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:

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’.

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.

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

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.

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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