Foodie!!

I have realised, Yes! I am a foodie!! I know I know, I am vegetarian, but cant I be a vegetarian foodie? Also, as most people say about me, that I hardly eat, But do Foodies have to eat a lot??
I just love food and I sometimes get these cravings for food that I have to eat something!! right now!!
Like the current craving I have is to eat stuffed moong dal puri, its a puri filled with moong dal stuffing, I had it once and have not been able to forget it since then :-) I dont know where I will get it, so I have planned to prepare it this weekend :-)

Sometimes in the evening when I am hungry, and I imagine some particular food, I go crazy!! Like Once I just had to have puran poli, I went home and started making it, it was the first time I was trying it out, the chana dal somehow didnt cook well, the puranpolis lacked the correct amount of sweetness but still it was something :-)

One particular craving I had was the Modaks at Shreyas, I had just heard abt those soft, lovely modaks, with a blob of tup (ghee) on it, and I wanted to have them since long. The first time I went there, it was for dinner and it seems they dont serve modaks at dinner, only during lunc, and the only time the modaks are served at dinner are on sankashti.
Now I am not particularly religious and dont follow sankashti, but after I had heard this bit of fact abt Shreyas, I started checking my Kalnirnay regularly to check the next Sankashti :-)
Once I even went there at lunch-time, I saw a plate full of yummy modaks being served at the next table, I immediately waved out to the waiter, and asked for a plate for me, but unfortunately, it seems they were over :-(
Finally my craving was satisfied on kashid beach(mentioned in my earlier post), and I had Ukdiche modak :-)

Badshahi Boarding and Lodging

Badhshahi, this amazing place is on Tilak Road, next to Tilak Smarak Mandir in Pune.
Ah! What can I say abt this place!!
I am a fan since long, ever since one of my friends introduced me to it.
Its a kind of mess, theres also a lodge above it, the food there is typical Maharashtrain vegetarian food. It is very hygienic, very healthy, I am sure it will actually cleanse your body of all the masalas and tikkas you have been eating.

The thali is a combination of limited and unlimited stuff, it costs 35 rs, consists of 4 chapatis, 1 "mud" bhat (means 1 round shaped ball of rice), 1 dry bhaji, 1 wet bhaji, 1 koshimbir,pickle etc and amti/varan or sometimes you have this heavenly tomato saar, I havent tasted anything like it anywhere else...
Somedays, you have a thali of 50 Rs, with everything unlimited, and also some sweet.

There are some rules here though, mentioned clearly outside on a board :-) (Translating them here..)
1. Pls check which bhaji is available today beforehand, and do not take it, if you dont like it, you are not allowed to waste anything later.
They actually scold you if you leave something, I personally experienced it :-( , the first time I ate there, I was a bit slow, one of the servers said to me "Kha na lavkar",(eat fast), I immediately gobbled up and finished everything :-)

2. Switch off your mobiles while eating!!! (You actually receive stares from the servers if you happen to alk on your phone while eating!)

The food is just great, I crave it for almost all the time :-)

Kashid beach

Kashid beach is abt 8-10 km from Murud, From Pune you can either go via Murud, which is a shorter distance, but the "twists and turns" ghat will make it a longer route. We went this way, and there were so many small hills, we were ascending and descending all the time :-)
While coming back we came by expressway, we went towards alibaug, then thru Pen-Khopoli and then expressway to Pune..

The beach is clean, and big, crowds are also less, also there are a lot of small shops on the beach which get food for you, if you order in advance, they have these hammocks all around, its the best way to spend a weekend, laze arnd on the hammocks :-)

We had lunch at a "khanaval" a km away from the beach, they have both veg and non-veg food, I had the veg food, its very simple food, chapati, 2 bhajis, rice and dal with papad.
We asked at one of the shops for "Ukdiche modak", they prepared modaks for us and we had them after lunch , they were good :-) , we dint get Sol kadhi though.
Make sure when you go, ask the khanaval to prepare sol kadhi in advance, you should not miss it!

Friends

Over the years, you meet so many people, make new acquaintances and some become "friends".
This all-encompassing word includes best buddies, childhood frnds, school frnds, college frnds, different college frnds, office frnds..
What is it that makes friends? I remember in school in the first standard, we had to write an essay, "My best friend" and we were supposed to stick a photograph of our best friend,I remember I had cut some photo from some newspaper/magazine and stuck it :-)
There are some friends whom I hardly meet now, but I always remember them on their birthdays, I may not call, since I am out of touch now, But I do remember the bday..

Different frnds know different sides of the same person.
If you were shy in school, a school frnd meeting you after years will be shocked to see your vivacious personality, I have seen such people myself.

Some frnds are those whom you talk to every day, share stories, share all events
happening in your life, but these people keep changing, in school, there was somebody, in college there was somebody else and now its somebody else...

Some frnds are just "email" or "chat" frnds, you know over the years they have changed jobs, got married, have kids, but never actually met them since years, thanks to googletalk(cant use other messengers) and orkut , such relationships are thriving..

Some frnds are such that I meet them after ages but I can talk to them like we had just talked yesterday, and with some, even after years of frndship, you dont seem to be able to connect...

What makes people drift apart? Why is it that sometimes you need to get to know a friend all over again? Why is it that sometimes the people you give a lot to, dont give back the same?