Our Velkar Farms Visit
Remember those days we went on picnics with our parents? Well,it felt the same when we headed to Velkar Farms yesterday.Located on the Western Expressway,this is ahead of the Dahisar Check Naka.We reached in an hour and a half.The place was lit up beautifully by glimmering lights.There was music playing.We were ushered to the lounge upstairs that had wooden interiors where we met our host and friend Rahul Velkar,Kunal Vijayakar's cousin,who runs Mr Chow's,the popular Chinese delivery chain.He is a staunch London fan...has been visiting it for the past 40 years! Affable and meticulous,he saw to it that each guest was comfortable and taken care of.
The evening unfolded with some self introductions as most people knew each other.We were about twenty of us...Kunal Vijayakar who you all know( and hope that he returns on television as The Foodie) is Rahul's cousin.Kalyan Karmakar who blogs as Finely Chopped.Kurush and Rhea Dalal who blog too and run Katy's Kitchen.Romi Purkayastha who loves to travel and writes the blog "Follow The Eaten Path".Perzen Patel,the Parsi caterer who was among the chosen few to travel to Parsi sites of heritage last month to learn more about her culture.Soumitra and Manju Velkar who provide Pathare Prabhu meals through Meal Tango and Tiny Owl.Joel,Fiza and Sahar D'souza who run Crumbs to Gourmet and specialize in Goan food though they make pretty much everything.Subhasree Basu Burman writes "Bonny Can Cook",where she shares some of her best recipes
Rahul's friend Manoj Vasaikar was there.He runs Indian Zilla and Indian Zest restaurants in the UK and the interesting thing is that he serves Pathare Prabhu dishes on his menu and they are very popular.Why can't restaurants here serve them?
We were treated to a superb Malvani feast after delicious starters like Prawn Balls and Chicken Liver on Toast.
Well spiced but not too spicy....the star of the day Mutton Sukhe with Vade along with Bombil Fry(Bombay Duck Fry),Kolambi Bhaat(Prawn Rice),Tissrya (Clams Masala),Dalimbi Usal and Batatyachi Bhaaji
It felt wonderful to be away from the city and converse comfortably about what we all loved...food
It felt like we were in a giant drawing room and time just flew.With food stories and some hilarious anecdotes
Then was the Cinderella moment....to return before midnight....leave that beautiful fairyland....but hopefully to return some day! I am sure all my friends echo my sentiments!
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