MADE BY:Kunal BapnaRashmita MohileNiket ShettyNirbhaysinh Vaghela

Maharashtra is a state in the western region of India. Maharashtra is second most populous state in India as well as third largest state by area. The Largest city economic capital Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra.

The Arabian Sea makes up Maharashtra's west coast. The Western Ghats cover the entire coastline.Gujarat and the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli are to the northwest, Madhya Pradesh to the north and northeast, Chhattisgarh to the east, Karnataka to the south, Andhra Pradesh to the southeast and Goa to the southwest.

Although Maharashtra is a highly industrialized state of India, agriculture continues to be the main occupation of the state. Principal crops include sugarcane, rice, jowar, bajra, wheat, pulses, turmeric, onions, cotton, sugarcane and several oil seeds including groundnut, sunflower and soybean. The state has huge areas, under fruit cultivation of which mangoes, bananas, grapes, and oranges are the main ones.

1.DAGAD PHOOL Black Stone Flower is an edible lichen flora, which grows on trees, rocks and stones. The upper surface is dark green or black and is whiter inside. It is used in small quantities in curries, releases a strong woody aroma and flavor.

2.CHAROLI Charoli are tiny almond-flavored dried seeds .They are commonly used in sweets in India. Used primarily as a topping for sweets, they go especially well with sweet and creamy halwas.They are also a must on top of a delightful dessert called shrikhand. They are sometimes ground into powders for thickening savory sauces and flavoring batters and stewed into rich, meaty kormas.

3.BOMBAY DUCK (BOMBIL)The Bombay duck or bombil, in Marathi, is, despite its name, not a duck but a lizardfish. The fish is often dried and salted before it is consumed, as its meat does not have a distinctive taste of its own. . In Mumbai, Konkan and the western coastal areas in India this dish is popularly known as "Bombil fry".

ALPHONSO MANGOAlphonso (known as Hapoos in Marathi) is a seasonal mango that

is considered as one of the best in terms of sweetness, richness and flavour. The southern district of Maharashtra, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg including regions around the Dapoli and Devgad Talukas are the main regions where this mango is grown.

• Maharashtrian food is influenced by the various regions of Maharashtra and neighboring states. Preparation is similar to north Indian food; however, the spices like tamarind, kokum and coconut are some of the influences from South.

• Maharashtrian Cuisine has two major styles - Konkan and Varadi.

• The coastline of Maharashtra is known as Konkan and this region has a blend of Malvani, Goan and Gaud Saraswat cuisine.

• Similarly, the food in the interiors of the state has its own variations. Meats such as mutton chicken and fish are common in the cuisine. This is the Varadi cuisine.

MumbaiMumbai, the capital of the state of Maharashtra. Vada pav and Pav bhaji may be regarded specifically as dishes that originated in Mumbai.

KonkanKokum, a sour fruit is used on its own for making a soup. Fish and seafood is available in Konkan in vast varieties and in abundant supply.

VidarbhaVidarbha's cuisine is usually spicier than that of the coastal and southern regions. The ingredients commonly used are besan, or chickpea flour, and ground peanuts.

PuneHome of the Maratha rulers, Pune is a historic city. The food of these communities is delicate, sparsely designed and lacto-vegetarian. Puneri misal, thalipeeth, Puri bhaji and Dalimbi usal are popular.Bakarwadi is another snack popular in Pune.

KolhapurKolhapur is famous for its spicy mutton curries. Popularly called 'Matnacha rassa', red-hot mutton dish is popular here.

AurangabadAs a result of the long Islamic Moghul rule in the region, the cuisine of Auguranbad has been highly influenced by the North Indian method of cooking,. Aurangabad's food is much like Moghlai or Hyderabadi food, with its fragrant pulaos and biryanis.

NagpurThe city of Nagpur inherits a glorious history and varied rich cultural influences and has burgeoned in recent times as a gourmet city. There are unusual snacks, curries, pulaos and sweets. Nagpur is also famous for its spicy non-veg preparations known as Saoji preparations that are generally made by using clove-pepper paste instead of red chilli powder.

SolapurThe city of Solapur has a mixed culture of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh & Karnataka. The most popular dish is Shengachi poli or Groundnut bread, which is sweet bread or poli just like Puran poli.

POHAY: pohay is a snack made from flattened rice, onions, potatoes, curry leaves, mustard seeds and turmeric. It is most likely served with tea.

SURALI WADI: Chick pea flour rolls with a garnishing of coconut, coriander leaves and mustard.

BHARLI VANGI: Bharli Vangi or “Stuffed Eggplant”, uses peanuts and coconuts as the stuffing along with a variety of spices.

SABUDANA KHICHADI: Sautéed sabudana (Pearls of sago palm), a dish commonly eaten on days of religious fasting.

BAKARWADI: This spicy fried pastry is eaten as a tea time snack. Especially popular is that from Chitale Bandhu Mithaiwale in Pune.

ANARSA: It is made from soaked powdered rice, jaggery or sugar. These are small disks, stuffed with mashed banana, poppy coated and fried in hot ghee.

BHAKRI - bread made from millets like jowar and bajra, form part of daily food in rural areas.

BHAAJIS are vegetable dishes that require the use of Goda masala, essentially consisting of some combination of onion, garlic, ginger, red chilli powder, green chillies and mustard. •Batatyachi Bhaji (Potato preparations)•Vangyache bharit (Aubergines/Eggplant salad)•Farasbichi Bhaji (French beans)•Palkachi Takatli Bhaji (Spinach cooked in buttermilk)•Kelphulachi Bhaji (Banana/plantain bloom)•Fansachi Bhaji (Jackfruit preparation)

AMTI- Sweet and Sour Lentil Curry, made with Tamarind and Jaggery, tomato paste and sliced onions along with spices.

VARAN- is nothing but plain dal, a common Indian yellow lentil stew.

KOSHIMBIR- Typically made from raw vegetables mixed with yogurt and ground roasted peanuts (Danyache Kut). Raitas made with different types of vegetables such as cucumber or carrots are variants of koshimbir.

FISH & MEAT PREPARATIONS

THE KOLHAPURI TAAMBDA RASSA Spicy red curry of mutton or chicken made with red chili powder, grated coconut and powdered spices .

BHARLELA SARANGA- Whole pomfret, marinated with salt, ginger garlic paste, tamarind paste, turmeric and red chilly powder, stuffed with a chutney of coriander leaves, green chilies and coconut.

KOLAMBI CHE KALVAN- (Prawns curry) prawns are marinated with salt, ginger-garlic paste, coriander-chili paste, tamarind paste, turmeric and red chilly powder, then lightly fried in garlic infused oil. Coconut milk is added to this and the curry is boiled.

BOMBIL FRY- Mix together bombil pieces, red chilli powder, turmeric powder, ginger-garlic paste, salt and lemon juice in a bowl. Deep fry the bombils, coated in a mixture of rice flour and rawa.

DESSERTSBASUNDI: Sweetened dense milk dessert flavoured with kesar.

SHRIKHAND: Sweetened yogurt flavoured with saffron, cardamom and charoli nuts.

AMRAS: Pulp/Thick Juice made of mangoes, with a bit of sugar if needed and milk at times.

Maharashtrians celebrate their festivals with characteristic fervour and food forms an integral part of the celebrations. Marathi cuisine like many other Indian cuisines is quite traditional

KARANJI: is a deep fried dumpling with a filling of grated coconut sweetened with jaggery and flavoured with powdered cardamom seeds.

CHIROTA: It is a flaky pastry with a sugar coating.

SHANKARPALE: Sweetened flour deep fried in small square/diamond shapes.

CHAKLI: It is a snack of savoury crunchy twists made from rice and urad dal flour and deep fried.

CHIVDA: Spiced flattened rice.

MODAK: is a Maharashtrian sweet typically steamed (ukdiche modak). •It is often given as an offering to lord Ganesha, the elephant-headed God, as it is reportedly his favourite sweet. Modak can also be fried with various sweet stuffing.•small rice or wheat flour dumplings stuffed with coconut and jaggery. They are best when served with ghee.

PURAN POLI: It is one of the most popular sweet items in the Maharashtrian cuisine. It is made from jaggery (molasses or gur), yellow gram (chana) dal, pain flour, cardamom powder and ghee (clarified butter). It is made at almost all festivals.

It is wedding time and one of the most important aspects of that special occasion is food. A Maharashtrian Brahmin wedding be it simple as it usually is or more elaborate, culminates in a feast.Rice is a staple along with pooris or chappatis with ghee. Accompanying these staples are vegetables cooked in coconut based gravy: beans, yams, potatoes, pumpkins, carrots and more, A yellow dal, a crunchy salad of cucumber and peanuts and for dessert, Basundi and Shrikhand

KHEEMA PAVMinced mutton cooked with onions, garlic, tomatoes, chillies and spices, topped with a crisply fried sunny side up egg and eaten with bread or pav.

BATATA VADAThis well-liked fast food dumpling is made by mashing boiled potatoes with green chilies, ginger, garlic, lime juice, turmeric, and fresh coriander, then dipped in a besan (gram flour) batter and deep fried. It's served either with green chutney or fried green chillies.

BHEL PURIPuffed rice, papadi (small crisp deep fried flour puris), sev, onions, potatoes, raw mango and sweet and sour chutney.

FARSAANFarsan, a broad term for savouries encompassing sev and gathiya are crisp deep-fried spiced gram flour creations in pasta like shapes.

PAV BHAJIThis specialty dish from the by-lanes of Mumbai has mashed steamed mixed vegetables (mainly potatoes, peas, tomatoes, onions and green pepper) cooked in spices and loads of butter. It is eaten with pav, which is shallow fried in even more butter and served with chopped onions.

VADA PAO The recipe uses a combination of boiled potatoes mashed with fresh coriander, green chillies, a bit of ginger and sometimes garlic, made into palm-sized balls, dipped in a chickpea flour batter and deep fried till golden. They are stuffed into a pav, which has been applied with a layer of spicy green chutney and a fiery red garlic crush.

CHEF NILESH LIMAYE Nilesh Limaye is an Indian celebrity chef. A Chef by profession, he has successfully donned the roles of TV Show Host, Author and Contributor to various magazines and a Restaurant Consultant. He is nicknamed as “Sindbad the Chef” owing to his kinship to travels. He currently manages his own entrepreneurial venture “All ‘Bout Cooking” providing F&B solutions to new entrants, entrepreneurs or existing restaurateurs. Zikomo (Pune), Trikaya (Pune), Gypsy Chinese (Dubai) and Tenzo Temple(Thane) are among the various restaurant brands that he is associated with.

CHEF MILIND SOVANI •Award-winning Master Chef Milind Sovani has served his creations to the Prime Minister of India, and many other dignitaries, hosted his own cookery shows and written a cookery book '5 Star Recipes', with many more to follow. •He has been the 'Chef of the Year 2005' for SIngapore, 'Asian Ethnic Chef of the Year, 2005', one of the top 3 Asian Chefs in 2004 and 2005 at the World Gourmet Summit and the Gold Medal Winner at the Gourmet Hunt 2004 and 2005.•He owns and operates the restaurant, “April Rain” A contemporary cuisine restaurant in Aundh, Pune

MI MARATHASituated in Lower Parel, Mumbai. This restaurant is specialized in serving authentic Marathi food at a reasonably low cost.

MAHARASHTRIAN DARBARViman Nagar, Pune.A fine dining Maharashtrian restaurant.

• The cuisine of Maharashtra is not only memorable for its subtle variety and strong flavours, but also because of the legendary hospitality of Maharashtrians.

• In affluent homes, feasts often start at mid-day and end when the sun turns towards the western horizon.

• The people are known for the aesthetic presentation of food, which adds extra allure to the feasts.

• www.maharashtra.gov.in• http://www.ifood.tv/• http://www.aaswadckp.com/• http://www.indiamarks.com/10-most-popular-maharashtrian-

dishes/• http://www.marathimati.com/recipes/• “Vegetarian Maharashtrian Cuisine” by Sugandha Patil (Author)• http://www.dnyanamrut.com/• “Gharchya Ghari” A Marathi cook book by Manisha Khale• http://onehotstove.blogspot.in/2007/05/rci-june-

maharashtrian-cuisine.html• http://thepunestore.com/grocery/