Annapurna: Maharashtrian Thali

Monday, 14 May 2018

Maharashtrian Thali

Maharashtrian cuisine is the cuisine of the Marathi people from the Indian state of Maharashtra. We Maharashtrians are big time foodies and take pride in our cultural diversity. Maharashtra can never disappoint you, when it comes to food. From Lip smacking snacks like Vada-Paav, Missal, Paav-Bhaji, Kande Pohe, to delectable sweets like Ukadiche Modak, Puran-Poli, Basundi, Shrikhand, Maharashtra has a lot to offer to food lovers.

Maharashtrian cuisine comprises of a variety of mild to very spicy tongue tickling dishes. The food is tempting and delicious and makes use of aromatic and flavorful ingredients. Peanuts and sesame seeds are widely used in curries and chutneys. Garlic and chilies are liberally used in many of the dishes which give a characteristic zesty and spicy taste to the food. Maharashtrian snacks and street food is very popular across India.

Marathi people enjoy all the festivals in a grand manner and every festival has a special food associated with it. Ukadiche modak is a sweet steamed dumpling , offered to lord Ganesha, and made specially for Ganesh Chaturthi. Gulachi poli , tilgulache ladoo and other sesame seed goodies are made for Sankranti festival, Narali bhat ( a sweet coconut rice) and narali barfi ( coconut fudge) is made for Raksha Bandhan festival , Shrikhand is made for Gudhipadva , Kanole kheer is made for Nag Panchami while Puranpoli is made on all special occasions and festivals like Holi, Akhasytritiya. For Festival of Diwali, there is a wide variety of sweet and savory dishes made under the category "Diwali Faral" and the list goes on and on.

Akshay Tritiya Naivedyam Thali

We serve our lunch and dinner meals in thali. Our thalis are incomplete without varan bhaat ( simple steamed rice with pigeon peas dal ( dal can be tempered or simple). The everyday thali will have a flat bread ( can be chapati, phulka, bhakri, ) or poori, a koshimbir ( salad), a chutney, a dry vegetable curry, papad, pickle and a sweet dish. Puranpoli ( stuffed sweet lentil flat bread) is made on all special occasions and festivals. People in Maharashtra observe fasts more than any other state in India. Common fasts observed are , Ekadashi , Mahashivratri, Janmashtami, , Shravan somvar, Sankashti Chaturthi, Navratri etc. No doubt the foodie Maharshtrians have special fasting cuisine too which can be feasted upon by both the fasting and non fasting people.

Gudhi Padva Naivedyam Thali

I am a typical Mahrashtrian girl and i follow all my rituals and customs very religiously. At my home, we make sure all the family members have at least one meal of the day together. I am raised in a family where food is considered as "Anna he Poornabhamha ' which means food is equal to 'Bramha' or the creator of universe. Food is considered as God and it is to be worshiped . Daughters of our family are gifted with Maa Annapurna idol during marriage from parents, so that her family remain blessed and there is no scarcity of food ever. We offer our food first to God as a thankgiving. You will find Naivedyam thali for most of the festivals in my blog.

Shradha Naivedyam Thali

Today is Monday , and we bloggers at #FoodieMondayBlogHop are back with our new theme for the week. It is # 144th week and it was my turn to choose the theme. This marathi mulgi wanted everyone to cook dishes from #MahrashtrianCuisine for this bloghop event. My contribution towards the theme is a Mahrashtrian Thali. In this platter, i have tried to include the dishes which are a part of the everyday and festive lunch or dinner meals and which represent Maharashtrian food the best. Do check out my fellow bloggers posts as well for some wonderful recipes on this theme.

My Maharashtrian Thali has in the clockwise order

Puranpoli - A whole wheat flat bread with sweet lentil stuffing
Poori- Deep fried whole wheat puffed bread
Urad Dal papad- Lentil fritters
Limbucha Lonche- Instant sweet and spicy Lemon Pickle ( oil free)
Mirchicha Thecha- Hirvi Mirchicha Kharada is a delicious fiery hot chutney made from green chilies and garlic which can spice up any meal.
Lemon wedge, salt
Karanji :Karanji is a traditional Maharashtrian fried sweet dumpling made on special occasions like Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi.
Modak : Modak is basically a dumpling which has sweet coconut stuffing and can be either steamed or deep fried.
Kothambir Vadi : Kothambir Vadi is a popular and classic Maharashtrian snacks . It is basically crispy coriander fritter made from fresh coriander leaves, chickpea flour and spices.
Masale Bhat : Masale Bhaat is a spicy and aromatic traditional Maharashtrian rice preparation. A one pot meal with a perfect blend of rice and vegetables with spices .
Waran Bhaat : Simple steamed rice topped with pigeon pea soup and dollop of home made ghee
Matha : Mattha is a refreshing summer drink from Maharashtrian Cuisine. It is basically a delicious spiced buttermilk.
Kadhi : Maharashtrian kadhi is a sweet and sour soup made from tempered buttermilk and chickpea flour.
Koshimbir : Kakadichi Koshimbir
a very simple yet delicious raita made by adding finely chopped cucumber, onions ,tomatoes and green chilies to thick home made curd.
Matar Usal: Matar Usal is a fresh green pea curry from the Maharashtrian Cuisine with coconut and spice as a base. The curry has a slightly sweet, bit spicy and tangy taste.
Aamras : Aamras is a pulp or puree of a ripe mango which is usually flavoured with Saffron and Cardamom.
Basundi : Basundi is a delicious and popular Maharashtrian dessert made by reducing milk which is further sweetened and flavored with Cardamom and Nutmeg.
Bharali Wangi : Bharli Vangi is basically an eggplant curry dish in which baby eggplants are stuffed with a spicy filling of onions, peanut powder , ginger - garlic and coconut paste and powdered spices.
Phodaniche Waran : Phodaniche waran is a tempered pigeon pea dal usually served with steamed rice.

Puran Poli : Puran Poli is a popular Maharashtrian flat bread with a sweet lentil stuffing. It is prepared during special occasions and on festivals like Akshay Tritiya , Gudhi Padwa , Holi , Diwali , Ganesh Chaturthi . In fact , a traditional Maharashtrian house will have Puran Poli as bhog / naivedhyam on almost all special occasions. ( click on the highlighted word for the recipe)

Limbucha Lonche : This instant lemon pickle is very delicious and tongue tickling as it is sweet , spicy and sour all at the same time. Made from just 4 ingredients this pickle is ready under 30 minutes and the recipe is oil free. It can be served with chapatti, any flat bread (Paratha) or puri. It tastes great with Thayir sadam (curd rice) or even with simple dal chawal. This pickle can also be served with fasting food ( food for vrat) like sabudana khichadi or samak rice.

Hirvi Mirchicha Thecha : Hirvi Mirchi is green chili in Marathi and kharada / thecha is to crush. So basically thecha is a green chili crush. Traditionally Mirchicha thecha is made using only two main ingredients , green chili and garlic. A thecha has green chilies and garlic crushed together using a stone mortar and pestle with some salt. This thecha is very spicy and served with bajra or jowar roti. Kharada recipe calls for use of some more ingredients like peanuts, coriander leaves which lower the hotness and make the preparation more aromatic.

Pudachi Karanji : Karanji is a traditional Maharashtrian fried sweet dumpling made on special occasions like Diwali and Ganesh Chaturthi. It is some what similar to North Indian dish - Gujiya. Pudachi Karanji means the one having layers. A typical Maharashtrian Diwali Faral is incomplete without these delectable crescent shaped Karanjis. I always prepare this dish on Lakshmi Poojan day.

Fried Modak : Modak is basically a dumpling which has sweet coconut stuffing and can be either steamed or deep fried. Deep fried modak are called talaniche modak in marathi and i make these modak every month on Sankashti Chaturthi. These are delicious sweet , the outer covering is crisp and inside is soft. I have used whole wheat flour and Suji to make outer covering instead of maida. Maida gives more crisp and nice color to the modak , but we can make whole wheat flour Modak crispier by adding Suji and Ghee to it and using milk for kneading the dough makes them white too. For the stuffing many options are there. You may use scrapped fresh Coconut and Jaggery stuffing, or can add Khoya and Poppy seeds to dry fruits .

Kothambir Vadi : Kothambir Vadi is a popular and classic Maharashtrian snacks . It is basically crispy coriander fritter made from fresh coriander leaves, chickpea flour and spices. The batter so made is first steamed and then cut into pieces and either deep or shallow fried as per choice. Kothambir means coriander in Marathi and vadi means fritter or cutlets hence the name of the dish.Kothambir Vadi is served as a side dish during meals , it is also a perfect tea time snacks. This is my Mum's onion garlic free recipe, crispy from outside and delicious and soft from inside.

Masale Bhaat : Masale Bhaat is a spicy and aromatic traditional Maharashtrian rice preparation. A one pot meal with a perfect blend of rice and vegetables with spices . One can find this flavorful rice at any Maharashtrian wedding for sure. I generally prepare Masale Bhat on special occasions and quite often during winters. Also since this is an Onion Garlic free recipe , the rice can be offered to God as naivedhyam or bhog on festivals.

Mattha : Mattha is a refreshing summer drink from Maharashtrian Cuisine. It is basically a delicious spiced buttermilk. An excellent summer coolant and very good for digestion, a typical Maharashtrian wedding will have Mattha served for sure. Classically it is prepared with buttermilk , but one can make it using plain yogurt as well. Mattha is spiced with ginger , roasted cumin powder, green chilly, and rock salt and addition of fresh Coriander leaves makes it all the more flavorful. The best thing about Mattha is it can be made in a jiffy and without any efforts.

Kakadichi Koshimbir : A typical Maharashtrian thali is incomplete without a koshimbir served by its side. Kakadichi Koshimbir
a very simple yet delicious raita . Just the addition of finely chopped cucumber, onion, tomatoes , green chilies and coriander to thick home made curd seasoned with sugar and salt gives a refreshing summer treat. We Marathi people cannot miss sugar in our koshimbir , you may skip if you desire. Roasted crushed peanuts also make their presence in many curries and raitas. Here i did not add peanut powder as i wanted to keep it light.

Matar Usal : Matar Usal is a fresh green pea curry from the Maharashtrian Cuisine with coconut and spice as a base. The curry has a slightly sweet, bit spicy and tangy taste. We Maharastrians generally add sugar or powderd jaggery to many of our dals and curries and this matar usal is no exception. The curry gets its tangy taste from the added lime juice. It can be made as a dry or gravy dish. Here I have made a dry matar usal which goes perfect with chapatti as a side dish.

Aamras : Aamras is a delicious sweet mango treat , popular in the Indian states of Maharashtra and Gujarat. Basically it is a pulp or puree of a ripe mango which is usually flavoured with Saffron and Cardamom. Aamras is usually consumed with hot Pooris or chapati. In many parts of Maharashtra, Puran Poli and Aamras are served together during summers as a part of festive meals .

Basundi : Basundi is a delicious and popular Maharashtrian dessert made by reducing milk which is further sweetened and flavored with Cardamom and Nutmeg. Saffron may be added to basundi , but almond flavored seeds named Chironji (called charoli in Marathi) is a must in traditional Basundi.

Bharli Vangi : Bharli Vangi is an authentic Maharashtrian delicacy. As the name itself suggest, bharli ( stuffed) and Vangi ( brinjals) , is basically an eggplant curry dish in which baby eggplants are stuffed with a spicy filling of onions, peanut powder , ginger - garlic and coconut paste and powdered spices. The stuffed eggplants are then cooked in a gravy with little tamarind paste and jaggery powder .

I hope you like my today's post . Do let me know if you would like me to share any more Maharashtrian recipes. If you try out any of these dishes, do share your feed back with us.Follow me on #Facebook , #Instagram , #Twitter and #Google+ for more recipes and new updates.

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