ragi sevai upma with coconut milk veg stew - best of the best in my list - at home in Pune

We had been on a pilgrimage, together as a family, to Sri Ramana Maharshi's ashram in Tiruvannamalai and fortunately, were able to stay within the premises in their guest house. All resident pilgrims are allowed to partake in the dining facilities. One of the most significant aspects of the menu was the regular or frequent use of vermicelli in different recipes for dinner. This struck as most appropriate for a light dinner at home, back in Pune. 

On our return, we began experimenting with vermicelli or semiya or sevai, and combined the dishes with various types of stews, curries, vegetables and chutneys. Luckily, vermicelli is also available in different types - thin, thick, small bits and long strands, and most deliciously, also in ragi variety. The ragi variety was the most amenable to all experiments, and we had a great time bringing forth and appreciating our own results.

One of the combinations was a very lightly spiced ragi sevai upma, tempered with extra strong curry leaves (from our Lonavala home compound, freshly picked) and coriander and ginger+garlic paste. If you would have been nearby, you would have got the odour from at least two houses away. The curry or stew, heavily dunked in coconut milk, but combined with some pungent leftover curd and sauteed, brought forth an exceedingly worth-it type of aroma and taste. The best action was in dunking the hot ragi sevai upma in to the steaming hot spicy coconut milk stew, at near midnight, before a Sunday morning. Nothing could get past that blessing of having a light dinner but a very heavy and happy satisfaction of a good experiment. 

All thanks to the missus and the daughter for their enthusiasm and support to each other. 
[Ragi = finger millets, sevai or semiya = vermicelli or thin traditional type of pasta, upma = sort of a thick porridge]

the sacred mountain pass behind the Malavli Fort - Dudhiware Khind near Lonavala, on the road to Pawana in Maval, Maharashtra

There is a delightful motorable road behind Lonavala, after Walvan and Nangargaon towards the Pawana Dam. This road goes below the Mumbai Pune Expressway and climbs suddenly, very rapidly and alarmingly, through an abrupt escarpment. Before you know it, you are at the most delightful mountain pass that you would never have expected, if you are a regular traveler on the expressway or on the Mumbai Pune highway. Most trekkers and climbers on the Western Ghats know this pass, and they do encounter it with happiness when going towards the Malavli fort. 

I first came up on this pass in late 2007, just after becoming a resident at Nangargaon in Lonavala. After that sudden encounter, I have come to love this road, driving through to Dudhiware village, and to the Vittal  Rukmini temple called 'Prati Pandharpur' and on to Kolwan village, where the Chinmay Vibhooti ashram is located, managed by the Sri Chinmayananda group or  trust. From Kolwan, you can get off the road and proceed to the Girivan hill resort, that is nearly 300 feet higher than Lonavala. And before Kolwan, one can drive slowly along the Pawana lake banks, and take a million photographs, depending on the time of the day.

The Dudhiware Khind, or the Dudhiware Pass, as it is called, is just before the Dudhiware village. The word 'Khind' is meant to signify a 'sacred pass'. This would probably because there could have been a battle of some sort, and some local warriors would have achieved martyrdom. Thus, a mountain pass becomes known as 'Khind' in the Western Ghats. Immediately after the pass, one can drive up or walk or cycle up to the Malavli fort, and get a good local family to provide for the best cuisine that one can enjoy, but, of course, thats another story.