Lunch at the Ghatge residence is never a mundane affair and it doesn't take long to figure that out. My first experience with the warm and welcoming family happened in October 2000, when my fiance and I drove down to Kolhapur to meet them. Affectionate to the core, there were more than enough hugs to go around. I had had my first introduction to Mohan, Nandini, Satish and Sadhana Ghatge and my first taste of their hospitality and love for enjoying life to the fullest. There was more of the same to come when UpperCrust met the Ghatges one weekend at Mohan and Nandini's bungalow in the tree-shaded lanes of Rajaram Puri.

One of Kolhapur's old established families, brothers Mohan and Satish manage Ghatge Patil Transport (GPT), a flagship company of the Ghatge Group established in 1958 by their father Vasantrao Ghatge. Today aside from managing the transport business, the brothers have allied dealership for cars. Mohan's wife Nandini manages a luxury passenger service, while Sadhana set up Tej Couriers 10 years ago. Each have two grown sons, who it goes without saying, love their cars, but as their mothers are quick to point out are Kolhapuri to the bone and miss the city's food terribly. Nandini and Mohan's sons Gaurav and Chetan are studying in the United States while Sadhana and Satish's eldest, Tej, is in Australia.

Hungry stomachs that crave for home flavours have meant the boys have learnt to cook, none particularly being the macaroni and cheese type. These all-important culinary skills have been passed on to them courtesy their fathers, who themselves have studied and worked in America. Tej, back on his summer break proudly told me over lunch, "I've learnt to make Mutton Curry and Egg Bhurji this holiday.�

Mohan and Satish are both good in the kitchen and time permitting they do enjoy rustling up traditional Kolhapuri fare. Sukha Mutton, Tambada and Pandhra Rassa and Mutton Curry although Satish also enjoys barbecuing, makes good submarine sandwiches and a tasty Dhania Chicken, which he learnt from his hosts in the US. He remembers watching the cook prepare non-vegetarian dishes in the separate outhouse kitchen from the time he was 12. The Ghatges are a Brahmin family and any meats or fish brought into the house when Mohan and Satish were boys were always cooked away from the main kitchen.

Their day-to-day meals still consist of typically Maharashtrian vegetarian food. Chapati, bhaji, amti and koshimbir (salad). It's when they're entertaining or getting together over weekends at each others homes, at their sugarcane farm in Uchgaon or in Panhala, that the meats are prepared with zest.

The lunch spread laid out in Nandini's beautiful garden the day we visited was one such affair. Kolhapuri Chicken Raan, an adapted version of the traditional Afghan dish made with Kolhapuri masala, Pandhara Rassa, Jhunkya Chi Vadi, Tomato Saar, Mutton Loncha (pickle), Bharleli Vangi and Goli Pulao made with kheema balls. The family enjoys a good glass of wine, single malt whisky and the occasional cocktail on the weekends and lunch today was accompanied by gin served with cool coconut water in a coconut shell.

A quick vegetarian lunch is followed by a quicker nap. It's back to work after that and dinner is usually around 8:30pm. At Sadhana and Satish's it's soup, salad and toast most days for the couple although the boys have a full meal. Both Nandini and Sadhana are from other cities but years of being married into a Kolhapuri food loving family have meant they've learnt to appreciate the cuisine.

That doesn't mean that it's all spice and mutton for them though and both still relish making their famous baked dishes and spaghetti when they get the chance.

Sadhana who comes from a fish eating background still does the occasional Fried Fish, Prawn Curry and Balchao and both enjoy trying their hand at various puddings and desserts.