What to Eat in Lonavala Today?

Chikki, the town's own sweet

Chikki is a brittle slab of jaggery with peanuts, sesame, cashews or dried fruit set in it. It is made all over India, but Lonavala is the name people know. The usual story is that a sweet-maker here sold it as cheap, filling food to the men building the railway up the ghat in the late 1800s. Maganlal, outside the station, traces its shop to 1888. Chikki keeps well, so it is the one thing everyone carries home.

Many shops now use a similar name. If you want a particular maker, check the name board carefully rather than following a sign.

Fudge on the same shelves

The same shops sell soft, milky fudge in chocolate, walnut and fruit flavours. It is a newer addition than chikki, but it has become part of the Lonavala box of sweets. Unlike chikki, fudge softens in heat, so keep it out of the sun on the way home.

Vada pav and misal pav

Vada pav is a spiced potato fritter in a soft bun with dry garlic chutney and a fried green chilli. On the Mumbai–Pune road through town you will find it at almost every stop, and it is at its best straight from the oil. Misal pav is breakfast: a hot curry of sprouted beans topped with crunchy farsan, onion and lemon, eaten with bread. Ask for it less spicy if you are not used to Maharashtrian heat.

Corn in the rain

In the monsoon, carts at Tiger's Leap, around Lonavala Lake and along the ghat road roast corn cobs over coals and rub them with lime, salt and chilli. With a cutting chai, it is the taste of a wet Lonavala weekend. Stalls come and go with the season, and many disappear in the dry months.

Where to find them

The where to eat page lists the shops and restaurants for each dish, from the chikki counters in the main bazaar to family restaurants on the highway.