Last Night = Awesome

What night in Pune wouldn't be awesome when its topped off by a Guns 'n Roses cover band?


We started off our night by going to a shopping district we hadn't hit before, and it was great, very modern, a little expensive, but not too bad. I had just come from the gym, so I was starving, and we stopped at a fruit & juice place and got the freshest juices I have ever had. Andy got Watermelon and I got Muskmelon (or cantaloupe), and they were kind of like agua fresca, but thicker, with a lot more fruit in them. Delicious.


Then we shopped around for awhile, didnt but much until we got to one store where we loved everything, and bought a bunch of stuff we immediately started to worry how we would get home. On MG road the hot snack item is sweet corn masala, a cup of corn with lime juice and about 6 different spices on it, which, being still slightly starving, I had to get. Also delicious.

Our plan was to meet our friend Pritam and go to a special dahl restaurant that was pretty far from our place, and we can't find on our own. The main dish there is a specialty of his hometown. After shopping we met up and headed over.

The dahl dish is a thick red dahl mix with a lot of rich flavors, and they make it in a huge pan, and give you a sample to see how much spice you want, which they add in separately. We got the medium, which is just right. Before your dahl you get a roti made from a big open-air tandoor in the front of the restaurant, and you can see them throw the dough right in. The rotis came, and they were bigger than our heads, and our plates! The dahl comes with curd (sour cream-like) to cut the spice, you mix it all in, then scoop it up with the roti. Very delicious.




I had been super hungry, but could barely finish my dinner. The guys all split a second order, I have no idea how. Pritam said when he was in college he used to eat three servings at time, I think that would kill me. And of course after that, when I thought we were all done, Pritam ordered rice for us- it was great, with mint and fried onions, but I was so stuffed I could only about 2 bites. Totally should have waited for dinner and skipped the snacks! But when the snacks are so good it's hard....

On our way home, the guys thought I should try Pan, a popular digestif. Usually they have tobacco, but the sweet version leaves that out. I tried to find out what goes into Pan, but no one could tell me the English names of anything. Its a bunch of filings all wrapped up in a leaf, which is supposed to ensure you have no digestive problems, especially good after a big spicy meal. This pan has a lot of coconut, and a layer of chocolate on the leaf, and a little piece of jelly candy on top. You are supposed to put it all in your mouth at once and let the juices mix, but there was just no way. I looked up pan today, and here is what Wikipedia says:
"Paan, from the word pān in Hindi: पान, is an Indian and South East Asian tradition of chewing betel leaf with areca nut and slaked lime paste. There are many regional and local variations. It is a Piper betal leave chew, chewed as a palate cleanser, a breath freshener, and for digestive purposes as well. It is offered to guests and visitors as a sign of hospitality (after meals at both personal and social occasions) and at the beginning of social events. It has a symbolic value at ceremonies and cultural events in India and southeast Asia. Paan makers may use mukhwas or tobacco in paan fillings. Most paan contains areca nuts as a filling. Other types include what is called sweet paan, where sugar, candied fruit and multi-colored, sweetened, candy-like fennel are used."

Finally, on our way home, we decided to stop off for a few minutes and catch the end of a show with some friends at the Hard Rock, which is not too far away from our place. As mentioned in the beginning of this post, there was a totally awesome Guns 'n Roses cover band, totally rocking out. The bass player even had super curly long black hair, very Slash-esque. I got some great video of Andy rocking out to "Sweet Child of Mine". At the end, after they played all of the good songs, they came back, and played them again, the best G'nR medley ever. We stayed til the end, and still got home by midnight. Great night in Pune.