Home-cooked meals in the hills

Your weekend getaway no longer has to rely on the usual Lonavala fare The hill station is quietly expanding its culinary options with locals now offering homecooked meals that you can enjoy at your hotel or rented villa This new wave of home chefs allows tourists to swap the monotony of hotel food for the comforting flavours of a homecooked mealWhatrsquos on the menu Enjoy a Malvani feast with fish fry spicy curries and bhakri or savour Punjabi dishes that are light on butter Sweet tooth Local bakers are whipping up delicious desserts for any celebration including brownies cupcakes cookies and custom cakes Next time you drive up the ghat check out these home chefs for a unique dining experience Sunday midday asked regulars to recommend their favourite onesFor banana Nutella cakeZainab Rampurawala a former computer science engineer traded her tech career for a sweeter life in Lonavala nearly a decade ago After taking a short baking course she embraced her passion and now runs a homebased cake studio Zainab specialises in large batches of brownies cupcakes and cookies and takes orders for celebration cakes with a focus on tiered designs Zainab always has slabs of brownies cupcakes and cookies ready for weekend visitors to Lonavala On some weekends she indulges in ldquoweekend bakesrdquo creating treats like cheesecakes or apple cobblers that arenrsquot usually on her menuZainab Rampurawala and Chandni KotakShe posts these limitededition goodies on her WhatsApp status and they quickly sell out Chandni Kotak a playschool teacher in Lonavala shares ldquoI first met Zainab through our kidsrsquo school and once I discovered she was a baker I had to try her cakes Irsquove been ordering from her for over a year Her cupcakes especially the frosting are perfectly balanced and not too sweet Her brownies are dense and gooey with topnotch chocolate The banana Nutella cake which I was initially hesitant about pleasantly surprised me Now Zainab is my goto for my daughterrsquos birthday cakes She does an exceptional job with decorations like the rainbow cake for my daughterrsquos birthday which was a hitrdquoThe Cake PalettePrice Rs 300 onwardsTo order 8380090875 Call two days in advance for regular cakes and four days for custom ordersFor desi khanaAnjum Khan began her cooking journey only after marriage having never cooked in her maternal home Based in Lonavala this Mangalorean has crafted her menu through experimentation offering diverse dishes to suit all tastes Her kitchen features breakfast staples like idli chutney misal pav poha and parathas Khanrsquos menu truly shines for lunch and dinner with options such as butter chicken paneer makhani veg Kolhapuri Nizami dum biryani thecha gosht mutton dalcha and Chinese riceAnjum Khan and Dipti ThakkerRecommended by Dipti Thakker fashion studio coowner who says ldquoMy husband is quite a picky eater but even he loved the homely light meal from Anjum We enjoyed paneer sabzi parathas and biryani When I mentioned my husbandrsquos aversion to raw onions they thoughtfully sent a Jain raita instead I always recommend Anjum to friends with villas in Lonavalamdashtheyrsquore never disappointedrdquoKhanrsquos KitchenPrice Rs 50 per plate onwardsTo order 8007024990For Malvani tadkaAnjali and Savita Rane launched their kitchen in May 2024 bringing authentic Malvani recipes to Lonavala ldquoWe noticed that while Gavranstyle food is widely available Malvani cuisine was missing So we decided to fill that gaprdquo says Arya Rane Anjalirsquos daughter who helps with deliveries Ranersquos Kitchen offers traditional Malvani flavours using masala ground at homeEach dish from curries and fries to sabzis is crafted from family recipes offering an authentic taste of Malvani cuisine The menu includes fish fry chickenmutton sukka fishchickenmutton curry with Malvani masala and biryani Recommended by Snehal Nikam a real estate business owner in Talegaon and Chakan ldquoFor an authentic Malvani meal in Lonavala Ranersquos Kitchen is unparalleledAnjali Rane and Snehal NikamEverything was freshly made and the hot chapatis were prepared right before delivery They customise the spice levels to your preference so we enjoyed a perfectly balanced mediumspicy egg masala and mutton biryani They even accommodated a special request for palak paneer which wasnrsquot on the menu The food was light and ideal for a family gatheringrdquoRanersquos KitchenPrice Rs 600 onwards per 12 kgTo order 9284358766 Needs eight hours notice in advanceFor simple Konkani jevanFor the past 12 years Leena Parte has been running an informal kitchen from her home in Lonavala earning a reputation for her delicious ukadiche modak She whips up Konkani meals in just a few hours and delivers them promptly ldquoMy mother used to do this so I simply continued the traditionrdquo Leena explains With no fixed menu she caters to whatever her customers request bringing home fresh ingredients to cook on demandLeena Parte and Harsh PandyaLeenarsquos specialities include biryani nonvegetarian curries and comforting vegetarian subs During the Ganesh festival her modak orders skyrocket keeping her especially busy Recommended by Harsh Pandya digital film producer and director who says ldquoHer modak is simply exceptional Each is folded with such precision that I initially thought they were machinemade but Irsquove seen her prepare them by hand She strikes the perfect balance of sweetness and ghee Irsquove sampled almost everything on her menu and her turnaround time flavour and consistency are unmatchedrdquoLeena PartePrice Rs 1000 per kgTo order 8806853712For Gurdwara langarDuring the COVID19 lockdown home chef Nutan Bakshi Hajrati began whipping Punjabi dishes at home driven by friendsrsquo cravings for her cooking This passion led her to start taking orders and securing the necessary licences Four years later shersquos successfully catering parties and delivering meals within an hour Initially known for her chaat Hajrati expanded her menu based on customer requests Now she offers everything yoursquod find at a Punjabi restaurant from her home kitchen Hajrati prefers to work solo finding joy in cooking herself rather than delegatingNutan Hajrati and Ruhika KukrejaldquoCooking is my hobby and I also serve at the Gurdwararsquos langar Itrsquos deeply satisfying to cook and feed othersrdquo she says She prepares chopped vegetables and other essentials ensuring quick delivery as soon as orders arrive Her menu includes aloo paratha Punjabi kadhi chana masala paneer butter masala vangi masala pani puri sev puri and more Ruhika Kukreja owner of Cafe Bliss Lonavala praises Hajrati ldquoThe taste is exceptional and Nutan is meticulous about hygiene and quality She cooks not just to sell but to offer homecooked goodness Her paneer tikka paneer butter masala and chana masala are delightful and her pani puri is among the best in Lonavala Her idli chutney is also fantasticrdquoNutanrsquos Home KitchenPrice Rs 800 for twoTo order 8668529460