Maharashtrian cuisine

Distinctly Maharashtrian dishes include ukdiche modak, aluchi patal bhaji, kanda pohe, Pithla Bhakri, Matki Usal and thalipeeth.

The majority of Maharashtrians are not averse to eating meat, fish and eggs, but the staple diet for most people is mostly lacto-vegetarian.

The traditional staple food on Desh (the Deccan plateau) is usually bhakri, spiced cooked vegetables, dal and rice.

Maharashtrian lacto-vegetarian dishes are based on five main classes of ingredients that include grains, legumes, vegetables, dairy products and spices.

Flatbreads can be wheat-based, such as the traditional trigonal ghadichi poli [2] or the round chapati that is more common in urban areas.

Bhakri is an unleavened bread made using grains such as ragi or millet, bajra or bajri or jwari and forms part of daily meals in rural areas.

[9][10] The staple meal of the rural poor was traditionally as simple as bajra bhakri accompanied by just a raw onion, a dry chutney, or a gram flour preparation called jhunka.

A popular dish is varan bhaat, in which steamed rice is mixed with plain dal that is prepared with pigeon peas, lemon juice, salt and ghee.

In Maharashtra, spring (March–May) is the season of cabbages, onions, potatoes, okra, guar and tondali,[26] shevgyachya shenga, dudhi, marrow and padwal.

During the Monsoon season (June–September) green leafy vegetables, such as aloo (Marathi: आळू), or gourds such as karle, dodka and eggplant become available.

Chili peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cauliflower, French beans and peas become available in the cooler climate of October to February.

[27] Coal fired roasted young cobs of Sorghum (Jwari) is a popular item during winter picnics to the farms.

[29] Bhaaji requires the use of goda masala, consisting of a combination of cloves, corriander powder, cumin, cinnamon, asafoetida, etc.

For example, a number of Hindu communities from many parts of India refrain from eating onions and garlic altogether during chaturmas, which broadly equals the monsoon season.

[32] Leafy vegetables such as fenugreek, amaranth, beetroot, radish, dill, colocasia, spinach, ambadi, sorrel (Chuka in Marathi), chakwat, safflower (Kardai in Marathi) and tandulja are either stir-fried (pale bhaaji ) or made into a soup (patal bhaaji )[33] using buttermilk and gram flour.

Split beans are called dal and turned into amti (thin lentil soup), or added to vegetables such as dudhi.

Common spices include asafoetida, turmeric, mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, dried bay leaves, and chili powder.

Ingredients that impart sour flavor to the food include yoghurt, tomatoes, tamarind paste, lemon, and amsul skin.

Traditional rural households would have millet in form of bhakri on the Deccan plains and rice on the coast as respective staples.

In some households leftover rice from the previous night is fried with onions, turmeric and mustard seeds for breakfast, making phodnicha bhat.

Vegetarian lunch and dinner plates in urban areas carry a combination of: Apart from bread, rice, and chutney, other items may be substituted.

Families that eat meat, fish and poultry may combine vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, with rice and chapatis remaining the staples.

[33] In the inland areas of Maharashtra such as Desh, Khandesh, Marathwada and Vidarbha, the traditional staple was bhakri with a combination of dal, vegetables, or commonly the chickpea flour based pithale.

Occasionally, along with tea leaves, the brew may include spices, freshly grated ginger[82] and cardamom[83][unreliable source?]

Other sweets popular in Maharashtra and other regions of India include: Kheer, kaju katli, gulab jamun, jalebi, various kinds of barfi, and rasmalai.

[citation needed] As part of Holi, a festival that is celebrated on the full moon evening in the month of Falgun (March or April), a bonfire is lit to symbolize the end of winter and the slaying of a demon in Hindu mythology.

In Maharashtrian tradition family members have a ritual bath before dawn and then sit down for a breakfast of fried sweets and savory snacks called as Diwali Faral.

Following the festival, the consumption of these foods resumes with ritual preparation of vangyache bharit (baingan bharta) with rodga.

[115][116] The traditional wedding menu among Maharashtrian Hindu communities used to be a lacto-vegetarian fare with mainly multiple courses of rice dishes with different vegetables and dals.

A popular sweet for Christmas includes Fogeas made out of flour, coconut milk, sugar and cottage cheese.