A large number of Bengalis or Bangali have been working and living in Pune. There are many who have been living here for years. Because of the IT and automobile sectors too, many have migrated to the city. So, it comes as no surprise that one finds Bengali food and snacks shops at different pockets of the city.
One of the very popular and well-known places among them is Babu Moshai Misti, located at Khadki. It serves different types of sweets, mishti doi, snacks and grocery items like desi ghee, chide (poha), achar, spices, Gobindo bhog rice, dal etc. It also sells hot shingada (samosa) and vegetable chops in the evening.
On Sundays, they sell Radha Ballavi in the morning and you get the authentic taste of Bengal in all that is served there. “We just make authentic Bengali items. We do not focus on other items because there are other restaurants serving those,” says Amit Mallik, the owner.
Mallik launched Babu Moshai along with his wife in 2005. “I found the area buzzing with Bengali population. Kali Badi is also located here, so Khadki was an apt place to start the shop,” he says.
He takes pride in the fact that over the years, it’s not just Bengalis but non-Bengali customers too, who have started flocking the eatery because they love the taste of their food.
Mallik says that Rosogollas are their speciality and one would find them in two varieties. “There is the plain Rosogolla and Noren Gud Rosogolla. Along with that, sweets like Malai Chum Chum, Sagarika, Kheer Kodam and others are served too,” he says. He adds that they keep a variety of items during weekends as there is lot of crowd then. Even during Durga Pujo, they have varieties of snacks and sweets. “We belong to Bardhaman in West Bengal, so during pujo, we make some of our specialities like Sita Bhog, Mir Dana, Mohan Bhog, Lakhi Bhog and others,” he says.
