When you think of Maharashtra, don't forget to give some thought to the famous, mouthwatering Malvani food. Named after a Portuguese explorer and naturalist, this delicious cuisine has its roots in Maharashtra state, and is popular throughout India and abroad. The word "Maharashtrians" is used for the people of this state. They use a lot of spices and different herbs, but their unique style of cooking is mostly local. Malvani food can be characterized by the use of rice, dry or baked items, fish, chicken, and mutton. The variety is immense.
Malvani food is probably the benchmark for Indian cuisine. It is an amalgam of several regional cuisines: North Indian, Southern Indian, Central Indian, Bengali, Assamese, and the famous Marathi cuisines. Though Malvani is predominantly non vegetarian, there are several vegetarian dishes too. Even though it's an independent cuisine, it sometimes overlaps with Maharashtrian and Goan cuisines. For instance, you may find mango pepper, coconut jaggery, or meat and wheat curry in galvanic food.
One of the most popular dishes of malvani food that you may find in Mumbai is the paper, or koan, biryani. It's a thick, pulverized curry dish, spiced with different spices and flavorings. This dish is usually served with a side dish of steamed white rice. In addition to preparing biryani, one can also prepare this delicacy at home, with the use of a pressure cooker. This delicious dish is known all over the world as the 'Indian take away'.
Some of the famous delicacies of the traditional Malvani food include the dosa, which is a split wheat dal, and is a staple diet of north India. The other main dish of Malvani food is the boss. It's a thin spicy pancake made of flour and is filled with vegetables and meat. Some popular dosas include the dosas palatini, malai data, kheer, and kheer kais. These are just some of the famous dosas that you may find in your local Indian biryani.
Grated coconut is an integral part of malvani food, and it's commonly used to prepare several kinds of delicious fish thalis. The fish thali is a wonderful starter dish for those people who are not used to tasting fish. The salty taste of the fish and the crunchy texture of the coconut is very mouth watering. Fish thalis are prepared using several spices like the thali masala, which are a mixture of several spices including the pepper, red chilli powder, dry ginger powder, turmeric powder and the cumin powder, ground ginger and garlic powder.
There are several other famous varieties of Malvani food available, including the Kerala Surmai Thali and the Konkan food. The Kerala Surmai Thali is a thick and rich soup and is very popular all over the country. It's a favorite of many people because of its spiciness and delicious taste. The Konkan food is a south Indian cuisine, which includes some regional specialities like masala chai, which is a spicy rice preparation, mint juice, and few drops of lemon juice. Both these curries make excellent starters for any of the Malvani delicacies.
The Malvani cuisines can also be topped with a variety of sauces and spices to make them even tastier. Some of the most popular of these sauces include the mint and rose conch chutney, rose and cumin ketchup, mint and mango ketchup, chicken and coconut ketchup, red and green ketchup, and the tangy tamarind sauce. These sauces can also be used to make delicious dosas, idlis, stir fries and other dishes that the Malvani food deserves to be a part of.
The various styles of Malvani cuisines, along with the many different types of seafood that it incorporates make it a very tasty and healthy option for your meal. You can make use of some of the fresh seafood that is available in your local market and incorporate it into your everyday meals. Alternatively you can also make use of some of the items that you can buy from stalls in the street or from specialised shops. Either way, there is no denying the fact that you will never have to worry about getting enough nutritious ingredients in your diet as long as you stick to one type of Malvani cuisine - fish thali or curries.