Maharashtrian Tadka

When I hear "Ganpati Bappa Moriya" the sweet and flavourful Modak comes to my mind. These dainty dumplings are stuffed with a mixture of grated coconut, jaggery, poppy seeds and dry fruits. You'll agree with me that the beautiful beaches of Mumbai are incomplete without the quintessential Vada Pav, Bhel Puri and Pav Bhaji. Food is an integral part of Maharashtra's cultural heritage. Maharashtrian food prepared in the royal kitchens was an extraordinary treat. The meal included a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes balanced with different tastes and flavours. A Maharashtrian thali is a simple combination of all the flavours like spicy, savoury, sour, bitter and sweet are packed into one plate.

 
Maharashtra food has its own unique tastes and flavours. This can be separated into two main sections — the inland and the marine. A significant portion of Maharashtra situated on the Arab Sea coast is broadly referred to as the Konkan and boasts its own Konkani cuisine, a homogeneous mix of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisine. In addition to the coastal cuisine, Maharashtra's interior — the Vidarbha area — has its own distinctive cuisine, known as Varadi cuisine.

The most popular fish among seafood is bombil, or the Bombay duck usually served fried with crisp batter. Another common fish in coastal Maharashtra is bangda or mackerel. It is curry with red, ginger, and triphal chillies. Pomfret is another common barbecue-eaten, stuffed, fried or curried cod. Pamphlet triphal ambat is a traditional dish cooking fish in creamy coconut gravy which greatly enhances the flavour. The coastal Maharashtrians even rejoice in shrimp, crabs, prawns, shellfish and lobsters. The sungtachi-hinga kodi is a popular prawn curry, consisting of prawns in coconut gravy, blended with spices and asafetida.

The most common vegetables at the vegetarian fare are brinjals. Bharlivangi or baby brinjals stuffed with coconut is a common style of cooking brinjals. Another traditional dish is the Pachadi, which is tender brinjals cooked with green mangoes and coconut and jaggery flavoured. In fact, the Maharashtrians rejoice in growing vegetables. A popular recipe is the patal bhaji, a sweet, sour recipe aromatised with groundnuts. Both non-vegetarian and vegetarian meals are served either with boiled rice or bhakris, fluffy rotis made from rice flour.

They're also known for their sweet tooth. Ganesh Chaturthi is the time you'll get the best Modaks in the city. This famous sweet is prepared in two forms, one of which is steamed and the other fried. Modak is thought to have been Lord Ganesh's favourite sweet and is thus cooked to please him. 

The Amrakhanda made from mangoes and yoghurt is a tasty summer treat. Basundi is my favourite sweet made with milk. It is much like rabri and is consumed with puri. Despite having such a wonderful variety to savour, Maharashtrian tribal food is still unexplored. Yet you should know that the variety of local flavours will excite your taste buds quickly.