Monsoon Food

Districts / Region

All over Maharashtra.

Ingredients and Short Recipes

The monsoon is a unique climatic feature of India. Maharashtra enjoys three months of rains from the monsoon winds, known as the Monsoon season. Monsoon in Maharashtra brings in lots of varieties of wild vegetables. The recipes are simple but designed as per the changing season. Most of these are used for medicinal values. The collection of these vegetables is a part of the traditional knowledge system which was handed over by one generation to another for ages.
Monsoon gives a different flavour to non-vegetarian food. Many communities in Maharashtra give up the non-vegetarian diet in the monsoon as a cultural tradition. In Monsoon dry fish is preferred as a coastal diet as no fishing is possible due to rough seas. Dry fishes are stocked during the summer and prepared unique recipes out of those.
Maharashtra Monsoon has a specific section of snacks represented by Bhajiya or Pakoras. It's a deep-fried spicy recipe with ingredients like Gram Flour and vegetables. The most popular Bhajias in Maharashtra are made of onion and potato.

History

All these preparations have evolved over the period of centuries and have influences coming from various geographical regions.

Cultural Significance

The Indian economy is agrarian. Monsoon allows celebrating various festivals as this is the agricultural season. The end of the Monsoon is the harvest which brings prosperity. Monsoon food is mainly to keep the body fit and the soul filled with gratefulness.