and butter! But there’s also much more to this hill station that was once the summer capital of the Bombay Presidency during British Raj. A few family-run establishments here that go back several generations, serving food with a delightful, charm. Drop in, sit down and savour all that over an unhurried chat, as I did… Imperial Stores If you enter the Mahabaleshwar market through the Chowk end, the brick-walled Imperial Stores comes right up at the start. ‘French Fries’ says the sign simply, but there’s more than that. It houses a chemist, wine shop and a café called Country Corner. ‘How old is the eatery?’ you wonder and affable owner Zavare lrani laughs, ‘How old? We have stopped counting!” The café has a slice of history to it, too as it goes back to olden times when they supplied provisions to the British Army. Reveals Zavare, “We were contractors for the East India Company and my great grandfather, Sorabji, would supply rations to the British garrison - meat, fish, vegetables and more. They were stationed at what is now the MTDC Mahabaleshwar. This place was nothing fancy then, it was like a godown; it’s totally changed now.” [caption id=“attachment_10711041” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Zavare Irani at Imperial Stores[/caption] The cafe still has a lovely seating area. A brightly lit-wall with framed art and signs, including one for jazz legend Louis Armstrong (Zavare has a penchant for jazz) also advertises pizzas, burgers and shakes. He says, “Earlier, we only had nimbu pani or chai; sandwiches were considered too sophisticated then. You can still get the keema-pao, cutlets and bun maska. Of course, for today’s generation, we started fast food like burgers and pizzas.” Like most establishments, the pandemic must have affected their working, as this is a tourist-dependent place, but he says, “Pandemic slowdown? I was a happy man in that time! Our place turned into a chemist store and villagers would leave their homes early and walk up all the way for medicines. And everyone who came by, got bread butter and tea on the house, made by my wife Shekufay.” While the two manage the café, Zavare has handed the baton over to his son Raiomand Irani, who runs a Continental-Parsi restaurant, Grapevine, near the Irani Petrol pump nearby. “Raiomand has taken over and he has really good ideas. If this is the head of the rhino, the rest of the animal would be there; his café is must-visit, especially for the lamb shanks and soft-shell crab burgers,” he smiles. Elsie’s Dairy & Bakery [caption id=“attachment_10702541” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Joanna D’Souza at Elsie’s Dairy and Bakery[/caption] Word goes around that if there is a birthday in these hills, the cake must be ordered from Elsie’s! The 173-year-old bakery is iconic, staying true to family recipes and tradition. When you walk into the bungalow-like ambience, two things instantly grab you, the old-world charm with its wood and glass cupboards and the unmistakable aroma of fresh cake, courtesy the well-kept secret of a Goan family. Joanna D’Souza, who runs this place with her sister Judith, is carefully folding date rolls on a plate. In the other neat trays, carrot cake, jam tarts, banana-date cake, toffees, doughnuts and apple and fig pies, share space with plum cake and mixed candy. It is a late morning hour and still quiet, before the hill stationers get here around 4pm for their market fun. “All that you see are recipes handed down by my mother and before that, my grandmother. My brother was managing this place after mum died. He passed away this January; we are the fourth generation here. My sister and I make everything though we have helpers,” says Joanna. Elsie’s was not on their work path, initially. She worked for several years as an air hostess with Air India, while Judith was a teacher at St Mary’s School, Mazagon, Mumbai. She recalls, “Mahabaleshwar for us meant vacation time and for meeting up with the family. Those were different days for sure. It was simple and beautiful. Even my mother’s staff was here for 40 years working for her. Where do you get that kind of loyalty today?” [caption id=“attachment_10702551” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Elsie’s Dairy & Bakery[/caption] Business is brisk this summer, so they are up by dawn and she says, “Some also come to the hills for a romantic proposal and want a cake made for that. It’s nice to see the crowds back this year. It was very difficult through the pandemic, we lost two years and last year the monsoon was bad, too with landslides and dense rainfall.” For the moment, they’re catering to the happy, hungry tourists and it’s all about baking savoury and sweet delights. We know each recipe with its ratios and proportions by heart, but we’ve also written everything down for the next generation,” smiles Joanna. Bagicha Corner Do you long for the taste of home-cooked khana on your holiday? Bagicha Corner serves up just that. Right on the main road corner when driving from Mahabaleshwar to Panchgani, this open-style eatery prepares food made from vegetables grown in the premises. The thali is a permanent fix on the menu, with one vegetable dish or two that change each day. Come lunch hour and they can’t serve those steaming bowls of dal, pitla-bhakri, corn sabzi and rice, fast enough. For a lighter bite, corn frankies and tikkas are a must-do, any season. This is the land of strawberries and cream, so desserts are made of this along with ‘bomb specials’, which are elaborate fruit-laden delights. But the owner, Kulsum Mulani, who started it all on the family land, began with just a single flavour of ice cream. [caption id=“attachment_10696981” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Kulsum Mulani at her eatery[/caption] Around 60 years ago, she set up a makeshift table selling sancha strawberry ice cream to passers-by on foot or in cars. “There were no restaurants or shops back then in Mahabaleshwar. I also made makkai pattice with corn and potatoes from our kheti,” she reveals. Today, her sons who are all grown up, an engineer and corporator, are with her. [caption id=“attachment_10696991” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  Thali and fresh strawberry with cream and ice cream at Bagicha Corner[/caption] Bagicha Corner has four branches, two here and two in Pune. And the place has seen a number of well-known names come by. “The Ambanis have come here so has Kumar Mangalam Birla with his family. Dev Anand had made a visit. Jackie Shroff , Aamir Khan , Salman Khan bhi aaye,” she adds. The menu has the old faves, but also a lot of new items for the touristy crowd. “People call and book the jambhul juice, it has no sugar and they like to buy frozen packets to take back home as it’s healthy,” she says. For now, the summer hot seller is ice cream and strawberry juice. Come monsoon, when the open eatery offers a lush view of the green hillside, it will be a different bite with garma-garam pattice and chai.

Ismat Tahseen is a Mumbai-based journalist who writes on food, trends, culture and lifestyle for over a decade now.

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