art-culture

Maharashtra

Maharashtrian cuisine covers a range from being mild to very spicy dishes. Wheat, rice, jowar, vegetables, lentils and fruit form important components of Maharashtrian diet. Popular dishes include puran poli, ukdiche Modak and batata wada. The staple dishes of Maharashtrian cuisine are based on bread and rice. The cuisine of Maharashtra has its own distinctive flavors and tastes. It can be divided into two major sections–the coastal and the interior. A part of Maharashtra, which lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea, is loosely called the Konkan and boasts of its own Konkani cuisine, which is a homogeneous combination of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisines. Besides the coastal cuisine, the interior of Maharashtra—the Vidarbha area, has its own distinctive cuisine known as the Varadi cuisine. As in many states of India, rice is the staple food grain in Maharashtra. Like the other coastal states, there is an enormous variety of vegetables in the regular diet and lots of fish and coconuts are used.Grated coconuts spice many kinds of dishes, but coconut oil is not very widely used as a cooking medium. Peanuts and cashew nuts are widely used in vegetables and peanut oil is the main cooking medium. Another feature is the use of kokum, a deep purple berry that has a pleasing sweet and sour taste. Kokum, most commonly used in an appetizer-digestive called the sol kadhi, is served chilled. During summer another drink called panna made from bioled raw mango is consumed. Rest of the Maharashtra apart from Konkan, uses ground nuts, jaggary, wheat, jowar and bajra extensively. Maharashtrian meal consists of rice and bread both along with 'varan'/'aamtee' - a type of lentils and spiced veggies. Maharashtrian dishes for 'UPwas' have a special mention as most of them are favourites for life time e.g. sabudana khichadi.

BHARWAN BAINGAN RECIPE

Ingredients:

8 small Egg plant, Brinjal (Biangan)

8 peeled baby Potato (Aloo)

2 large sliced Onion (Pyaj)

2/3rd cup grated Coconut (Nariyal)

4 tblsp unsalted chopped Cashews

8 Cloves (Lavang)

8 Black Pepper corns (Kalimirchi)

1/2 tsp Sugar (Cheeni)

To taste Salt (Namak)

1 tsp Cayenne Powder

1 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)

1 tsp Tamarind Paste (Imli Pate)

8 tblsp Oil

2 tblsp Coriander seeds (Dhania)

3 tblsp chopped finely Coriander Leaves (Dhania Powder)

How to make bharwan baingan:

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a pan and add cloves, coriander seeds and peppercorns.

Saute for a minute..

Now add sliced onions and fry until brown.

Add coconut and stir fry until browned, remove and allow to cool.

Grind the mixture to a paste using blender.

Add little water if needed.

Slit each eggplant lengthwise into four, keeping the stem end intact.

Now in the grinded mixture mix cayenne powder, salt, sugar, tamarind paste, cashews and turmeric powder.

Stuff the eggplants with this mixture, reserving some.

Roll the potatoes in the remaining mixture.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the vegetables.

Cook over low heat without burning, add little water if necessary, until done.

Keep an eye.

Serve hot with roti.

AAMTI RECIPE

Ingredients:

2 cup split Moong Beans (Moong Dal)

21/2 cup Water

1 chopped Tomato (Tamatar)

3-4 sliced Green chilli (Hari mrich)

Few Curry Leaves (Kari Patta)

To taste Salt (Namak)

1 tsp Black Mustard seeds (Rai/Sarson)

A pinch of Asafoetida (Hing)

1 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi)

1 tsp Cumin Seed (Jeera)

21/2 cup Water

3 tblsp Vegetable oil (Vanaspati)

Chopped Coriander Leaves (Dhania Patta)

How to make aamti:

Bring the daal to boil in the water and simmer until soft and mushy.

Heat the oil in a pan and add mustard seeds, as soon as they pop, add the asafoetida, cumin seeds, turmeric powder, chilies and curry leaves.

Saute for a minute and add the cooked dal.

Bring to boil and add the tomatoes, salt and coriander leaves.

Remove from the heat.

Keep it covered.

Serve hot.