5 Easy and Delicious Maharashtrian Dishes to Try at Home

Food uplifts our mood and helps us relax. It is indeed one of the best things to be shared and enjoyed with family. With a lockdown in place, we know how you miss savouring some of the drool-worthy Maharashtrian dishes from your favourite restaurant and road-side vendor. So, how about trying to prepare some of these dishes at  home? Check out our curated blog for 5 delicious and easy to make Maharashtrian dishes and pick a dish to make that you’re craving for.

Batata Vada / Vada Pav

This Indian-style burger is one of the most popular street foods of Maharashtra. Some restrict it to a tea time snack. Some can make a full meal out of it. Your choice! It goes without saying, Batata Vada is clearly one of the easiest and delicious dishes you try at home. Batata vada is the most popular street food in Maharashtra and is mostly savoured as the evening snack. Here’s how to prepare this simple yet delish snack from Maharashtra.

The batata / aloo mix

Heat 2tsp oil and add cumin, a pinch of hing, finely chopped green chilies, a few curry leaves, boiled and mashed potatoes, salt to taste, coriander and lemon juice. Cook for 5-6 minutes and set aside.

The Besan batter

Take 2 cups of besan / gram flour and add 2 tbsp of rice flour, ¼ tsp of turmeric powder, kashmiri red chilli powder, hing, salt and baking soda. Add water to make a medium consistency batter that is not too runny.

Making the Wada

Heat oil in a kadhai. Make a ball of the potato mix and coat it fully with the besan batter. Deep fry stirring occasionally until the wada turns golden and crisp.

Assembling the Wada Pav

Split the pav and apply garlic and coriander chutney and place the Wada in between. Your tasty vada pav is ready to serve!

Sabudana Vada

Sabudana vada is a traditional  dish during fasting but owing to its incredible taste,  this Maharashtrian is popular as an evening munchy paired with a cup of tea and some with green chutney and curd. Here’s how sabudana vada can be prepared.

Wash 1 cup Soak Sago / Sabudana in water for about an hour and drain.

Add 3-4 small boiled mashed potatoes, finely chopped green chillies, roasted peanut powder and salt to taste.

Bind to make small flat balls. Deep fry until the wada is crisp and golden brown. Serve hot with coriander chutney.

Poha Cutlets

Have some leftover poha from breakfast? Let’s help you convert it into a tasty tea time snack or an ideal party starter or kids snack recipe that can be easily extended as patties for burger or sandwich recipes. Here’s how to prepare poha cutlets

Sprinkle the leftover poha with a few drops of water.

Add boiled and mashed potatoes, chili powder, roasted jeera powder, chaat masala, coriander, and salt to taste.

Mix and mash well to make small balls and pat them into cutlets. You can shallow fry the cutlets and serve it hot with green chutney!

Misal Pav

Misal Pav is a scrumptious dish that can be served as a breakfast or a meal. Misal is a spicy curry made of moth beans and Pav is a type of bread roll. Farsan or sev, onions, lemon, or coriander is used to put on top of the curry. Then it is served with Pav toasted with butter.  There are a few ways of preparing this Maharashtrian dish but here, we are sharing only the recipe for the super spicy Kolhapuri Misal.

The Misal Mix

Start roasting 1/4th cup dry coconut. Add  8-10 Kashmiri red chillies, 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 stone flower, 1 small stick of cinnamon, 2 cardamom, 1 nutmeg, 1 lichen, 1 star anise, 6-7 cloves, 6-7 black pepper, 5-6 fenugreek / methi seeds, 2 tbsp white sesame seeds, 1 tbsp poppy seeds, 1 inch ginger, 8 – 10 cloves of garlic.

Roast well, grind and store. This mix can be used anytime you plan to make misal!

Making Misal

Heat 3-4 tbsp oil, add mustard seeds. When it starts spluttering, 1 tsp cumin and add a pinch of hing followed by 1 big finely chopped onion.

As the onion turns pink, add 1 big finely chopped tomato and cover and cook for 5-7 minutes until the mix is cooked.

Once done, add 1 tbsp of chilli powder and 4-5 spoons of misal mix.

You can add more depending on how spicy you want your missal to be. After 4-5 mins add sprouted matki / moth bean sprouts and mix well. Top it with 3 cups of water and bring to boil and allow it to simmer for 5 mins.

Serve missal hot topped with sev / farsan along with pav, green chillies and onion on the side

Aamti

This popular Maharashtrian dish also has a few regional variants but the one that is quite popular in Maharashtra is Konkanastha Aamti. This ultimate comfort food is a popular type of daal best had with rice and a curry of your choice. Here’s how to prepare the Kokanastha Aamti.

To start, soak and cook a cup of Tur / Arhar daal with a pinch of turmeric and hing.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan and add mustard, hing, ½ tsp turmeric powder, finely chopped tomato, ½ cup grated coconut, 8-10 curry leaves, 1 tbsp jaggery, 3-4 kokum, salt to taste and mix well until the jaggery melts.

Add the daal to it and cook for 5-10 minutes until the mix boils well. Take it off the flame and serve with a fresh garnish of coriander.