Looking for a quick getaway over the weekend? Think no further and head straight to Anandvan, Gokhale Mala in Pune near Alandi. With good food and all things green around you, it’s just the perfect relaxing spot for those who don’t have the time to travel long distances.
The farms are located on the road to Alandi and much closer to Dighi. Originally, the space was a private farm of the Gokhale family which they eventually opened up for city folks to get a sneak-peek into the rural lifestyle. Since the year 2012-13, they have been getting an overwhelming response from Punekars and we absolutely understand the hype.
Gokhale Mala, has significantly reduced the size of their original family farm and have also made a relatively scale-size model of farms. They have orchards of various fruits such as mango, chikoo, jackfruits among others and and a few banana farms as well. The “Mala” which in Marathi stands for a green patch (most commonly used for orchards), also include vegetable gardens. You will see veggies such as cabbage, tomatoes, chillies, onions, brinjals and even spinach. The best part is that they use a number of these hand-picked and literally farm fresh veggies in the food that they serve here.
The food that they serve at Anandvan Gokhale Mala is purely vegetarian and is made by local women on a chulha. They focus on a lot of homely Maharashtrian cuisine. You will find dishes such as the classic pithla bhakri, vanga-batata, yellow batata sabzi, usals (which is basically a curry made with pulses) and much more. They also have a thali system where the food is unlimited and people have always loved the shrikhand that they make over here. The thali is priced at INR 250 per person and the menu for that keeps on changing every single day. The best part is, that you just pay for the food that you are going to have and the rest of the farm is then open to you.
