Maharashtrian cuisine

Maharashtrian cuisine
Location of Maharashtra in India
Map of Maharashtra with different regions and districts

Maharashtrian (or Marathi) cuisine encompasses the cooking styles, traditions and recipes associated with the cuisine of the Marathi people from the state of Maharashtra in India. It has distinctive attributes of its own, but also shares much with the wider Indian cuisine. Maharashtrian cuisine covers a range from having mild to very spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, jowar, bajri, vegetables, lentils and fruit form staples of the Maharashtrian diet. Peanuts and cashews are often served with vegetables. Traditionally, Maharashtrians have considered their food to be more austere than that of other regions in India. Meat has traditionally been used quite sparsely or only by the well off until recently because of economic conditions and culture.

The urban population of Maharashtra in metropolitan cities such as Mumbai, Pune and others have been open to influence of recipes from other parts of India and abroad. For example, the Udupi dishes idli and dosa as well as Chinese and Western dishes are quite popular in home cooking and in restaurants.

Some of the distinctly Maharashtrian dishes include ukdiche modak, aluchi patal bhaji, and Thalipeeth.

The many communities amongst Marathi people result in a diverse cuisine. This diversity extends to the family level because each family uses its own unique combination of spices. The majority of Maharashtrians do eat meat and eggs, but the Brahmin community is mostly lacto-vegetarian. The traditional staple food on Desh (the Deccan plateau) is usually bhakri, spiced cooked vegetables, dal and rice. Bhakri is an Unleavened bread made using Indian millet (jowar), bajra or bajri. However, the North Maharashtrians and Urban people prefer roti or chapatti, which is a plain bread made with Wheat flour. In the coastal Konkan region, rice is the traditional staple food and wet coconut and coconut milk is used in many preparations. In South Konkan, near Malvan, an independent cuisine has developed called Malvani cuisine, which is predominantly non-vegetarian. Kombdi vade, fish preparations and baked preparations are more popular here.In the Vidarbha region, little coconut is used in daily preparations but dry coconut, along with peanuts, are used in dishes such as spicy savjis or mutton and chicken dishes.

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