What's for Dinner?

By S. P. Kamatkar

If you happen to drop in at your vegetarian Marathi friend's place at dinnertime, here is what you may find in your dinner.

Main items of a typical Marathi meal are po-hlee (tortilla like - made of wheat flour and is flat, thin, round roasted on a flat pan.) and bhaa-tva (cooked rice), bhaa-jee (vegetable dish) and aa-ma-tee (curry) or wa-ra-tna (a liquid or semi-liquid dish made from cooked pulses or lentils). Sometimes thick bread like bhaa-ka-ree is prepared instead of po-hlee. bhaa-ka-ree is flat, round bread roasted on a flat pan and direct flame. Made of jwaa-ree or baa-jxa-ree or naa-cxha-tnee flour - these are cereals. naa-cxha-tnee-chee bhaa-ka-ree is popular in Kokan region of Maharashtra.

Green leafy vegetables like paa-la-k (spinach) or me-thee are common while bhe-N-dee (okra/ladys finger), waa-N-gee (Eggplant), gourd, cabbage, cauliflower are other common vegetables in a Marathi meal. u-sa-hla is another main dish. u-sa-hla is a dish of pre-soaked ,sprouted ,cooed legumes and some beans. It may be of green peas, or dry peas, chik-peas etc. u-sa-hla replaces, sometimes, bhaa-jee on the day.

aa-ma-tee (curry) is a liquid, spicy form of wa-ra-tna. In many homes aa-ma-tee is preferred to plain wa-ra-tna. aa-ma-tee is prepared from cooked pulses by adding water, red-chili powder or ma-saa-laa (it is a blend of various powdered condiments / spices and it has a flavorful aroma), salt and a little chi-N-cxh (tamarind) which gives a tinge of sour taste to aa-ma-tee.

Here are some side dishes: cha-ta-tnee, ko-shi-M-bi-r (salad), ka-dhvee, dva-hee (yoghurt) or tvaa-ka (buttermilk) and lo-tna-cxhe (pickles). cha-ta-tnee is a hot /spicy preparation of coarse-grained or rough powder of roasted peanuts or sesame seeds, with chili powder added to it or of dry, grated/shredded coconut with chili-powder and a little garlic. cha-ta-tnee is either in a dry powder form or semi-liquid/paste by adding dva-hee (curd) to it.

To sooth your palate, you might go for more ko-shi-M-bee-r - a salad. ko-shi-M-bee-r is prepared of fresh cucumber, gourd, tomato, onion, radish, carrot, cabbage etc. You might find mixed ko-shi-M-bee-r of different combinations - tomato and onion; cucumber and tomato etc. Curd and a little peanut (roasted) powder for flavor may be added. If curd is not preferred, and your host knows about it, she might add a little lemon juice instead. Other variations of ko-shi-M-bee-r are raa-ya-tve and bha-ree-tva. raa-ya-tve can be of small slices of steamed pumpkin, little of spices and yogurt, while bha-ree-tva is usually of waa-N-gee (Brinjal or Eggplant). bha-ree-tva is very popular side dish and it easily replaces bhaa-jee (vegetables) and cha-ta-tnee on that day.

ka-dhvee is prepared by mixing tvaa-ka (buttermilk) with daa-hlee-cxhe pi-tdha (chick-peas flour), fresh ginger, little sugar and a few other spices. It is a liquid preperation and has excellent sweet and sour taste. ka-dhvee is not an everyday dish but is prepared frequently.

lo-tna-cxhe (pickles) of raw, green mangoes and lemon are common and both children and adults like it. lo-tna-cxhe adds spice and taste to the food.

Although pa-kwaa-Nna (sweet dish) is not an every day meal item, it is always prepared to honor a guest. Even if have just dropped in for dinner, host will make some quick sweet dish anyway. Marathi sweet dishes are delicious and we will taste them as we start our dinner.

While we wait and see how Marathi Meal is served in next article, won't you agree that a typical Marathi meal caters to the all taste buds in your mouth?