Ep-4 Nashik NON VEG Food Tour I Gavrani Chicken Thali + Alani Bhaat + Mutton Rassa + Khandeshi Food

In this episode, we explore Nashik through two sides of its food culture, bringing together some of the city’s old and much loved vegetarian food spots along with its regional non vegetarian specialities. We are joined by Mrunmayee and Shilpa from Nashik Katha, who take us around the city and share some of their favourite places and flavours. We begin in Old Nashik at Samarth Juice Center in Raviwar Karanja, a long standing local favourite known for its distinctive pineapple sharbat. We tried it topped with their pineapple ice cream and loved it. From there, we headed to Bhagwantrao on Main Road, one of Old Nashik’s historic food establishments. The shop dates back to 1912 and has long been associated with Nashik’s food culture. Here, we sampled an assortment of traditional sweets and savouries including balushahi, dahi vada, chirote, satori, karanji, dink laddu and matar karanji. We continued exploring the old sweet shops of Nashik with a stop at PN Kharwas Chik Dairy for their luscious kharwas, followed by Pande Mithai for pakka peda and gulab jamun. At Bhadrakali, we stopped for a peru masala soda before heading to Shriniwas Hotel in CIDCO for a Khandeshi-style meal. Khandesh, the region to the north of Nashik, has a distinct culinary identity known for bold flavours, spice and hearty preparations. At Shriniwas, we tasted batti, varan, vangyache bhaji, vangyache bharit, sev bhaji, bajre ki bhakri, chapati, chawal and pithla. We also made a quick stop at Siddhivinayak Dughdhalaya for haldi doodh before moving into the non vegetarian chapter of our journey. At Sugrass in Satpur Colony, we tried prawns fry, bombil fry and sol kadhi. The seafood preparations brought another side of Nashik’s food scene to the table. At Nashik Lunch Home, we had surmai hirwa masala with tandlachi bhakri, before heading to Vinayaka Veg & Non Veg for a taste of gavran cooking. Gavran food refers to rustic, village-style Maharashtrian preparations, generally marked by robust spice blends and traditional cooking techniques. Here, the gavran chicken rassa and bajre ki bhakri made for a hearty combination. Our next stop was Divtya Budhlya Wada, a restaurant closely associated with Khandeshi cuisine in Nashik. The story of the restaurant goes back to its founder Praveen Pawar, who wanted to bring the flavours of Khandesh, where he grew up, to Nashik. Its mutton preparations and kaala masala are particularly associated with this style of cooking. Here, we had mutton rassa and aalni bhaat. The rich, spicy mutton rassa was paired with the much milder rice preparation, making for a satisfying contrast. We ended our food trail with a stop at Sanjay Paan Stall. From the historic food shops of Old Nashik and traditional Maharashtrian sweets to Khandeshi flavours, gavran chicken, seafood and mutton, this episode brings together two very different sides of Nashik’s regional food culture. A big thank you to Mrunmayee and Shilpa from Nashik Katha for taking us around, sharing their knowledge and helping us discover these local food stories of Nashik.