Highway on my podcast ep 13: watermelon sabzi in mcleod ganj, and watching the train at barog

Has the coronavirus pandemic disrupted your plan to take that long trip? Is the ongoing lockdown making you crave going off-road? Fret not. If you can’t go to the highway, Rocky, Mayur,

Prashant, and Abhinandan – the team behind shows like _Highway On My Plate_, _Vital Stats of India_, _Jai Hind_, and _Rocky and Mayur's Food Xpress_ – will bring the highway to you! So,

here goes the newest offering from _Newslaundry_: Highway On My Podcast. The creators of the much loved TV travel show revisit their travels across India, sharing stories, anecdotes,

trivia, and – for when the roads are open and inviting again – recommendations on food, culture, people, and much more. In this episode of Highway On My Podcast, Rocky, Mayur, Abhinandan,

and Prashant – or PRAM, as a _Newslaundry_ subscriber recently dubbed them – drive up to the _pahaads _of Himachal Pradesh, journeying through Shimla, Solan, Chail, Kufri, Kasauli. They talk

about the good, and bad, food they have along the and all the interesting people they meet. Starting their journey by taking a vote on who is a beach person and who is a mountain guy, the

gang head to Shimla with much enthusiasm after discovering that all of them prefer mountains over beaches, for varied reasons. They follow the food trail on the _Mall Road _where they visit

Sitaram and Sons, which serves a limited menu yet holds a special place in Rocky’s to do-list in the city. Abhinandan reiterates his love for confectionaries from the hills which are special

due to the _hawa paani _of the place. They talk more about food, a haunted house, and Prashant’s love for the mail boxes in Shimla. Heading out of the city, they drive to Solan, where they

station themselves while hopping to multiple places during the day. They first venture out to Barog station, a site of great scenic beauty, where they have _railway wala khana_ that brings

back fond memories from childhood. Rocky talks about how beautiful a sight it is to watch the train emerge from the tunnel near the station. The gang then talk about a jam factory and the

not so happy women making the jams. Abhinandan talks about how he and Prashant seriously considered moving to the mountains and starting a small jam factory. Rolling back from Barog to

Solan, they stumble upon interesting food places, one of which is Gyani Da Dhaba. Abhinandan remembers Gyani Da Dhaba for it’s lemon chicken, Rocky remembers it for the “home style food”

which makes an endless string of travellers feel at home in the middle of nowhere. From Solan, they head to Chail, which Abhinandan doesn’t have many great memories of, but Rocky and Mayur

remember for the Chail Palace and their jokes about the King of Patiala who built it. Mayur recommends having a cup of tea and _pakodas_ at the palace. Heading out towards Kufri, they meet

an “interesting character”, Ranjit Singh Kaushal. He runs a restaurant where, according to Rocky and Mayur’s report card, the food is barely 1/10 but the ambience is 8/10. Rocky imitates

Kaushal and talks about his love for the word “kickback”. Abhinandan talks about what makes Kaushal interesting and how he would have loved to make a documentary on him. Kufri also somehow

makes Abhinandan think of mule excreta that the town stank of. Near the end of their journey, as the gang head to McLeod Ganj, they find an “erratic food place” famous for its watermelon

sabzi, apricot mutton and hot liquorish tea. They also give a shoutout to Alan and Cheryl, who Rocky fondly remembers as a jovial couple who run a fine food place called The Chocolate Log.

They also discuss seeing a beautiful monastery, their visit to the First Cup Cafe, and where one must go if they wish to bump into Richard Gere. All this and more, only on Highway On My

Podcast. For more trivia and behind the scenes moments from Rocky and Mayur’s travels across India, sign up for the HOMP newsletter. You can also listen to this podcast onApple Podcasts |

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