Hotel New Abhijeet (near Cambridge High School, Jalna Road, Aurangabad)

In a nutshell:

Good Maharashtrian vegetarian food along with Vegetarian food from other States of India – Good prompt service, simple & good interiors, enjoyable.

Hotel New Abhijeet, Aurangabad

How to get there: Drive towards Jalna on Aurangabad Jalna road. Reach Cambridge School (Google map). Keep going 2 – 3 km post that in the same direction. Abhijeet will be on ur left.

Meal for 2: Rs. 200 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian.

Short Description – In case u r in a hurry:

At the entrance of the restaurant u find a hand painted wall that looks old & says ‘New Abhijeet’.

The hand painted wall at the entrance of Abhijeet

On the left, there is a new signboard with the name written on metal. As u enter there is an open air section that looks old as well. However as u cross this area u walk into a fairly large room that is surely new & well maintained – the indoor dining hall.

This is a pure vegetarian joint with Maharashtra food, South Indian, Rajasthani food & Punjabi food being offered. I saw some vegetarian ‘Chinjabi’ food as well on the menu.

The menu card looks impressive from outside with a picture of the restaurant. The way the menu card is organized reminded me of my travels to China – Photographs of food along with the menu card. Interesting – Not too many rastaurants do this even today.

The Chinese style menu card

The service is fast & good. The guy waiting on us patiently replied to a volley of questions that I had – all with a smiling face. The discussion was mainly about Local food.

He suggested a starter that we found to be good & in consultation with him we ordered the main course. Liked some & loved some – thankfully were not dissappointed by any.

Detailed Description – In case u have the time to enjoy reading:

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Gaonran Chicken at Kalim’s Moonlight (Mitmita Nasik Road, Aurangabad)

In a nutshell:

Freshly made Finger licking good desi chicken (also called Gaonran / Gawran chicken in local parlance) & a unique overall experience.

Address & Contact Numbers:

Address & phone numbers – In case u want to call for directions

Meal for 2: Rs. 400 onwards

Cuisine Type: Vegetarian & Nonvegetarian

Short Description in case u r in a hurry:

On hearing that we are off to Aurangabad (base town for Shirdi, Ajanta, Ellora & Daulatabad) , my foodie friend Rakesh Kumar told us ‘As u drive on the Baijapur road Jalgaon road, u wud come across local dhabas on both side where u wud get gaonran chicken, freshly cut & made as per ur taste. Tell them – half dry & half curry’.

Lipsmacking Dry desi chicken at kalim’s Moonlight

With this info in hand we set out to this place, to realize that the road is also referred to as Mitmita Nasik Road. We walked into Kalim’s Moonlight Dhaba. The Dhaba looked neat & clean from outside & it was actually very well maintained inside as well. Well done lawns, outdoor seating, covered seating, Toilet facilities, parking facilities etc.

the entrance to the dhaba

They serve all kind of North Indian Dhaba food including vegetarian & also South Indian food.

the dining hall

The people at the Dhaba were also very nice.

The story that u shud not miss:

As we entered, we noticed many gaonran (desi) chicken playing around in the lawn. One of the hens had laid an egg & was hatching it in a corner.

Gaonran chicken roaming around in the lawn

When we said we came for Gaonran chicken, the first question that I was asked , stumped me. He said – ‘which one’. I said ‘What do u mean’. He said ‘ U choose from the ones that are roaming around. We will catch it & cook for u’. I was like ‘whhhaaat?’ in my mind. I realized quickly that this is what my friend had told but it did not seem so explicit then.

I said – ‘I have no idea. Pls choose one for me that is so good that we remember u for long’. The gentleman looked at me, frowned, thought for a while & consulted with one of his aides. Then they decided on a red colored chicken that was in one corvner of the lawn.

This is the best example of ‘Free range’ chicken that I have ever seen. For the uninitiated, free range means ‘Chicken that are not caged & kept in natural conditions. They are also kept on natural diet – not artificial medicines & hormones’.

What happened next was something I will never forget. A whistle by the gentleman led to all employees of the Dhaba descending on the lawn & then began the chase. The postures looked like fielders in cricket or like in a game of kabaddi. The men started approaching the hen slowly. For some time the hen did not quite understand what was happening. As soon as it understood , it fluttered & flew up to a tree. They shaked the tree, it flew down to a bush. They ran into the bush.The hen escaped from the other end of the bush. They surrounded the bush from all sides. The hen flew out last moment fluttering. This kind of activity continued for quite some time with eight men chasing one chicken. Then the men grouped together to strategize & applied some trick. Something did not work out well – so they had a little 30 seconds fight (subdued, in low voices) I cud see accusations flying here to there questioning each other’s mental prowess & hunting skills. …………… & at last after almost 10 minutes later, they succeded in catching the red chicken!!!!! This was the funniest commotion that I had come across outside a movie.

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