Maharashtrian Dishes To Die For
The Maharashtrian Cuisine holds a special place in the hearts of everybody who lives in Maharashtra. Whether the person is a Marathi or non Marathi is irrespective. Living in Maharashtra is enough to fall in love with it. A look at the spread on a typical Maharashtrian dining table shows all delicacies that can be branded as exclusively Maharashtrian and appreciated by a conventional Marathi connoisseur. Everyday Maharashtrians all over and outside Maharashtra crave for their Marathi food. As they truly say in Marathi, “आईच्या हातची चव” or “घर का खाना” in Hindi and “homemade is the best made” in English.
Close your eyes and picture a fully served plate in front of you that contains any one: A puran poli with lots of homemade ghee on it, or a steaming hot, pure white and soft ukadiche modak or batata wada with spicy fried green chili. How about misal – pav with finely chopped onion and coriander with a small piece of lemon waiting to be squeezed onto it?
Hungry ???Well, before to start craving for it too much to read any further let us get to the point..
A quick glance at a complete Maharashtrian Thali will define the word “A Balanced Diet” for you. When you start serving it, you begin with a pinch of salt, a small slice of lemon, chutney, koshimbir (salad), bhaaji or sabzi, varan – bhaat (dal and rice), aamti or kadhi(curry), poli (chapati) or puri, a sweet (Shrikhanda / Aamrakhanda, Gulab Jam or Kheer), masale bhat (masala rice) or dahi bhat (curd rice) and lastly a big glass of buttermilk.
Lemon gives the Vitamin C that you need. Chutney gives the necessary fiber, bhaji, rice and chapatis covers the carbohydrates whereas aamti and varan and curd take care of the protein requirement. You simply cannot enjoy varan – bhaat without a spoonful of ghee so it adds the fat and finally your sweet dish is your energy. Kind of makes your day, doesn’t it???
Where this daily diet is quite irresistible in itself, special dishes for festive and family occasions are to die for. For example:
Gudi Padwa is incomplete without the famous ‘Puran Poli and Kataachi Amti’.
On Narali Pornima (the day when Raksha Bandhan is celebrated all over India) everyone has the ‘Narali Bhaat’ (sweet rice made with jaggery and coconut) in their lunch menu.
Can you imagine Ganesh Chaturthi without ‘Ukdiche Modak’?
Bappa won’t forgive us if we do.
Kojagiri comes with a promise of steaming hot cup of ‘Masala Doodh’
Diwali brings a plate full of ‘Faral’ decorated with Chivda, Chakli, Shev, Laadoo, Karanji, Shankarpale and Anaarse.
Come Makar Sankranti, and siblings literally fight over the dining table over Gul Poli.
The list of “To Die For” is endless. I believe I can also safely list Sabudane Wade or Khichadi, Thalipeeth, Solkadhi, variations of Pohe such as Dadpe Pohe, Kolache Pohe, Vaangi (Brinjal) Pohe, Pithla or Zunka and Varan Fala in this category.
And we haven’t even started with the regional and the seasonal. Seasonal being “Aamras – Puri” and “Matar Usal – Pav”.
Our non – vegetarian lovers will be disappointed if we don’t mention “The Tambda – Pandhra Rassa”, a specialty of Kolhapur. “Malvani Chicken or Prawns Curry”, “Kombadi Wade”,“ Kolambi Kadhi and Kolambi Bhaat” and “Chimbori Kalvan” from Malvan. Let us also not forget Chicken Shagoti, Karda Chicken, Vajadi and Dongri Mutton.
In spite of listing so many, I can still assure you that they are just the tip of the largest iceberg. The deeper you dive in Maharashtra the greater the recipes. And, some of them never heard about even by the Maharashtrians themselves. So coming next is a chain of such never heard about yet simple recipes from the heart of Konkan region of Maharashtra.
Stay with us and I assure you, to be ravenous as never before !!!
