INDIAN STAPLE FOOD TOUR - MAHARASHTRA

Every day lakhs of people travel to and fro Mumbai city. You must have heard the famous song of Bappi Lahiri "Laakh, Laakh roz aake bas jaate; is sheher se dil laga ke phas jate hai; sone ki raaho me sone ki jagah nahi; shola hai ya hai bijuriya, dil ke bajariya boombai nagariya." This city has been a dream city for decades now for a lot of people. Some have succeeded, some are struggling and some failed, whatever the situation, one will always smile here. Although i was born in Surat, i have always stayed here in Mumbai. There is a mix of Gujju ben and a Mumbaikar in me. 

 

Maharashtrian or Marathi cuisine is the cuisine of Marathi people. They have considered their food to be very simple, with only the things that are absolutely necessary, especially because of severe limits on money or goods in the past, which they have been following till date. Maharashtrian cuisine includes mild and spicy dishes. Distinctly Maharashtrian dishes include ukdiche modak, aluchi patal bhaji and Thalipeeth. Their dietary staples include wheat, rice, jowar, bajri, vegetables often served with peanuts and cashews, lentils and fruits. Meat was traditionally used sparsely or only by the well off until recently, because of economic conditions and culture.

 

Maharashtra occupies vast area in India and hence it is further dissected into regions. Marathi people from different regions have their varied cuisine. The majority of Maharashtrians are not a big fan eating meat, fish or eggs, they are mostly lacto-vegetarian, that is, their diet includes vegetables as well as dairy products such as milk, cheese, yogurt, butter, ghee, cream, and kefir. Many communities such as the brahmins, or the varkari sect members only follow the lacto-vegetarian diet.

 

Maharashtrians typically have misal, pohe, upma, sheera, sabudana khichadi, thalipeeth or phodnicha bhat (leftover rice from the previous night is fried with onions, turmeric and mustard seeds) for breakfast.

 

A typical Lunch/ Dinner menu in the urban and rural areas would look like below:

 

• Urban Area - Wheat flatbread such as round chapati or ghadichi poli (layered triangular chapati)
• Rural Area - Desh, Khandesh, Marathwada and Vidarbha, the traditional staple was bhakri with a combination of dal, and vegetables. The bhakri is increasingly replaced by wheat-based chapatis. In the Konkan coastal area, boiled rice and rice bhakri, nachni bhakri is the staple, with a combination of the vegetable and non-vegetable dishes described in the lunch and dinner menu.
• Vegetables with gravy based on seasonal availability such as egg plants, okra, potatoes, or cauliflower. Popular dishes are amti – usually made of toor daal with added drumsticks, kadhi – mixture of dahi and besan, solkadhi – this is a cold soup, made up of coconut milk, garlic, cilantaro and kokam, saar – broth like soup made of various daal or vegetables and Amsulache saar – made with kokam.
• Usal based on sprouted or un sprouted whole legumes
• Boiled rice
• Salad or koshimbir based on onions, tomatoes or cucumber
• Papad or related snacks such as sandge, kurdaya and sabudana papdya
• Dry or fresh chutney, mango or lemon pickles

 

Apart from the above menu also have wide range of beverages and sweet dishes. In Maharashtra traditionally, jiggery water was served to welcome guests now replaced with tea or coffee. Other various beverages are kairi cha panna, piyush, kokum sarbat, solkadhi, mattha, sugar-cane juice or masala milk.

 

Sweet dishes or desserts are an important part of every festival or occasion in Maharashtra. The most traditional and famous sweet dish is puran poli, chappati stuffed with toor daal and jaggery. Others may include shrikhand, modak, kheer, basundi, or chirote (combination of semolina and plain flour).

 

Families that eat meat, fish and poultry may combine vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, with rice and chapatis remaining the staples. Vegetable or non-vegetable items are essentially dips for the bread or for mixing with rice.

 

This state is also famous for street food and homemade snacks. When we say street food here, the only think comes to mind is “vada paav.” In the metropolitan cities of Maharashtra like Mumbai or Pune, fast food has become more popular. These include, paav bhaji, missal paav, southern dishes like idli and dosa, tradional Maharashtrian food like Thalipeeth, sabudana khichdi, varanfal (commonly known as daal dhokli in Gujarat and Rajasthan) and Chana daliche dheerde is a savory crepe made with chana dal.

 

We celebrate every festival and hence each festive season has its own specialty.

 

Makar Sakrant - Tilgul Poli or gulpoli are the main sweet preparations. It is a wheat-based flatbread filled with sesame seeds and jaggery.

 

Holi – This festival marks an end to winter season and slaying of a demon in Hindu mythology. People make puran poli and offer to the holi fire.

 

Ganesh Chaturthi - Ukadiche (Steamed) Modak offered to Lord Ganesha

 

Diwali - Typical sweet preparations include ladu, anarse, shankarpali and karanjya. Popular savory treats include chakli, Shev and chiwda. High in fat and low in moisture, these snacks can be stored at room temperature for many weeks without spoiling.

 

Champa Sashthi - Many Maharashtrian communities from all social levels observe the Khandoba Festival or Champa Shashthi in the month of Mārgashirsh. Households perform Ghatasthapana of Khandoba during this festival. The sixth day of the festival is called Champa Sashthi. For many people, the Chaturmas period ends on Champa Sashthi. It is customary for many families not to consume onions, garlic and eggplant during the Chaturmas. Following the festival, the consumption of these foods resumes with ritual preparation of vangyache bharit (baingan bharta) with rodga

 

Hindu fasting cuisine - Sabudana khichadi. A snack popular on Hindu fasting days, marathi Hindu people fast on days such as Ekadashi, Chaturthi in honour of Ganesh, Mondays in honour of Shiva, or Saturdays in honour of Maruti or Saturn. Only certain kinds of foods are allowed to be eaten, like milk and other dairy products (such as dahi), fruit and Western food items such as sago, potatoes, purple-red sweet potatoes, amaranth seeds, nuts and varyache tandul (shama millet). Popular fasting dishes include Sabudana Khichadi or danyachi amti (peanut soup).

 

Christmas - East Indian Catholic Community of North Konkan also have their own special recipes for Christmas. Just like Goa, this includes pork vindaloo and sorpotel. A popular sweet for Christmas includes Fogeas made out of flour, coconut milk, sugar and cottage cheese. These sweets are offered to visitors and exchanged with neighbors and friends.

 

We are open to any recipe request of items mentioned or other than those stated above or can follow https://pinchofsalt2flavor.blogspot.com/

We will come back with Rajasthan soon, till then #stayhome #staysafe #gharkakhaana #sabsesafe

 

Cheers!!