In today's episode we are resuming our food explorations from Kasar Devi in Uttarakhand to Kausani. The 56 km long drive offers so many scenic visuals full of winding avenues and beautiful fields.
As per the recommendations, we had planned to halt at two places - Kosi and Someshwar for some local fares but with another local lead at Someshwar, before leaving for Kausani, we made a small detour to the Lodh.
Kosi is a small and busy town 17 km away from Kasar Devi enroute to Kausani. Our first stop here was the Joshi Bhojnalay. It is a humble eatery right at the market place that serves traditional local meals from morning till evening. Since eating out isn't for the people in mountains, due to the harsh terrains and lifestyle, places like these are a boon for the hungry locals and travelers. Here we got yourself a brunch spread that consisted of puri, roti, some rice, jholi, mixed veg, kale chane, yogurt, bhang ki chutney, kumaoni raita and mixed dal. The food was quite good and had a homely feel to it.
The second destination here was Jagdish Sweets that is known for its khoya ki burfi. The grainy textured burfi made of pahadi khoya tasted more creamier and richer.
From Kosi we drove towards Someshwar. Here we first visited the Someshwar Mahadev Temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. After offering the prayers we headed to Bhanu ji's malpua shop. But as it mostly happens, before reaching that destination we made a small halt at Shankar Jalebi as a local suggested us to do. These makeshift standalone stalls always have the best thing so his jalebi too was fresh and yummy. Since we had to try the malpua, we restrained ourselves to just a bite.
As we walked into Bhanu ji's shop, we were welcomed by the sight of plump malpua simmering in oil over a woodfire. He served us a hot malpua straight out of the kadhai. We loved its crisp texture and syrupy texture but it was a bit too sweeter for our palette.
From Someshwar we were supposed to head straight to Kausani but we took a detour to Lodh to savour a simple kumaoni thali whose highlight was the bhatt ke dubke at Rudraksh Restaurant. While walking towards the place we met Hira Singh Ji, a resident, who gave us a tour of his home and took us to the nearby Golu Devta Mandir for Darshan. His generosity in welcoming a random visitor was heartwarming. Finally the sight of the thali was a respite for our hungry soul. The rustic meal was so satisfying. Bhatt ke dubke had a piquant and creamy feel to it and went very well with rice.
Finally we wrapped up the food exploration and whizzed off to Kausani without any delay.