Dinner at Cafe Paashh

We had a lovely dinner at Cafe Paashh @p.a.a.s.h.h yesterday. The cafe is beautifully done with plants and handicrafts sourced from different parts of India. The menu consists of unique dishes, the ingredients of which are sourced locally and presented in a stylish, contemporary way. @chefwvinod Vinod Warade recognized us and greeted us. It is always a delight to listen to him talk passionately about food, ingredients and dishes he creates. He collaborates with farmers encouraging them to grow local and seasonal crops and creates unique dishes with the same. Needless to say their menu changes every four months. Yesterday we ate cripsy cones filled with mixed millets (bajra, ragi, foxtail millet) and raw mango, Paassh, which is a dish with melt-in-the-mouth Burrata on a bed of crisp vegetables, sweet chili and olive tepenade, tacos made with theplas and filled with corn, cucumber and tender chickpea leaves and wrapped up the wonderful evening with a grand dessert called Gianduja Parfait, which is a layer of dark chocolate mousse with praline paste and crisp chocolate wafers. Swipe to see all the photos.

Tilak Smarak Mandir

Today's morning sketch was at the Tilak Smarak Mandir chowk and I sketched the iconic traditional eatery 'Badshahi' which also has boarding facilities for college students and serves simple home cooked food. They have a strict policy about not wasting food and I quite like that.

Vruddheshwar Siddheshwar Ghat

The sketch meet today was the the Vruddheshwar Siddheshwar Ghat on the banks on the Mula River. There was a River walk conducted by the Jivitnadi group which aims at creating awareness about the life of rivers. I attended the walk for a few minutes to sketch the group and heard some very interesting facts about Pune. The guide said that fossils of the Ostrich and Mammoth have been discovered in Pune in the past and also the bones of a now extinct animal which was the predecessor of the domestic cow. Also the rivers in Pune flow eastward to the Bay of Bengal rather than the Arabian sea which is closer because the continent tilts in that direction. How fascinating! I will surely do this walk entirely sometime to discover more about my city. The second sketch is that of the Siddheshwar mandir.