1.Kanda Poha
Flattened rice cooked with onion, turmeric, peanuts and curry leaves, finished with lemon, coriander and fresh coconut. The most popular Maharashtrian breakfast.
- Key items
- Thick poha, onion, peanuts, lemon
- Time
- 20 min
- Serves
- 3
Famous Maharashtrian Food: 30 Popular & Typical Recipes by Type
Looking for famous Maharashtrian food? Start here. These 30 dishes cover everything from a typical Maharashtrian breakfast of poha and thalipeeth to spicy Kolhapuri rassa, coastal Malvani seafood, festival sweets, chutneys and drinks. Browse popular Maharashtrian food by type and open any recipe.
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Typical Maharashtrian Food: What a Traditional Thali Looks Like
Typical Maharashtrian food is simple, balanced and built around a plate that has something for every taste. A traditional thali usually includes:
- Dal and rice: varan bhaat with ghee and lemon
- A dry bhaji or usal: such as matki usal
- A curry: pithla or bharli vangi
- Bread: jowar bhakri or chapati
- Chutney and sides: thecha, metkut, raw onion and papad
- Something sweet: puran poli or shrikhand
Everyday seasoning comes from Goda Masala, jaggery, curry leaves, mustard seeds, coconut and peanuts.
Maharashtrian Breakfast Food
A traditional Maharashtrian breakfast is light, quick and made from pantry staples: flattened rice, sago and multigrain flour.
2.Sabudana Khichdi
The classic fasting breakfast: soaked sago pearls tossed with roasted peanut powder, potato, green chilli and cumin until each pearl is separate.
- Key items
- Sabudana, peanut powder, potato
- Time
- 25 min plus soaking
- Serves
- 3
3.Thalipeeth
A multigrain flatbread made from bhajani flour, onion and herbs, patted by hand on a griddle and eaten with butter, curd or thecha.
- Key items
- Bhajani flour, onion, coriander
- Time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Popular Street Food & Snacks
Fried, spiced and served hot, Maharashtrian street food and snacks are eaten at tapris from Mumbai to Pune and Nashik.
4.Misal Pav
Sprouted moth bean usal topped with a fiery rassa, farsan, onion and lemon, served with soft pav. Pune, Nashik and Kolhapur each have their own style.
- Key items
- Matki, Goda Masala, farsan, pav
- Time
- 50 min plus sprouting
- Serves
- 4
5.Vada Pav
Mumbai's signature street snack: a spiced potato fritter in a besan batter, tucked into a pav with garlic chutney and fried green chilli.
- Key items
- Potato, besan, garlic chutney, pav
- Time
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
6.Kothimbir Vadi
Coriander and gram flour steamed into a log, sliced, and shallow-fried until crisp outside and tender within. A favourite tea-time snack.
- Key items
- Fresh coriander, besan, sesame
- Time
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Vegetarian Curries
Everyday Maharashtrian vegetarian curries use gram flour, brinjal and sprouted beans, and are mostly eaten with bhakri or chapati.
7.Pithla
A thick, porridge-like besan curry tempered with garlic, chilli and onion. Served with bhakri, thecha and raw onion, it is rural Maharashtra's comfort food.
- Key items
- Besan, garlic, mustard, onion
- Time
- 25 min
- Serves
- 4
8.Bharli Vangi
Small brinjals stuffed with a peanut, coconut and Goda Masala mix, then slow-cooked in a thick, nutty gravy. A wedding and festival favourite.
- Key items
- Baby brinjal, peanuts, coconut, Goda Masala
- Time
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
9.Vangyache Bharit
Fire-roasted brinjal mashed with raw onion, green chilli, peanuts and coriander. Smoky, simple and best with hot bhakri.
- Key items
- Large brinjal, onion, peanuts
- Time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 3
10.Matki Usal
Sprouted moth beans cooked with onion, tomato and Goda Masala. It is the base for misal and a protein-rich meal with chapati.
- Key items
- Sprouted matki, Goda Masala, jaggery
- Time
- 35 min plus sprouting
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Rice & Dal
Maharashtrian rice and dal is the foundation of the daily meal: mildly spiced, finished with ghee, and balanced with jaggery and lemon.
11.Varan Bhaat
Plain toor dal tempered lightly with turmeric, hing and jaggery, served over rice with a spoon of ghee and lemon. The soul food of the state.
- Key items
- Toor dal, rice, ghee, lemon
- Time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
12.Masale Bhaat
A fragrant one-pot rice with vegetables and Goda Masala, finished with fresh coconut and coriander. Traditional at weddings and festivals.
- Key items
- Rice, mixed vegetables, Goda Masala, coconut
- Time
- 35 min
- Serves
- 4
13.Maharashtrian Kadhi
A light, slightly sweet-sour buttermilk curry thickened with besan and tempered with cumin, curry leaves and ginger. Served with plain rice or khichdi.
- Key items
- Buttermilk, besan, jaggery, ginger
- Time
- 25 min
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Bread: Bhakri & Rotis
Maharashtrian bread means millet bhakri, hand-patted and roasted on a tawa. It is gluten-free and the traditional partner for pithla, bharit and thecha.
14.Jowar Bhakri
An unleavened sorghum flatbread, patted by hand and roasted on a tawa, then puffed directly on the flame. The everyday bread of rural Maharashtra.
- Key items
- Jowar flour, warm water
- Time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
15.Bajra Bhakri
A thicker, earthier pearl-millet bhakri eaten in winter with white butter, jaggery or spicy thecha.
- Key items
- Bajra flour, warm water, ghee
- Time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Non-Veg Recipes
Maharashtrian non-veg recipes range from the fiery Saoji cooking of Vidarbha to crisp Mumbai-style fish fry.
16.Saoji Chicken Curry
A dark, intensely spiced chicken curry from Nagpur, made with a roasted blend of poppy seeds, dry coconut and whole spices.
- Key items
- Chicken, Saoji masala, poppy seeds
- Time
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 4
17.Bombil Fry
Bombay duck fish marinated in a spiced paste, coated in rava and shallow-fried till crisp. A Mumbai-Koli classic.
- Key items
- Bombil, rava, chilli, turmeric
- Time
- 30 min
- Serves
- 3
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Kolhapuri Special Recipes
Kolhapuri special recipes are known for heat: red Bedgi and Kashmiri chillies, dry coconut and the dark Kala Masala.
18.Kolhapuri Tambda Rassa
The famous red mutton or chicken gravy, bold, oily and unapologetically hot. Eaten with bhakri, rice or pav.
- Key items
- Mutton, Kolhapuri masala, dry coconut, chillies
- Time
- 1 hr 15 min
- Serves
- 4
19.Kolhapuri Pandhra Rassa
The pale, coconut-and-poppy-seed white gravy served alongside Tambda Rassa to cool the palate. Mild, creamy and rich.
- Key items
- Mutton stock, coconut, poppy seeds, cashew
- Time
- 1 hr
- Serves
- 4
20.Kolhapuri Misal
A vegetarian classic with a blazing red tarri on top of sprouted usal. The version to order when you want serious heat.
- Key items
- Matki, Kala Masala, Bedgi chilli, farsan
- Time
- 50 min
- Serves
- 4
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Malvani Special Recipes
Malvani special recipes come from the Konkan coast, where coconut, kokum and fresh seafood define the cooking.
21.Malvani Chicken Curry
Chicken in a roasted coconut and Malvani masala gravy from the Sindhudurg coast. Deep, smoky and layered.
- Key items
- Chicken, Malvani masala, coconut
- Time
- 55 min
- Serves
- 4
22.Kombdi Vade
Puffed, deep-fried rice-and-urad flour breads made to scoop up Malvani chicken curry. The classic Konkan pairing.
- Key items
- Rice flour, urad flour, coriander seed
- Time
- 45 min
- Serves
- 4
23.Malvani Fish Curry
Fish simmered in a tangy coconut gravy soured with kokum. Light enough to eat daily, flavourful enough for festivals.
- Key items
- Surmai or pomfret, kokum, coconut
- Time
- 40 min
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Sweets & Treats
Maharashtrian sweets and treats are built on ghee, jaggery, coconut and cardamom, and appear for Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali and Gudi Padwa.
24.Puran Poli
A soft flatbread stuffed with sweet chana dal and jaggery filling, roasted with ghee. The signature dish of Holi and Gudi Padwa.
- Key items
- Chana dal, jaggery, wheat flour, ghee
- Time
- 1 hr 15 min
- Serves
- 6
25.Ukdiche Modak
Steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery, offered to Lord Ganesha. Served with a spoon of ghee.
- Key items
- Rice flour, coconut, jaggery, ghee
- Time
- 1 hr
- Makes
- 12 modak
26.Shrikhand
Strained curd whipped with sugar, saffron and cardamom. Cool, creamy and paired with hot puri in the classic Shrikhand-Puri.
- Key items
- Hung curd, sugar, saffron, cardamom
- Time
- 15 min plus draining
- Serves
- 4
27.Karanji
Crescent pastries filled with coconut, jaggery and cardamom, then deep-fried. A Diwali faral essential.
- Key items
- Maida, coconut, jaggery, cardamom
- Time
- 1 hr
- Makes
- 15 karanji
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Maharashtrian Chutney Recipes & Drinks
Maharashtrian chutney recipes and drinks complete the thali: a fiery thecha, a dry metkut powder and a cooling kokum sol kadhi.
28.Thecha
A coarse, pounded chutney of green chillies, garlic and roasted peanuts. A small spoonful lifts any bhakri meal.
- Key items
- Green chilli, garlic, peanuts, salt
- Time
- 10 min
- Serves
- 6
29.Metkut
A dry, roasted lentil and spice powder mixed with curd or oil. A long-keeping pantry staple in Pune households.
- Key items
- Chana dal, urad dal, coriander seed, chilli
- Time
- 20 min
- Makes
- 1 jar
30.Sol Kadhi
A pink, tangy Konkan drink made from kokum and coconut milk. Served after heavy seafood meals as a digestive.
- Key items
- Kokum, coconut milk, garlic, cumin
- Time
- 10 min
- Serves
- 4
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Maharashtrian Food Creators & YouTube Channels: Contribute Your Recipes
Do you run a YouTube channel, food blog or Instagram page about Maharashtrian food? We would like to feature your work. Share your Maharashtrian recipe videos and posts, and we will list them under the matching category on this page, whether that is breakfast, street food, vegetarian curries, rice and dal, bhakri, non-veg, Kolhapuri specials, Malvani specials, sweets or chutneys and drinks. Every feature carries your creator profile and a direct link back to your original content, so viewers who find you here can watch the full recipe on your channel.
What you get:
- A profile card with your name, photo, short bio and channel or blog link
- Your recipe video or post listed under the relevant recipe section
- A link back to your own content and social pages
- Exposure to readers searching for authentic Maharashtrian food
What to send: your channel name and link, the recipe name and category, the link to your video or post, a one-line bio, and a profile photo. Please submit only original content that you created and own.
Submit your recipe or channel →About Famous Maharashtrian Food
Famous Maharashtrian food varies by region. Western Maharashtra leans on Goda Masala and jaggery, Kolhapur on Kala Masala and red chillies, Vidarbha on sesame and Saoji spices, and the Konkan coast on coconut, kokum and fresh fish. The thali brings these threads together on one plate.
Want to go deeper into one dish? Read our guide to the 7 types of Misal Pav across the state.
Frequently Asked Questions About Maharashtrian Food
What is the most famous Maharashtrian food?
Vada Pav, Misal Pav and Puran Poli are the most famous Maharashtrian dishes. Vada Pav is Mumbai's signature street snack, Misal Pav is the spicy sprouted-moth-bean breakfast, and Puran Poli is the festival sweet flatbread.
What is typical Maharashtrian food?
A typical Maharashtrian meal is a thali of varan bhaat (plain dal and rice with ghee), a dry bhaji, an usal or curry, bhakri or chapati, a chutney such as thecha, a salad, and a sweet.
What are popular Maharashtrian breakfast foods?
Kanda Poha, Sabudana Khichdi and Thalipeeth are the most popular Maharashtrian breakfast foods, along with Misal Pav as a hearty weekend breakfast.
What is Maharashtrian street food?
Maharashtrian street food includes Vada Pav, Misal Pav, Pav Bhaji, Kothimbir Vadi and Sabudana Vada. These are eaten at tapris and stalls in Mumbai, Pune, Nashik and Kolhapur.
What are Kolhapuri special recipes?
Kolhapuri specials include Tambda Rassa (red gravy), Pandhra Rassa (white gravy), Kolhapuri Misal and Kolhapuri Thecha. They are known for dry coconut, Kolhapuri masala and Bedgi and Kashmiri chillies.
What are Malvani special recipes?
Malvani cuisine from the Konkan coast is known for Malvani Chicken Curry with Kombdi Vade, Malvani Fish Curry, Bombil Fry and Sol Kadhi. It relies on coconut, kokum and Malvani masala.
What is Goda Masala?
Goda Masala is a mildly sweet, aromatic Maharashtrian spice blend of coriander, sesame, dry coconut, cinnamon and stone flower. It is used in varan, masale bhaat, bharli vangi and usals.
Which Maharashtrian dishes are vegetarian?
Most of the cuisine is vegetarian, including all breakfast dishes, street snacks, curries, rice and dal, breads, sweets and chutneys on this page. Only the Non-Veg, Kolhapuri non-veg and Malvani non-veg recipes contain meat or fish.