Purepur Kolhapur

Purepur Kolhapur - Pune

Situated opposite Abhishek restaurant near Mehendale Garage, Purepur Kolhapur is a small place .. almost of shop-like dimensions .. converted into a restaurant. I must say the name had me intrigued (and salivating). [Also .. the milestone .. with "Kolhapur - 0" is an innovative touch].

My office was walking distance from this place .. so whenever me and my colleagues had an urge for a spicy Kolhapuri style meal .. we would land up here. Beats the office catering any day. [Also a couple of cold beers from Abhishek opposite helps tremendously.. perfect for hot, sweltering afternoon lunches] We had decided to try and lug the beers across the road to Purepur Kolhapur itself .. but our company changed offices before we could put that plan in action.

Anyways .. back to Kolhapur. The menu is simple .. gives only a few choices. There are some 3-4 types of thaalis [they call it taaT .. ताट.. meaning thaali] .. and a few more chicken/mutton dishes. I always opt for the mutton ताट ..with suka (dry) mutton. Service is ... instant. a large plate is placed before you .. raita, onions, lemon wedges instantly appear on it . as if out of thin air. The smell of the mutton has already made my tongue water .. so I start spooning the cool raita in my mouth .. waiting until I can get started on the mutton sukha. Also... the suka-mutton taat comes with a non-descript item .. which I dont like .. and dont care to describe. I opt for the mutton kheema in its place instead. The chapatis are piping hot .. and grabbing a chunk of the mutton, dipping it in the tambda [red] rassa [curry] and devouring it hot is just too satisfying. Kolhapuri (non-veg) food has two types of rassas. Tambda [red] and Pandhra [white] .. made from different spices and mutton stock. I actually like the Pandra rassa more .. but Purepur Kolhapur doesnt know how to make a mean pandhra rassa which can really make your mouth water. They come up with a version which has a lot more coconut milk in it than God intended. So here, I go for the red one. The meal is over as quick as they serve it. The kolhapuri flavour is retained in most of the dishes .. its mainly simple chicken and mutton .. with none of the punjabi style heavy gravies, made with basic spices with thin curries. Its not supposed to be very hot or very spicy as most people think. And Purepur Kolhapur just about gets it right.

Food: *** Ambiance: * Price: $$
Last visited: mid-2007