15 October,2023 08:53 AM IST | Mumbai | Ela Das
Tooth Mountain Farms
One of the best practices in the food industry that emerged during the pandemic is championing natural, local ingredients and innovatively using these across menus in most establishments in the city. As access to indigenous produce, straight from their acres increased, it also opened avenues to let city dwellers dive into authentic village-farming and sustainable practices through immersive farm-to-table experiences. These provide opportunities to pick seasonal produce for a meal, learn traditional cooking techniques, and discover the wholesome joys of food grown close to home. Come, explore these charming, pet-friendly getaways with nourishing stays and eateries that put locally-grown flavours at the forefront.
A serene, family-run luxury boutique retreat sprawled across 20 acres of lush countryside, Tooth Mountain Farms in Karjat is an idyllic haven with a private lake, lap pool, an animal shelter and bird sanctuary, and a captivating assortment of flowering plants scattered throughout the estate. "After studying hotel management in Les Roches, Switzerland, I wanted to go back to my roots in hospitality. What started with renting our farmhouse out on the weekends, eventually became this boutique farm stay," shares founder Shiv Sagar. While the on-site store offers a variety of organic products harvested directly from the farm's fertile fields - such as jamun spreads, peanut butter, mango pickles and fruit preserves - the cafe specialises in wholesome, farm-to-table eats ranging from delectable pizzas and stuffed pasta bursting with freshly plucked veggies and herbs to an Indian fare crafted from seasonal produce. There's even a curated menu designed by an animal nutritionist for pets! Beyond culinary delights, the property has a spa and a slew of outdoor activities, including nature trails, treks, yoga sessions and visits to the farm animals.
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WHERE: Tooth Mountain Farms, Karjat
PRICE: Rs 8,400 onwards, including breakfast
CALL: 9969030207
"We're hydroponic-to-fork, growing our veggies and leaves either on the property or at a nearby hydroponic farm in Talegaon, and bringing them straight to your table," says Shaheen Arsiwalla, partner at Anglo Indian Café, Lonavla. On request, guests can also harvest produce themselves, adding it either to a dish or beverage or for taking back home. A typical farm-fresh menu here includes watermelon and feta salad, basil limbu pani, kale and burrata salad, feta and spinach stuffed naans and lasooni palak paneer.
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WHERE: Anglo-Indian Café, Lonavla
ACCOMMODATION: Le Sutra Great Escapes
PRICE: Rs 1000 onwards
CALL: 9359820179
Spread across one acre in Sasawane, Alibaug, The Table Farm was conceived in 2012 to cultivate high-quality, chemical-free produce for The Table, Colaba. Today, it doubles up as a space to host farm-to-fork meals. The menu focuses on going back to the farm's roots in Alibaug, and has a Maharashtrian influence, with spreads comprising a Malvani-style cucumber and coconut salad, a beetroot pachadi, amaranth sabzi, and local prawn curry paired with indigenous rice-sourced from farms around the area.
"A lot of the groups we host are young school children who may be studying about farming and nutrition, and get to see the range of herb, flower, fruit and vegetable varieties and how they grow," points out founder Gauri Devidayal. "If guests are willing to get their hands dirty, they're encouraged to harvest their produce or make planter beds - which is hard work! It brings an awareness of how much effort goes into putting a dish on the table." From scarecrow and pesto-making to art and writing workshops, there's also an accompanying activity planned each time for all age groups.
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WHERE: The Table Farm, Alibaug
PRICE: Rs 4,000 per head onwards
CALL: 9819710855
Designed by architect and urban planner Charles Correa, this idyllic family-run boutique stay, located in the middle of a coconut grove, is the perfect drive-away for a truly authentic farm-to-fork meal. "We're located in an offbeat coastal village, and our home is a homage to a simpler '80s bungla lifestyle with laidback vintage family furniture. So, it felt fitting to serve seasonal retro preparations we've grown up eating - straight from our farm," shares Jharna Thakkar of the space she runs with her husband Rohan Fernandes.
Practising hyper-seasonality - eating fish, vegetables and fruits of the season - each âtable of the host' spread comprises dishes made from family recipes from the western coast of India - Kutchi, Gujarati, Marathi and Goan. Guests can book the entire villa or a single room - even bringing along their pets - taking in a slower pace of life here, where they're encouraged to witness the property's farming and pick produce for their meals. A typical spread includes Marathi hand-rolled bhakri roasted over a wood-fire, served with freshly harvested vegetables; alongside Goan meat or fish curries paired with locally-grown vada kolam rice and granny-style Kutchi pickles, and coconut ladoo for dessert.
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WHERE: Fernandes Wadi, Uran
PRICE: Rs 6,500 onwards
TO BOOK: airbnb.com
Property images/Fabien Charuau
"This is a love letter to eating healthy, growing organic, and sharing the fruits of labour with like-minded folk," shares Keyur Barad when describing his three-acre organic farm, which was once barren, barring a single tamarind tree, and today boasts over 800 fruit trees, flowering plants and spices.
"We are self-taught farmers who have been growing organically for the last 15 years. Our home is built to allow nature to be the hero of our story, finding its way in and around the interiors; and our land has never experienced chemical fertilisers, insecticides or pesticides, making our produce more fragrant, flavourful and nutritious than what one would get in regular markets.
What we cannot grow, we seek from nearby farms that follow similar traditional methods of farming." With a mix of Indian, Asian and Italian cuisines, we loved the homestyle fare curated for our stay - the kurkuri bhindi and Thai carrot soup being our favourite!
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WHERE: The Chlorophyll Estate, Manor
PRICE: Rs 30,000 onwards for groups of eight to 16
CALL: 9326358158
This intimate retreat spans two lush acres enveloped in fruit orchards, vegetable gardens, and a verdant canopy of coconut and teak trees meticulously built by husband-wife duo Gaurav Shah and Simrata Oberoi. Their passion for art, music and gastronomy echoes through every detail in YETO's modern duplex villa, influenced by Scandinavian styles, where the living area seamlessly connects to the lush gardens and a large community picnic-style table outside. Here, the couple hosts their guests with the warmth and familiarity akin to visiting family during summer vacations.
Expect a slow leisure-paced fare with long conversations about just about anything under the sun! Curating hyperlocal menus, harnessing the bounty of their land with ingredients ranging from freshly plucked herbs and greens to vibrant edible flowers, guests can savour traditional Konkani delicacies (local bombil marinated and fried to perfection), ramen infused with farm-fresh bok choi (which is a love letter to comfort Japanese food), or a five-course fusion tasting menu that harmoniously marries global influences with local produce. Guests are encouraged to explore the gardens, handpick their produce, and even be a part of gin workshops for adults or potting plant lessons for the kids.
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WHERE: YETO, Uran
PRICE: Rs 8,000 onwards
TO BOOK: @me_yeto, Instagram
Surrounded by streams, wild grass and rice fields, Mohraan Farms in Shahapur offers traditional, local and seasonal Maharashtrian cuisine made with ingredients sourced from their lush property that include 15 leafy greens, 30 fruits, native rice, legumes and beans, 80 wild vegetables and free-range chicken. The most special dish on their menu is Popati - a traditional winter speciality in which chicken, fish, tubers, beans, bananas and other produce are layered in an earthen pot with bhamburdi and blumea leaves.
The pot is kept upside down and slow-cooked on a wood fire. Describing how guests get to stay in sustainably built cottages and camping tents within a forested area by a stream, brothers and founders Sameer and Sachin Adhikar share a fascinating story of moving from city life to dwell on the property with their family. "Mohraan is a place where one can connect with jal, jungle and jameen through the farm and wild food tours, and outdoorsy activities such as kayaking, cycling and swimming," say Sameer and Sachin Adhikari, the twins who run the place.
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WHERE: Mohraan Farms, Shahapur, Thane
PRICE: Rs 2,500 per person per night onwards
CALL: 98690428655
Along with a few farm-to-fork eats across their cafes, the highlight of Oleander Farms in Karjat's menu is their farm-to-brew ciders and lagers on tap made in their in-house microbrewery from the abundance of rice that grows on the property. Our favourites were the berry and guava ciders, both of which we recommend bottling in growlers to bring back home for later!
Even the cocktails here are farm-fresh, incorporating herbs and ingredients such as rosemary, turmeric and seasonal fruits in each tipple. While Saltt is their more popular multi-cuisine restaurant (with a two-week wait list once upon a time), we were most spoilt for choice with comfort food and grills at their microbrewery-cum-cafe, Common House.
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WHERE: Oleander Farms, Karjat
PRICE: Rs 12,500
CALL: 50022222
"If your dog can vouch for you, you're welcome, too!" says Heta Ganatra, the welcoming force behind the fourth generation running Chandralok Villas, nestled amidst the enchanting landscape of Lonavla. "We've been making Gujarati thalis for over six decades - food has been a multi-generational forte in this family. My sister and I have started to localise it more together, and the plant-to-plate idea came about from the lack of produce during the pandemic, which we needed for our heavy footfalls. So we converted half our lawns into a wholesome self-nourishing vegetable garden.
Many groups, who are our regular visitors, prefer sowing their produce and coming back between a fortnight to a month and harvesting it again. They often even replant some of it here." From Maharashtrian to Gujarati delights, like bharli vangi, every dish is prepared with locally-sourced ingredients, including methi, cherry tomatoes, lilu lasan (green garlic), bhindi, Italian basil, guava, mulberries, chauli, drumstick, bhindi, carrots, radish, and beetroot. Each villa is a haven of comfort, alfresco dining and a mindful shopping space, along with curated experiences such as picnics, cycling, fishing, hiking, yoga, and paragliding.
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WHERE: Villa by Chandralok, Lonavla
PRICE: Rs 12,000 onwards
CALL: 9765608585
