12 Of Maharashtra's Best Dishes That Will Give You An Instant Foodgasm

1. Nothing Like The Kaju Kothimbir Vadi

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Kothimbir vadi is a wonderful snack, extremely popular among Maharashtrians. Kothimbir is the Marathi word for coriander. This dish is made of gram flour, spices and an addition of cashew nuts.

HolidayIQ Traveller Amar shares, “We had authentic Maharashtrian Cuisine vegetarian and non vegetarian both. We enjoyed soft and fluffy rice, roti and pithale, kothimbir vadi, Misal pav and solkadhi to name few.”

2. The Irresistible Zunka Bhakri

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Zunka Junka Pitla is a popular dish from Maharashtra and is popularly known as pitla bhakri or pitla. This rural Maharashtrian dish is made with besan and seasoned with cumin seeds, ajwain and other spices. Pitla is usually eaten with bhakri, flat bread made from either jowar or bajra.

HolidayIQ Traveller Amit Amrutkar says, “Food available like Zunka-Bhakri, curd, onion chutney. Do not miss this food when you go to Pune.”

3. The Spicy & Tangy Bharleli Vangi

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Bharli vangi or stuffed eggplant is a traditional Maharashtrian dish. This tops the Maharashtrian cuisine be it any occasion or wedding. This traditional maharashtrian curry is made with baby eggplants stuffed with spicy masala sweet and tangy gravy.

HolidayIQ Traveller Suna Nanavati shares, “We asked him for maharashtrian thali we had bharli vangi,bharli potato,(stuffed brinjal,potato)Baingan bhartha,Amti(spicy dal)Varan(Sadaa dal),Masala bhath,Cucumber Koshimbir,Methi Zunka.Phulka.Awesome.Next morning we had moong dal chilla,stuff paratha for breakfast.At dinner we had north west frontier food again thali format made by chef jaydeep who we knw frm j.w,mariott poona.”

4. The Comfort Food - Aamti

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A Maharashtrain meal is incomplete without aamti. It is dal cooked in traditional Maharashtrian way. Yellow gram dal or tuar dal is cooked with spices, curry leaves and an additional dose of special Maharashtrian goda masala.

HolidayIQ Traveller Darshan Vartak shares, “We had a nice "chavali chi aamti",hot "chapati"s, "daal" and "papad", a very homely Maharashtrian meal. The long walk, healthy meal and cool breeze made us little relaxed and then lethargic, getting into a good afternoon slumber.”

5. Very Hot & Spicy Chicken Kolhapuri

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It is one of the must try dishes when in Kolhapur. Keep a bowl of sugar handy before you dig in. This spice Maharashtrian curry straight from the city of Kolhapur, chicken is cooked in yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, hot spices and lemon juice.

HolidayIQ Traveller Shashank Vaidya says, “Spicy Misal, Tambada- Panthara Rassa are famous food in Kolhapur. Kolhapuri Chicken & Mutton are also special dishes to eat. Since sugarcane industry is located here, you should have sugarcane juice here.”

6. Ever Had The Oh-So-Delicious Puran Poli?

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Puran Poli is one of the most popular sweet dish in Maharashtrian cuisine. It is made from jaggery (molasses or gur), chana dal, plain flour, cardamom powder and ghee.

HolidayIQ Traveller Babita Goyal says, “Pune is a foodie’s paradise. Sorghum and Pearl millet are the main ingredients of their cuisine. When in Pune do not miss to try the local dishes like misal pav, puran poli, Pithla bhakri, Panipuri, Bhelpuri, and Pav Bhaji. There are a great number of eating joints in Pune.”

7. The Tastiest Vegetarian Dish In The World - Misal Pav

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HolidayIQ Traveller Babita says, “Krishna Bhuvan in Pune is one of the best places to have misal paw. It is situated among the hustling bustling lanes of Tulshibaug, this place is a little difficult to spot.” Adds HolidayIQ Traveller Rashesh Bhagwati, “Be it Vada pav, spicy Misal pav (curry of moth bean or peas eaten as a breakfast or mid­day snack), sabudana vada or usal (made of green gram or moth bean), everything is a must try when in Mumbai.”

8. Or The Kolhapuri Pandhara Rassa?

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This is a famous dish from Kolhapur. Padhara rassa is like a 'soup' made up from chicken/mutton broth and coconut milk with addition of onion cashew paste and some spices. Kolhapur is well known for its spicy non-vegetarian curries which includes the taambda rassa. Mutton Kolhapuri is another red hot mutton curry, usually served with bhakris or chapati.

9. Hot & Crisp Pudachi Wadi

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Pudachi Vadi, also known as bakarvadi, is a famous snack in the western parts of the Maharashtra state. This is typical Nagpuri dish. Pudachi wadi is a preparation involving besan cases stuffed with a flavourful onion-coriander mixture infused with spices, Poppy seeds and copra.

10. Sol Kadhi

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This traditional kokam in coconut milk dish is famous in  the western coastal region of India. The drink is made with coconut milk, spiced with some green chillies, sweet and tanginess from kokum and flavoured with fresh cilantro.

"Most places serve fresh homemade food and you have to book your meals. You will find a wide range in food be it veggies, seafood, chicken and mutton. But the best part is the morning breakfast. 'Poha' at any place in Diveagar is to die for," says HolidayIQ.com Traveller Shagun from Nagpur.

11. And The Aamrakhand Is To Die For

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Marathi amrakhand or mango flavoured shrikhand is every Maharashtrian's favourite. This dessert made from strained yogurt and fresh mangos.

HolidayIQ Traveller Ruchi Srivastava shares, “Dessert was very good as it was authentic and homemade modak and amrakhand which my friends loved.”

12. Ganpati's Favourite - Modak

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A modak is a sweet dumpling popular across India. The steamed rice dumpling stuffed with jaggery, and is specially made during Ganesh Chaturthi.