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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 major portion of Maharashtra, which lies on the coast of the
Arabian Sea, is 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. Though most people are not very familiar with
Maharashtrian cuisine and it has yet to find its way into five-star
kitchens, there does exist a large and interesting culinary repertoire.
Maharashtrian cuisine includes subtly flavoured vegetarian delicacies and
hot, aromatic meat and fish curries. Their crunchy, crisp sweets are made
mostly from rice and jaggery. The Konkan food has a lot of coconut in it
and 'Masalas' that have mainly red chillies and coriander. The food from
Kolhapur concentrates on mutton, which is made very spicy. The food of the
Vidarbha region has fiery hot, oily tempering of chillies and garlic. To
spice things further, Mumbai has it's own pot-pourri of dishes like Vada
Pav, Misal and Pav Bhaji - the Indian answers to fast food, which are
immensely popular through out the country.