TEA TOWN PUNE

TEA TOWN PUNE by VIKRAM KARVE

My Article in THE PUNEKAR
http://thepunekar.com/2011/09/13/tea-town-pune/


Pune is a Tea Town but soon it may not be so, for the culture of Pune is fast changing. Youngsters don’t drink tea anymore – they consider it infra dig to have a cup of tea. Yes, the young and the restless prefer Coffee. And mind you, not the rejuvenating cup of pea-berry-plantation filter coffee served by the Udipi restaurants, which we used to love but the expensive stylish alien international coffees served at posh Baristas, CCD’s and high-falutin coffee shops proliferating rapidly all over Pune.

Just imagine, the other day I couldn’t get a cup of decent tea in a multiplex but there were plenty of varieties of exotic coffee all around – coffees which are quite “alien” to the Indian style and do not fortify the strong cup of Indian Filter Coffee or what a cuppa of Amrut tulya tea does.

Going back to my childhood days in 1960s, Pune [or Poona as it was known then] was a 100% “TEA TOWN”. Everyone drank tea, except some quirkyupaas type aunts.

There were chiefly two types of tea for the laidback discerning gourmet Punekar to relish: the tasty flavoursome Chaha at the ubiquitous Amruta- tulya tea shops at every nook and corner of Pune and the peerless Irani Chai served by the numerous Irani restaurants across the city. Places like Café Naaz, Lucky, Good Luck, Volga, Vahuman etc were popular for their tasty chai. Indeed Amrut-tulya Chaha and Irani Chaiare an important aspect of the culinary heritage of our Pune.

Irani Chai is the most rejuvenating beverage I have ever had. They keep the steaming rich tea brew and hot milk in separate containers and mix it in just the right proportion to get the terrific inimitable gulabi Chai.

A few years ago I got a shock of my life when I discovered a Barista coffee shop in place of my favourite Naaz. Yes, my favourite Irani Restaurants, Naaz, Lucky and many others have disappeared and only the redoubtable Good Luck at Deccan Gymkhana remains.

Amrut-tulya Chaha stalls too are fast vanishing. The one nearest to where I lived on Tilak Road in Sadashiv Peth in the 1960’s next to Ashok Bakery have disappeared few years ago. Further down the road past SP College towards Maharashtra Mandal there still exist the legendary Ambika and New Ambika Amrutatulyas. A friend of mine used to savour his morning cuppa in Ambika and his evening cup of tea in New Ambika. If you look around you will still find a number of Amrut-tulyas in the heart of Pune city though in the newly developed cosmopolitan suburbs there are Tapris.

Amrut means nectar and tulya means comparable, so “Amrut Tulya” means “Comparable to Nectar” and indeed, true to its name, Amrut-tulya tea is comparable to nectar –  sweet, ambrosial like the elixir of life!

I love watching Amrut-tulya chaha being prepared. They prepare tea in front of you in a brass vessel. The speciality of this vessel is that as it starts ageing, the tea becomes tastier. Milk and water are boiled together, with plenty of sugar, cardamom powder, crushed ginger and tea leaves, stirring continuously to make sure it concoction does not overflow. The aroma of this tea is tempting enough to pull you inside for a hot cup of tea.

As an ardent tea lover, I am glad to share a recipe of traditional Amrut-tulya chaha

AMRUTATULYA CHAHA 

Ingredients

If you live in Pune, get the famous CTC+OP (CTC – Crush, Tear, Curl; OP – Orange Pekoe; BOP – Broken Orange Pekoe) family mixture tea powder from any of the tea depot located in the heart of Pune City. You may use some good Assam CTC tea.

Full Cream Buffalo Milk
Fresh Water
Sugar
Fresh Ginger Crushed (Better still you can crush the juicy fresh ginger with the chimta directly into the water-milk concoction to let the ginger juices flow out and blend in smoothly.
Cardamom – peel, crush and powder the pods

Please remember that Amrut-tulya tea is not your traditional masala chai so please do not add any teamasalas or spices like clove, cinnamon, black peppercorns or herbs like gavati chaha (lemon grass), tulsi leaves etc. Also remember it is not the khada chamach or cutting chai, so please don’t boil away to glory.

Method

• In a brass vessel [or stainless steel, if you can’t get a brass vessel] mix one cup of water and one cup of milk.
• Add four teaspoons of sugar.
• Put on the stove on medium heat.
• Squeeze in a bit of fresh crushed ginger and add a pinch of cardamom powder and the freshly crushed peel.
• Lightly and lovingly stir the concoction, let it warm and bring it to boil.
• Add two teaspoons of tea powder and keep stirring gently to ensure the boiling concoction does not spill over.
• Keep boiling till the tea attains bright golden-orange colour.
• The moment you see a reddish tinge, give the heavenly brew a loving last stir, twirl the vessel and sieve the Amrut Tulya Nectar Tea, your Special Chaha, directly into the cups.

You can drink Amrutatulya chaha from your cup but you will enjoy it better if you drink it from the saucer sucking and pulling in the yummy liquid with your lips and let it deliciously emulsify on your tongue for that heavenly elevating feeling.

Sip the delicious tea slowly and mindfully, roll it on your tongue, let it mingle in your palate, close your eyes, absorb, discern the flavour, the rich taste, relish every sip lovingly.

Amrut-tulya Chaha is truly lip-smacking tasty and soul refreshing, blissful ambrosia, an experience of nectar – you can take my word for it. Now you know why they call this refreshingly delicious and nourishing tea Amrut Tulya “comparable to Nectar” Chaha.

Cheers!!! Enjoy your cup of special Puneri Amrut-tulya nectar tea. If you are a true blue Punekar, don’t head for the nearest coffee shop – always look around for an Amrut-tulya.

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

If you are a foodie why don't you read my Foodie Book:  Appetite for a Stroll

Click the link below to know more

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

By the way, I write fiction too and have recently published a book of short stories called COCKTAIL. 

Do have a look – please click any of the links below to know more.

COCKTAIL is available as an ebook on AMAZON and SMASHWORDS on the links below:

AMAZON

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005MGERZ6

SMASHWORDS

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/87925

If you prefer to read the book in paperback please click the links below to buy the book online:

FLIPKART

http://www.flipkart.com/cocktail-vikram-karve-short-stories-book-8191091844?affid=nme

INDIAPLAZA

http://www.indiaplaza.in/cocktail-vikram-karve/books/9788191091847.htm

APK Publishers (India and Overseas)

http://www.apkpublishers.com/books/short-stories/cocktail-by-vikram-karve.html

About VIKRAM KARVE

A creative person with a zest for life, Vikram Karve is a retired Naval Officer turned full time writer. Educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale and Bishops School Pune, Vikram has published two books: COCKTAIL a collection of fiction short stories about relationships (2011) and APPETITE FOR A STROLL a book of Foodie Adventures (2008) and he is currently working on his novel. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. Vikram has taught at a University as a Professor for almost 14 years and now teaches as a visiting faculty and devotes most of his time to creative writing. Vikram lives in Pune India with his family and muse - his pet dog Sherry with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

Vikram Karve Academic and Creative Writing Journal: http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Professional Profile Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve

Vikram Karve Facebook Page:  https://www.facebook.com/vikramkarve

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog: http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com          

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

CULINARY HERITAGE - IRANI RESTAURANTS

CULINARY HERITAGE - IRANI RESTAURANTS
Click the link below to read in a beautiful blog:
http://www.heritageinstitute.com/zoroastrianism/irani/cafe.htm#iranicaf
Happy Eating
Vikram

A CUP OF TEA - PUNE STYLE AMRUT TULYA CHAHA

HOW TO MAKE PUNE STYLE TEA - Amrut Tulya Chaha

A CUP OF TEA  Pune Style

HOW TO "COOK" AMRUT TULYA CHAHA 

By

VIKRAM KARVE

Pune is a Tea Town.

Yes, when I was a small boy, in the 1960s, Pune [or Poona as it was known then] was a “TEA TOWN”.

During those days, in Pune, everyone drank tea, except some quirky upaas type aunts who always insisted on sweet milky jaiphal spiced coffee and were “fasting” most of the time on yummy delicacies like Sabudana Khichadi and Wade, Rajgire, waryache tandul, healthy fruits, nourishing milk, calorie-rich pure ghee sweets and similar lip-smacking upasasache padartha.

By the way DALDA, quite popular in those days, made from hydrogenated oils was quite mysteriously “permitted” for upaasas it was considered to be “ghee”.

At home, tea was made in typical Puneri manner as described in my previous blog post recipe  A Cup of Delicious Tea

Outside your home, there were chiefly two types of tea for thelaidback discerning gourmet Punekar to relish – AMRUT TULYA CHAHA at the ubiquitous Amruttulya Tea Shops at every nook and corner of Pune, and the peerless IRANI CHAI served by the numerous Irani Restaurants all over Pune city and camp like Café Naaz, Lucky, Good Luck, Volga etc. Indeed Amrut tulya Chaha and Irani Chai are an important aspect of the culinary heritage of Pune.

Irani Chai is the most rejuvenating beverage I have ever had. They keep the steaming rich tea brew and hot milk in separate containers and mix it in just the right proportion to get the terrific inimitable gulabi Irani Chai.

Drench in a fresh soft bun-maska, place it on your tongue, and close your eyes – aren’t you in seventh heaven? Even a cup of piping hot Irani Tea by itself is sheer bliss. 

 

Of my favourite Irani Restaurants, Naaz, Lucky and many others have disappeared, and only Good Luck remains.

Amrut Tulya Chaha tea shops too are fast vanishing too like the one nearest to where I lived on Tilak Road in Sadashiv Peth in the 1960’s next to Ashok Bakery which also disappeared a few years ago. Further down the road past SP College towards Maharashtra Mandal there still exist the legendary Ambika and New Ambika Amrut-Tulyas. A friend of mine used to say that the morning tea was superb in one of the Ambika Amrut-Tulyas and the evening tea in the other, and relished his cuppa accordingly.

It is really sad. 

The culture of Pune is fast changing. 

The youngsters don’t drink tea anymore – it’s infra dig, isn’t it?

The young and the restless prefer Coffee. 

No, today's youngsters do not like the rejuvenating cup of peaberry-plantation filter coffee served by the Udipi Restaurants which we used to love, but they seem to prefer expensive stylish international coffees served at posh Baristas, CCDs, and high-falutin coffee shops proliferating rapidly all over Pune.

Just imagine, the other day I couldn’t get a cup of decent tea in a multiplex, but there were plenty of varieties of exotic coffee all around - coffees which are quite "alien" to the Indian Style and do not fortify you like the strong cup of Indian Filter Coffee or a cuppa of Amrut Tulya Tea does.

Hey, it seems I am rambling away and have gone off on a tangent, so let me not digress from our main topic – The Art of making Amrut Tulya Tea.

Amrut means Nectar, and Tulya means Comparable, so“Amrut Tulya” means “Comparable to Nectar” and indeed, true to its name, Amrut-Tulya Tea is comparable to nectar –  sweet, ambrosial, like the elixir of life!

I loved watching Amrut Tulya Chaha being prepared. Amrut Tulya Tea is not brewed in the traditional Tea service style. The Tea is “cooked” in front of you in a brass vessel and as the vessel ages it becomes “tastier” and tastier with time.

I love the “special” chaha.

Milk and water are boiled together, with plenty of sugar, masala [comprising crushed cardamom, ginger], and tea leaves, stirring continuously to make sure it doesn’t overflow.

Come, my dear Tea Lover, let me tell you how to make Amrut Tulya Chaha - The Art of making Tea – Pune Style. 

Assemble the following Ingredients for Two Cups of Amrut Tulya Tea “Special Chaha”.

If you live in Pune, get the famous CTC+OP “Family Mixture” Tea Powder from your favourite “Tea Depot” in the heart of Pune City. Or you may use some good Assam CTC Tea.

By the way, the acronyms are: CTC – Crush, Tear, Curl; OP – Orange Pekoe; BOP – Broken Orange Pekoe.

Full Cream Buffalo Milk [I like Chitale or Sane dairy]

Fresh Water

Sugar

Fresh Ginger Crushed [Better still you can crush the juicy fresh ginger with the chimta directly in the water-milk concoction to let the ginger juices flow out and blend in smoothly]

Cardamom – peel, crush and powder the pods

Before you start, dear reader, here is a note of caution: Please remember that Amrut Tulya Tea is not your traditional Masala Chai so please don’t add any Tea Masalas or spices like clove, cinnamon, black peppercorns or herbs like gavati chaha(lemon grass), tulsi leaves etc. and neither is it the “khada chamach” or “cutting” Chai so please don’t boil away to glory – remember, you must achieve Amrut Tulya Chaha of just the right consistency...!  

Now let us start “cooking” amrut tulya tea – we will make two cups, one for you and one for me.

In a brass vessel [or stainless steel, if you can’t get a brass vessel] mix one cup of water and one cup of milk.

Add four teaspoons of sugar.

Put on the stove on medium heat.

Squeeze in a bit of fresh crushed ginger and add a pinch ofcardamom powder and the freshly crushed peel.

Lightly and lovingly stir the concoction, let it warm, and bring to a boil.

Smartly add two teaspoons of tea powder and keep stirring gently to ensure the boiling concoction does not spill over.

Keep boiling till the tea attains beautiful bright golden-orange colour – the moment you see a reddish tinge, give the heavenly brew a loving last stir, twirl the vessel, and sieve the Amrut Tulya Nectar Tea, your Special Chaha, directly into the cups.

You can drink it from the cup, or better still the saucer sucking and pulling in the yummy liquid with your lips and let it deliciously emulsify on your tongue for that heavenly elevating feeling.

Sip the delicious tea slowly and mindfully, roll it on your tongue, let it mingle in your palate, close your eyes, absorb, discern the flavour, the rich taste, relish every sip lovingly.

Amrut Tulya Chaha is truly lip-smacking tasty and soul-refreshing – blissful ambrosia, an experience of nectar – you can take my word for it.

Now you know why they call this refreshingly delicious and nourishing tea Amrut Tulya “comparable to Nectar” Chaha.

Cheers...!!! 

Enjoy your cup of special Puneri Amrut Tulya Nectar Tea.

VIKRAM KARVE

 

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2011 
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". A collection of his short stories about relationships titled COCKTAIL is being published soon and Vikram is currently busy writing his first novel and with his teaching and training assignments. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and his muse – his pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts. 

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog :http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/blog/posts.htm  

Academic and Creative Writing Journal Vikram Karve:http://karvediat.blogspot.com

Professional Profile of Vikram Karve: http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve  

Email: vikramkarve@sify.com  

Foodie Book:

Appetite for a Stroll 
http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

http://shopping.sify.com/appetiteforastroll-vikram-karve/books/9788190690096.htm

Short Stories Book: Cocktail
Cocktail - Short Stories about Relationships :   
http://www.facebook.com/notes.php?pages#!/pages/Cocktail-by-Vikram-Karve-APK-Publishers/177873552253247 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.  

Mouthwatering Pune Memories MUTTON CUTLET CURRY AT GOOD LUCK

Mouthwatering Pune Memories

MUTTON CUTLET CURRY AT GOOD LUCK 

By 

VIKRAM KARVE

From my Archives:

Here is a mouthwatering memory of a foodie adventure I relished a few years ago in Pune 

 

I believe in the dictum – ‘When hungry, eat; and when tired, sleep’. 

I spent entire the Sunday browsing books at the library and bookstores loosing all sense of time, and at five thirty in the evening I found myself ravenously hungry, standing on Fergusson College Road in Pune. 

At this odd hour, it was too early for “dinner”, and the only “snack” I could think of in the vicinity which would satiate my rapacious pangs of hunger was “Mutton Cutlet Curry” at Good Luck Café nearby at the crossing with Bhandarkar Road.

 

During my younger days, when Pune was Poona, I used to frequent three eateries in the Deccan area – Good Luck, Lucky and the Poona Coffee House. Now Lucky and the Coffee House have disappeared and only the good old Good Luck is going strong. 

You can savor a variety of delectable stuff at Good Luck – ranging from Bun Maska-Chai to Biryani – but today I ordered what I consider the signature dish of Good Luck, my favorite “Mutton Cutlet Curry”.

 

Soon, there was placed in front of me a huge crisp-hot heart shaped mouthwatering mutton cutlet floating in a bowl of rich scrumptious gravy. In the side dish, I seasoned the onion wedges with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime, ordered slices of freshly baked soft fluffy bread, and got ready for the eat.

 

First a small piece of the substantial cutlet – it was heavenly – delicious wholesome fare made up of yummy mutton kheema cooked in plenty of spices dunked in egg and deep fried till crisp and crunchy. 

I did not bite - that would destroy everything. 

I let the piping hot piece of cutlet tingle my tongue a bit, and spooned in a generous dollop of the thick opulent curry. 

My mouth was on fire – literally and figuratively, with heat and spice – and instinctively I popped in a piece of the soft soothing bread and pressed my tongue against my palate and let everything disintegrate and melt in my mouth, followed by a zesty piece of well seasoned onion to liven up things further with its sharp biting flavor and enhance the intense eating experience. 

It was truly sumptuous.

 

Now it was time to use my fingers, copiously drench a piece of bread in the gravy, clutch in a piece of the cutlet and let the delicious stuff melt in my mouth; with a piece of the peppery onion from time to time to keep the sizzle lively. 

And once I was fully satiated, what better way to give a befitting end to the fiery repast than a delicious cup of nourishing Irani Tea! 

Sheer bliss; non-alcoholic intoxication at its best!

 

Café Good Luck is a decent Value For Money eatery you must visit whenever go to Pune next and are around Deccan. Relish the Biryani, the mutton and chicken dishes, (if you’re adventurous try the new jungli tawa stuff), the yummy puddings, the bun-maska, or maybe just a cup of tea. 

Next time you visit Cafe Good Luck at Deccan in Pune don’t forget to enjoy the Mutton Cutlet Curry...!

Happy Eating

VIKRAM KARVE
Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010
Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved. 

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. His delicious foodie blogs have been compiled in a book "Appetite for a Stroll". Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.

Vikram Karve Creative Writing Blog - http://vikramkarve.sulekha.com/
Academic Journal Vikram Karve – http://karvediat.blogspot.com/
Professional Profile of Vikram Karve - http://www.linkedin.com/in/karve
Email: vikramkarve@sify.com
Foodie Book: Appetite for a Stroll 

http://books.sulekha.com/book/appetite-for-a-stroll/default.htm

http://www.flipkart.com/appetite-stroll-vikram-karve/8190690094-gw23f9mr2o

 

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.