Sarangaa cloud kichan — Restaurant in Pune

"I have an old relationship with seafood- I see food and I eat it" - Salmon Fishface

It is quite a delightful privilege to be at this seafood speciality restaurant called Sarangaa- the dream come true for Mrs Mugdha Birodkar, home chef and culinary mastermind behind the scenes. She personally oversees and takes part in the cooking and preparations of each dish. She also visits the market everyday to buy the freshest fish which comes from Bombay and Konkan.

At the outset, the place is span-new; smell of freshly done up interiors along with the sweet smell of fish fry masalas wafting through the air. The interiors are artistically designed and coloured to represent all that the Indian coastal areas stand for- blue and simplicity. The Navy blue adorning the walls are brilliant.

Now we come to the best part- Food. Food is just amazingly and you would want to keep coming for more. We tried a platter with the following:- Bombil fry- Batter fried with a thin coat of suji AKA rawa, Bombay duck tastes so heavenly in this form. The underdog fish which the British named Bombay Duck, transforms into a chef curated platform once deep fried with rawa- must must try!

Moshi fry- Moshi is another word for shark- these are steaks of baby shark or pup sharks nicely marinated and coated in masala and semolina and crispy fried- texture is very similar to chicken with an aftertaste of seafood. I dig this thing and this is a first time experience tasting a pup shark.

Surmai fry- Ostensibly the biggest steak of the revered Surmai AKA Kingfish AKA King Mackerel I've ever had- the meat is firm indicating a very fresh catch, white flesh, crunchy and succulent- I polished off the plate in a jiffy!

Pomfret fry- two luscious white twin Pomfrets, crispy fried with semolina, with a konkan style coconut chutney to go with it!- brilliant and melt in the mouth- in my hometown even the fishbones of the pomfret is eaten as it is soft- I couldn't help it- I did too!

Prawn fry- Thick batter fried, juicy and tender Prawns, the slight sweetness signifying a very recent catch- the meat is so lush and appetising with each bite- must must try!

We also tried the Konkani style thali- now, any self respecting thali in Konkan part of Maharashtra has to have three major elements:-

Firstly, the quintessential Solkhadi; made of kokum extract, ground garlic and coconut milk.

Secondly, Bhakri- a kind of Indian flatbread made with either ragi, millet, barley or rice- here they serve a rice-flour-made one called Tandul bhakri- soft and scrummy- it goes with all kinds of curries.

Thirdly- tiny shrimp based curry- normally dried shrimps are used but Mrs Mugdha uses fresh shrimps and it tastes so moreish!

Tisrya kalwan- part of the Thali- Tisrya stands for Clam, a kind of shell fish, prepared in a black masala base- for me this was the dish of the day! In a long time I've not tasted anything so flavourful and scrumptious- the taste is so mermerising, it awakens you to a whole different experience. Very very strongly recommended that you try!

Surmai chi kachhi amti- part of the Thali- amti cooked in Surmai broth and grated coconut, atypical thick curried dish in the Konkan regions, raw mangoes or tamarind is added to infuse acidity. Soft, choicest pieces of Surmai adorn this strikingly attractive dish- must must try! Prawns Pulao- This is more similar to a green masala based biryani than a pulao- its your wish what you want to call it- Call it Prawns Biryani or Prawns Pulao it will still taste strikingly yummy. Top it with the fried onions add a dollop of chutney and you are good to go! This is also very strongly recommended!

Folks, you don't want miss this place for the world and also for the love of home style cooking, fresh ingredients, fresh catch and the smiles and laughter you can share with very welcoming people. This is the new seafood...

Lunch at Saraanga Hotel, Prabhat road The inside decor is nice and welcoming. The host Amit Gaikwad is extremely humble and responsive. The food is very tasty homemade and the portions are good. We ordered prawns and surmai fry starters and the items flew of the plate in a few minutes. Food is beautifully seasoned without overpowering the fish or prawns. The seafood is of the best quality and you can taste the freshness. The thali is satisfying and sufficient. The solkadi is prepared fresh and tasty. The side dish using small prawns is very tasty. You feel satisfied not bloated after the meal. The best compliment I can give is that it is authentic homemade food to delight your sense and soul. My compliments to the host and his...

The place is nice and clean but it took 1 hour 30 min for just fish thali order, yes it’s understood it’s freshly prepared but it’s not fair for a simple thali to take so long.I suggest you ask prior before placing any order how long would it take to avoid inconvenience. It’s definitely not 30-40 min it was exactly 1 hour 30 min.Overpriced for the quantity they serve specially 500 thali and 2 small prices of king fish is not worth taking. It was disappointing only...