Feb 09, 2008 11:17 AM
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I always recall my professor talking about a failed business venture called Modiluft. Indian business house Modi and global airline giant Luftansa came together and started this airline called Modiluft. It of course failed because Airline was not the core competency of Modi and Luftansa was absolutely specialized in this business. He always ended up saying about specialization and core competency always pays.
*Thats why our family doctor is still driving a Santro and his heart specialist son is driven in a chauffer assisted Camry.
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Maharashtra Cuisine
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*While Mumbai has seen an up-surge of global cuisine restos taking centre-stage, for a common man the world cuisine is nothing but indo-chinese, italian born American pizza with paneer and chicken tikka and pastas.
On the other side, we continue to see the Shetty managed mix-masala corner side restaurants opening and closign day in and day out. There is a continuous demand for the native cuisine, cuisine of Maharashtra.
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Well, its not vada-pav or pav-bhaji mind you.
It is a plethora of many different cuisines, originating from different parts of Maharashtra depending on local crops and local atmosphere. E.g. The coastal belt produces the famous malvan cuisine with seafood as main ingredient, the vidarbha nagpur area is famous for its jowar-bajra bhakri and vegetarian spicy food items like varhadi thecha, whereas kolhapur side is famous for their specialities in mutton in two type of gravies. Mind you its spicey and gives you enough adrenalin rush and smoke from ears if you are born and bought up on Mcdonalds.
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Kolhapur cuisine in Thane -
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If punjabis have specialised in serving us with their story of chicken via tandoor or butter chicken, the Kolhapur-kars are famous for mutton.
A typical thali in Kolhapur consists of bhakri(thick bread made up of jowar or bajra) served with two types of mutton gravies, one as "tambda" rassa and other as "pandhra" rassa. Unlike the mumbai restos where the taste of the food item does not change with the colur of gravy, these rassas or gravies have their unique tastes.
The tambda rassa(red gravy) consists of red chilies, green chilies, ginger and other spices to add to it the zing of chilly spice, a dash of it with bhakri sends me weak in my knee for the cuisine, although it is exactly suitable to have such a spice in Mumbai climate.
The pandhra rassa is unique, its a white coloured Soup like dish of water used to boil the Mutton. If tambda rassa is the chilly spicy curry found all over india, pandhra rassa is found only in Kolhapur. Made up of garlic, coriander, and ginger. Its also miz\xed with other indian spices to give it the zing.
And then comes the main dish called gavran mutton or roasted mutton to be eaten with these gravies and bhakris.
One dash of it and you are straight on a highway motorign along at 120 kmph speed.
With a promise to bring drops of sweat on your forehead at the end of thali and also a watering nose. But who cares if the food promises to give you an adrenalin rush.
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This place is situated in Charai area of Thane, behind Perfect Drivign School at Masunda Lake. A smallish informal place specializing in Kolhapuri cuisine with absolutely VFM prices.
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*They also serve some other dishes, but what the hell, I have never looked at Pamela Anderson's legs.
Thats what I call core competency!
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