Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Fish is a staple of non-vegetarian Marathi food; Maharashtra's signature fish dish is
bombil
(Bombay duck;
a misnomer for this slimy, pikelike fish), which is eaten fresh or sun-dried.
Deep-Sea Delights
India has around 7500km of coastline, so it's no surprise that seafood is an important
staple, especially on the west coast, from Mumbai (Bombay) down to Kerala. Kerala is
the biggest fishing state, while Goa boasts particularly succulent prawns and fiery fish
curries, and the fishing communities of the Konkan Coast - sandwiched between these
two states - are renowned for their seafood recipes.
PAAN
Meals are often rounded off with
paan,
a fragrant mixture of betel nut (also called areca nut), lime paste, spices
and condiments wrapped in an edible, silky
paan
leaf. Peddled by
paan
-wallahs, who are usually strategically
positioned outside busy restaurants,
paan
is eaten as a digestive and mouth-freshener. The betel nut is mildly nar-
cotic and some aficionados eat
paan
the same way heavy smokers consume cigarettes - over the years these
people's teeth can become rotted red and black.
There are two basic types of
paan: mitha
(sweet) and
saadha
(with tobacco). A parcel of
mitha paan
is a splen-
did way to finish a meal. Pop the whole parcel in your mouth and chew slowly, allowing the juices to oooooooze.
The Fruits (& Vegetables) of Mother Nature
A visit to any South Indian market will reveal a vast and vibrant assortment of fresh fruit
and vegetables, overflowing from large baskets or stacked in neat pyramids. The south is
especially well known for its abundance of tropical fruits such as pineapples and papaya.
Mangos abound during the summer months (especially April and May), with India boast-
ing more than 500 varieties, the pick of the luscious bunch being the sweet Alphonso.
Naturally in a region with so many vegetarians,
sabzi
(vegetables) make up a predomin-
ant part of the diet. Vegetables can be fried, roasted, curried, baked, mashed and stuffed
into dosas or wrapped in batter to make deep-fried
pakoras
(fritters). Potatoes are ubiquit-
ous and popularly cooked with various masalas, mixed with other vegetables, or mashed
and fried for the street snack
aloo tikki
(mashed-potato patties). Onions are fried with oth-
er vegetables, ground into a paste for cooking with meats, and served raw as relishes.
Heads of cauliflower are usually cooked dry on their own, with potatoes to make
aloo
gobi
(potato-and-cauliflower curry), or with other vegetables such as carrots and beans.
Also popular is
saag
(a generic term for leafy greens), which can include mustard, spinach
