The Maharashtra cuisine is distinguished for its spicy and mouth watering taste. The culture of Maharashtra is reflected in its local cuisine. There are several five-star kitchens and a large and interesting culinary repertoire in Maharashtra.
Overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea, Maharashtra cuisine is largely influenced by seafoods and the cuisine that is popular in the interiors of the state presents a strong blend of the traditional and the contemporary preparations. The coastline of Maharashtra is usually called the Konkan and boasts its own Konkani cuisine, which is a harmonized combination of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisines. Besides the coastal Maharashtra cuisine, the interior of Maharashtra or the Vidarbha area has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varadi cuisine.
Rice is the staple food grain in Maharashtra cuisine, alike the other states of India. The Maharashtra cuisine includes an enormous variety of vegetables in the regular diet and lots of fish and coconuts are used. Grated coconuts spice many kinds of dishes in Maharashtra cuisine; however coconut oil is not very widely used as a cooking medium. In Maharashtra cuisine, peanuts and cashew nuts are widely used in vegetables and peanut oil is used as the main cooking medium. Wide use of kokum, which is a deep purple berry that has a pleasing sweet and sour taste is also seen in Maharashtra.
Maharashtrian meals are systematically planned and cooked. The Marathi cooks follow the golden rule being that the cooking medium must not be seen. The vegetables are more or less only steamed and very lightly seasoned so as to retain their dietary value. There is almost no deep frying and roasting in Maharashtra cuisine recipes. Coconut is extensively used in cooking and as an embellishment. Jaggery and tamarind are also used in most vegetables or lentils so that the Maharashtra cuisine pertains a sweet and sour flavor while the kala masala (special mixture of spices) is added to make the food spicy. In the coastal cuisine of Maharashtra, fresh coconut is added to the dishes, while in the Vidarbha region, powdered coconut is used for cooking.
Among seafood of Maharashtra cuisine, the most popular fish is bombil or the Bombay duck, while in the vegetarian fare; the most popular vegetables are brinjals. Another typical dish of Maharashtra cuisine is the Pachadi, which is tender brinjals cooked with green mangoes and ornamented with coconut and jaggery. A typical dish of Maharashtra cuisine is the patal bhaji, a sweet and sour dish flavored with groundnuts. All non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes of Maharashtra cuisine are eaten with boiled rice or with bhakris, which are soft rotis made of rice flour.
However, Maharashtra cuisine is incomplete without papads, which are eaten roasted or fried. A typical feature of Marathi food is the masala papad in which finely chopped onions, green chilies and chat masala are speckled over roasted or fried papads. The most popular dessert of Maharashtra is the puran poli, roti stuffed with a sweet mixture of jaggery and gram flour.
In Maharashtra, the regional festivals and food go together and every dish brings a special significance along with it. Among Maharashtra cuisine, Chaat is probably the most loved snacks, followed by bhelpuri, pani puri, pav bhaji, and dosai. The paan culture has been raised to an art form amidst Maharashtra cuisine. The famous Cold and Sweet paan is sweet filling and chilled.
