Hotel Shreyas, Apte Road, Pune, India – Hurda Mahotsav
Restaurant Name: Hotel Shreyas
Location: 1242 B, Apte Road, Deccan Gymkhana, Pune, Maharashtra 411004.
Buzz: +91-20-2553-2023
HURDA FESTIVAL
Hotel Shreyas begun its operations in 1966 and has a loyal fan base for its vegetarian food. Owned by the Chitale family the Hotel has passed on the baton to run the place from one generation to another. The New Generation of the family now has upped the ante by bringing along some changes and one of the first was holding a “Hurda Mahotsav” from 26th January 2017-29th January 2017.
Hurda is the staple grain of Rural Maharashtra. Hurda is basically Tender Jowar when it’s tender and juicy especially in the beginning of January.
A Hurda Party is very common in rural areas of Maharashtra where friends and family assemble at their farms and roast the Hurda on coal in mud pits.
The freshly roasted Hurda can be had with accompaniments like Groundnuts, Dry Coconut, Chutneys made of Sesame Seeds, Garlic and Red Chillies along with Jaggery, Lime and Revdi.
Hotel Shreyas organized the Hurda Festival on its rooftop and spruced up the interiors to give an effect akin to a farm. Earthen Pots, small replicas of village homes and copper utensils adorned the rooftop.
Apart from Hurda we were also served Kothimbir Wadi, Kanda Bhaji and Sugarcane Juice.
They also organized a Buffet in the hall below the rooftop serving Traditional Vegetarian Maharashtrian Cuisine.
This included Kolhache Pohe, Gul Poli, Mugachi Khichdi, Pithla Bakhri, Khara Vanga, Kadi and Chutney/Thecha. The food was fantastic.
They even had Filter Coffee served in Kulhad which was much needed after being stuffed to the brink with all the delightful food.
This was my first Hurda Party experience and kudos to Hotel Shreyas to come up with this out of the box to arrange the Hurda Festival right in the center of town. I would be eagerly waiting for them to organize one next year as well.
Special Thanks Heena Bhatt-Ray for having invited us.
Hotel Shreyas, Apte Road, Pune, India – Hurda Mahotsav | Food Prowl – The Hunger Stories