Disappointment seems to be the flavor of the month. I had been to Mahalakshmi Saras for the first time last year. And like I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, I had felt like a child in a secret cave full of treasures. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that I had been looking forward to this year's visit since December.
Don't get me wrong. This year's exhibition too has many stalls, like last year. But somehow they all seem to be selling the same stuff - especially the stalls selling food. I wondered why stall after stall was selling unpolished rice, papads, Nachani and Jowar flour, Kokam Syrup, Alphanso Mango Pulp, Amla Sherbat, dried fish, red chillies, Malwani Masala, Meat Masala, Garam Masala, Chilli Powder and Turmeric Powder! Then there were the usual suspects like kurtis, fabrics, saris, pillow covers and drapes. This time around I found that the costume jewellery was a bit steeply priced. There wasn't anything new on offer as well. Only on one stall I found chunky bracelets that looked as if they were made from brass. There was a stack of 6 of them so I inquired if that was a set. The lady said that it wasn't so I asked what the price of a single bracelet was. She said 600!
Another stall, from Jharkhand I think, had organic soaps on display. They smelled fresh and looked like a good bargain for a price tag of Rs 100. The lady told me that each soap will last for 45 days. I think she clearly meant it as a plus point. But I didn't like the prospect of using the same soap for a month and a half. :-(
I was also looking for the stall that had sold one hell of a Halwa last year. Unfortunately, the guy was nowhere to be seen. The only Halwa stall was from Kerala and the Halwa there tasted same as the Badami Halwa sold at any of your friendly neighborhood shops selling sweets. The only exception being that this one had a lot more dry fruits in it - probably to justify its price of Rs 280!
The food court also seemed to be carrying the same theme of 'more numbers, less variety'. No matter where you looked, the boards seemed to advertize Kolhapuri Pandhara rassa (white gravy), Tambada rassa (red gravy), Chicken thali, Mutton thali, Fish thali, Baingan Bharata-Bhakari and Pithala Bhakari. There was only one stall selling Sinhgad special Onion Pakodas, Mataka Dahi and Bhel and one stall selling Rajasthani thali.
I was interested in Chicken Thali and since almost all stalls were selling the same it was a random choice. One lady seemed to be saying that her food was hot (as in temperature, not in spice). I told her specifically that I would be ordering only if she served the Thali piping hot. She said yes so I paid Rs 120 and wondered what fate had in store for me. To her credit, I didn't have to wait for long. The gravy was hot as she had promised. The thali consisted of 2 bhakaris made from rice flour (soft and fluffy!), chicken gravy (spicy!), a bowl each of red and white gravy (both without any meat) , rice, couple of onion slices and a bit of pickle. I didn't like white gravy, the others were okay. I also ordered a bowl of SolKadhi by paying extra Rs 20. It was cold but not spicy enough! All in all, it was okay food for the price I paid. The best thing was that the food court was very clean and there was arrangement made to wash your hands. You could see the dustbins without having to hunt for one. And a cleaning crew was always on the move - to clear up the tables. Way to go guys!!
I wanted to check out the Moong Daal Ka Halwa and Churma Laddoo on offer at the Rajasthani stall so I headed there. The guy manning the stall was in the process of fixing up a thali for a couple. I cringed when I saw greasy looking blood red gravies getting piled into each other in the tiny thali. As if that wasn't enough the guy then proceeded to ladle a big spoon full of desi ghee (or what appeared to be desi ghee!) on the whole mixture. The lady from the couple was horrified and kept asking him to go easy on the ghee. But he said that it will add to the taste and asked where else will she sample "shudh desi ghee"!!
I almost ran away wondering how many spoonfulls of the "shudh desi ghee" must have gone into the Moong Daal Ka Halwa. However, my sweet tooth didn't allow me to do so. So I soldiered on and ordered a plate of it (Rs 50). Mercifully, it was neither dripping with ghee nor sickeningly sweet. If at all, I felt it could have done better with some more sugar. The Churma Laddoos (2 more Rs 50) were, however, perfect!
So, like I said, it was a bit of a disappointment because I hardly felt like buying anything and when I walked out of there, my wallet wasn't much lighter. :-(
Don't get me wrong. This year's exhibition too has many stalls, like last year. But somehow they all seem to be selling the same stuff - especially the stalls selling food. I wondered why stall after stall was selling unpolished rice, papads, Nachani and Jowar flour, Kokam Syrup, Alphanso Mango Pulp, Amla Sherbat, dried fish, red chillies, Malwani Masala, Meat Masala, Garam Masala, Chilli Powder and Turmeric Powder! Then there were the usual suspects like kurtis, fabrics, saris, pillow covers and drapes. This time around I found that the costume jewellery was a bit steeply priced. There wasn't anything new on offer as well. Only on one stall I found chunky bracelets that looked as if they were made from brass. There was a stack of 6 of them so I inquired if that was a set. The lady said that it wasn't so I asked what the price of a single bracelet was. She said 600!
Another stall, from Jharkhand I think, had organic soaps on display. They smelled fresh and looked like a good bargain for a price tag of Rs 100. The lady told me that each soap will last for 45 days. I think she clearly meant it as a plus point. But I didn't like the prospect of using the same soap for a month and a half. :-(
I was also looking for the stall that had sold one hell of a Halwa last year. Unfortunately, the guy was nowhere to be seen. The only Halwa stall was from Kerala and the Halwa there tasted same as the Badami Halwa sold at any of your friendly neighborhood shops selling sweets. The only exception being that this one had a lot more dry fruits in it - probably to justify its price of Rs 280!
The food court also seemed to be carrying the same theme of 'more numbers, less variety'. No matter where you looked, the boards seemed to advertize Kolhapuri Pandhara rassa (white gravy), Tambada rassa (red gravy), Chicken thali, Mutton thali, Fish thali, Baingan Bharata-Bhakari and Pithala Bhakari. There was only one stall selling Sinhgad special Onion Pakodas, Mataka Dahi and Bhel and one stall selling Rajasthani thali.
I was interested in Chicken Thali and since almost all stalls were selling the same it was a random choice. One lady seemed to be saying that her food was hot (as in temperature, not in spice). I told her specifically that I would be ordering only if she served the Thali piping hot. She said yes so I paid Rs 120 and wondered what fate had in store for me. To her credit, I didn't have to wait for long. The gravy was hot as she had promised. The thali consisted of 2 bhakaris made from rice flour (soft and fluffy!), chicken gravy (spicy!), a bowl each of red and white gravy (both without any meat) , rice, couple of onion slices and a bit of pickle. I didn't like white gravy, the others were okay. I also ordered a bowl of SolKadhi by paying extra Rs 20. It was cold but not spicy enough! All in all, it was okay food for the price I paid. The best thing was that the food court was very clean and there was arrangement made to wash your hands. You could see the dustbins without having to hunt for one. And a cleaning crew was always on the move - to clear up the tables. Way to go guys!!
I wanted to check out the Moong Daal Ka Halwa and Churma Laddoo on offer at the Rajasthani stall so I headed there. The guy manning the stall was in the process of fixing up a thali for a couple. I cringed when I saw greasy looking blood red gravies getting piled into each other in the tiny thali. As if that wasn't enough the guy then proceeded to ladle a big spoon full of desi ghee (or what appeared to be desi ghee!) on the whole mixture. The lady from the couple was horrified and kept asking him to go easy on the ghee. But he said that it will add to the taste and asked where else will she sample "shudh desi ghee"!!
I almost ran away wondering how many spoonfulls of the "shudh desi ghee" must have gone into the Moong Daal Ka Halwa. However, my sweet tooth didn't allow me to do so. So I soldiered on and ordered a plate of it (Rs 50). Mercifully, it was neither dripping with ghee nor sickeningly sweet. If at all, I felt it could have done better with some more sugar. The Churma Laddoos (2 more Rs 50) were, however, perfect!
So, like I said, it was a bit of a disappointment because I hardly felt like buying anything and when I walked out of there, my wallet wasn't much lighter. :-(
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