Maharashtrian Cuisine - Appetizers or Snacks

Appetizers or Snacks

There are lots of snack and side dishes in Maharashtrian cuisine. Some quintessentially Maharashtrian dishes are:

• Chivda: Spiced flattened rice. It is also known as Bombay mix in Foreign countries especially Great Britain.
• Pohay: pohay or pohe is a snack made from flattened rice. It is most likely served with tea and is probably the most likely dish that a Maharashtrian will offer his guest. During arranged marriages in Maharashtra, Kanda Pohe (literal translation, pohe prepared with onion) is most likely the dish served when the two families meet. Its so common that sometimes arranged marriage itself is referred colloquially as "kanda-pohay". Other variants on the recipe are batata pohe (where diced potatoes are used instead of onion shreds). Other famous recipes made with Pohe (flattened rice) are dadpe pohe, a mixture of raw Pohe with shredded fresh coconut, green chillies, ginger and lemon juice; and kachche pohe, raw pohe with minimal embellishments of oil, red chili powder, salt and unsauteed onion shreds.
• Upma or sanja or upeeth: This snack is similar to the south Indian upma. It is a thick porridge made of semolina perked up with green chillies, onions and other spices.
• Surali Wadi: Chick pea flour rolls with a garnishing of coconut, coriander leaves and mustard.
• Vada pav: Popular Maharashtrian dish consisting of fried mashed-potato dumpling (vada), eaten sandwiched in a bun (pav). This is referred to as Indian version of burger and is almost always accompanied with the famous red chutney made from garlic and chillies, and fried green chilles. Interestingly, rarely vada pav are home made.
• Matar-usal- pav :It is a dish made of green peas in a curry with onions, green chillies and sometimes garlic. Its eaten with a western style leavened bun or pav. Another form of Matar usal is made in konkan areas or by brahmins especially in Pune - this has a gravy of coconut, coriander, ginger-garlic and green chilly ground together and then fried into a Phodni. Some water and green peas are added and boiled till the peas are cooked and have absorbed the taste of all the condiments.
• Misal Pav:Quintessentially from Kolhapur. This is made from a mix of curried sprouted lentils, topped with batata-bhaji, pohay, Chivda, farsaan, raw chopped onions and tomato. Also some times eaten with yogurt. Bread is a must.
• Pav bhaji: This speciality dish from lanes of Mumbai has mashed steamed mixed vegetables (mainly potatoes, peas, tomatoes, onions and green pepper) cooked in spices and table butter. The vegetable mix is served with soft bun shallow fried in table butter and chopped onion. Sometimes cheese, paneer (cottage cheese) are added.
• Thalipeeth: A type of pancake. Usually spicy and is eaten with curd.
• Zunka-Bhakar: A native Maharashtrian chick pea flour recipe eaten with Bhakri.
• Sabudana Khichadi: Sauted sabudana (Pearls of sago palm), a dish commonly eaten on days of religious fasting.
• Khichdi: Made up of rice and dal with mustard seeds and onions to add flavor.
• Bakarwadi: This spicy fried pastry is eaten as a tea time snack. Especially popular is that from Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale in Pune.
• Bhadang: Spiced puffed rice.
• Shira Semolina pudding
• Chana daliche dheerde
• Ghavan.
• Ukad

Kolhapuri misal and the pandhara rassa are some of the common dishes and popular throughout India

Maharashtrian cuisine like most of the Indian cuisines is laced with lots of fritters. Some of them are

• Kothimbir vadi: Coriander (Cilantro) mixed with chick pea flour and Maharashtrian spices. There are plenty of variants of this dishes some deep fried, some stir fried and some steamed.
• "Kobi chya wadya" Cabbage rolls: Shredded cabbage in chick pea flour.
• Kanda Bhaji: onion bhaji fritters, one of the more popularly consumed Maharashtrian dish. It commonly sold by Vada pav vendors.
• "Batata bhaji": Deep fried, fine potato slices coated in chick pea flour batter.
• "Mirchi bhaji": Deep fried, chillies. Some people prefer these coated in chick pea flour batter.
• "Alu wadi": Colocasia leaves rolled in chick pea flour, steamed and then stir fried.
• Mung dal wade
• Sabudana wada
• Surana-chi wadi
• Methi wade made with leaves of Fenugreek plant