Katakirrr Misal (Baner) — Restaurant in Pune

TL;DR - you won't enjoy the misal if you're trying tikhat, but the misal is tasty and unique. Full marks to taste.

I used to be known among my friends as the dragon with an iron stomach, devouring everything mega spicy, and then even drink tea on top of it. But in the words of Zakir Khan, Katakirrr Tikhat Misal se main pighal gaya. It creates sensations on the tongue that you would not want bestowed upon your worst enemy. You get hot flashes and start wondering if life will ever be the same.

I enjoy a good misal and they make it well. But today, I was in the mood for torture and so was my friend. The server told us that it's a little too spicy, thinking that we were greenhorns at the tikhat game. Nope, bring us our death knells, we told him indirectly. However, it was not the first time I'd visited a Katakirrr branch, and so I asked for curd.

The misal arrived, showered with shredded onions, beneath which lay the darkest red liquid I've ever seen on a plate. You could sense the chilli in the air and it sent some kind of shudders down my spine. Still, not to be discouraged, we mixed it all together in our respective plates as it's supposed to be. My courageous friend even took a spoonful of the raging mixture. Baadme samjhega beta, i thought to myself.

I looked to the skies, dug deep with a shovel-like folded piece of pav and scooped the combination straight into my mouth. It tasted great! It was a bit dry but still worth it. Adding that rassa (sample) took away the dryness but added some more spice, like that's even possible ( Scoville, you sob! )

Unaware of the delayed response evoked by this real capsaiciny stuff , we kept munching it down. "Ye wala toh ek aur banta hai," quipped my friend. 2 pavs in, it hit. The tongue, which was already a casualty from the first bite, started sending some crazy signals back to the brain to stop this madness. The stomach joined it after some time when there was a minor cramping. A shutdown felt imminent.

Katakirrr takes care of its customers. The mattha ( buttermilk ) did seem to soothe my friend's insides temporarily, and they looked at me strange when I asked for a cup of tea. We obviously didn't get another misal, and knew that the day was wasted.

It's got a unique taste. I will definitely come back for the medium tikhat variant. But the tikhat is definitely not for the faint hearted (or stomached.) I'm still worried about what I'm going to go thru tomorrow morning. Consider this my self-obit

P.S: majority of it has been written in jest. I have no intention to malign any restaurant or person through...

If I had to describe this place in one sentence it would be.. ‘This place is not for faint hearted rather faint stomached’.. Move on from other Misal places told to you by social influencers, this place is undeniably the ‘OG of all Misal Paav’ eateries in Pune atleast.. The restaurant has multiple outlets in Pune serving standardised SOP Misals in each outlet.. Their speciality is their Misal has Matki combined with Potato Mash which gives a delicious flavour.. Now coming to the Spice quotient.. The restaurant serves Misal in 3 spice variations:

1. Light Misal - This variation is for beginners, for all trying Misal Paav for the first time or have a less appetite for spice.. the Light Misal is specially mild spiced for them..
2. Medium Misal: Although named Medium Misal, this variant comes with a nice Red Tarri.. and definitely is ideally suited for all Misal veterans and for people have good spice appetite.. This variant is the most in demand one and the most delicious one as per me..
3. Tikhat Misal: For people looking for a challenge.. For people boasting to have a hard and spice friendly stomach.. this Misal will challenge you to the core.. Absolutely Patakha spiced in taste and coming with a Red Hot Tarri.. this Misal is definitely not to be meddled with if you can’t handle super spicy food 🌶️.. Must Must Must try.. If you are in Pune and Misal Lover

Pro Tip: Always add a Buttermilk to your order here.. will help in keeping the Stomach and mind,...

After beautiful and peaceful Someshwar temple Darshan, It was the time for some fuel we visited it on Sunday around brunch time it was crowded;people were waiting for their turns outside the venue We 2 people: me and my roommate approached the person in charge,luckily we got place to accommodate at the very moment.🤞

Misal is really different from what I have tried. Rassa was taste enhancing...

I ordered the medium misal on the recommendation of one of their regular customers as initially I was ordering tikhat misal. But he ordered tikhat rassa for me if I have that taste buds 🔥🔥.

I firstly tried the misal without rassa it was really good with mashed potatoes 🥔 and peanuts 🥜 are love 🫰. After having a few bites it was the time to try the tikhat one. It was taste enhancer for me as it gives me kick with watery eyes but taste kept me going.🙂 Matha is highly recommended with misal. It is like fire and ice both of keeping everything in control.

Staff is nicely trained and it is managed very neatly and hygiene was totally maintained.

I actually missed taking a photo of my misal this time. Would definitely visit to try other options...