Chronicles Of The Sassy Fork

Attended the Mahalaxmi Saras Exhibition for the first time.I know it's not going to be my last...This is set up by the Govt to promote rural fare.There are stalls with handicrafts and food from small scale food industries from interiors of Maharashtra and some other states The first stall I came across had roasted millets or Nachni...wholesome cereals which can be made into a porridge or a bhakri Then there was Ukadi Tandul which is small grained and fibre rich.It is used to make rice, gruel and rice dosas or Ghavan. They also had Kharwas which is made from cow's colostrum and is mixed with nutmeg and coconut and slowly cooked.This is available in most Maharashtrian cuisine restaurants as dessert. Next was a stall with cashewnuts, Kokum and Haldi from Sindhudurg Another stall had freshly pound Thecha,which has Sankeshwari Red Chillies ground with garlic and lemon and is eaten with Bhakri or Khichdi Bor and Chickoos from Bhima Shankar

I was back in Chiplun .Having been there several times before .This time on work.The town by the Vashishti river.We stayed a little away from the main town,in an area called Lote Parshuram which is an industrial area.You see factories everywhere. After our work was done,we were taken to a small restaurant which was frequented by the locals.There we ate a chicken thali and lots of seafood.Particularly liked their speciality...a fish called Tokli...somewhere between a rawas and a surmai...delightful! My vegetarian colleagues took the veg thali which had jackfruit bhaaji.The Sol Kadi was bright, tangy and uplifting.A very satisfying meal. Chiplun is famous for the Parshuram Temple .Lord Parshuram is said to have created the Konkan by pushing back the sea with his arrow.

Versova Koli Seafood Festival is held once a year in January.It is the mother of all seafood festivals...huge variety of jumbo sized seafood cooked in different styles.I first visited  the Vesava/Versova Seafood Festival in 2010 and was blown out of my mind.This year,it was bigger and better. Mahul(Chembur) and Mahim have their own annual Koli festivals.Just a few days ago,I attended the BMW Guggenheim fish event at Mahim and got to hear Kolis speak about their lifestyle and a marine biologist give his opinion on fishing As always there were fishnets hanging overhead.There were a larger number of stalls (more than 50) with enough seating area.I saw that this time around, more people were eating there rather than ordering a takeaway.Each stall served food and beverages We tried all kinds of Koli dishes and had the most succulent Tandoori Rawas.Yeah,I know that's not typical Koli style but that's what Mumbai is about...an amalgamation of cultures! That's w