If you’re like those of us who make ‘Goa plans’ every year and then spend New Year’s Eve watching friends on social media share photos of fireworks from the Sydney harbour right until the videos of the crystal ball dropping down in Manhattan, then read on. Because a Dil Chahta Hai-style drive down the coast of Maharashtra needs no season, no occasion. All it needs is a tongue and tummy that are willing to try out something new.
Driving down the coast of Maharashtra, you'll do well to stop en route and sample everything that the locals eat (unless you have shell fish allergies, of course).
If you're beginning from the northern part of Maharashtra that borders Gujarat, make that your introduction to Shev-bhaji Khandeshi style. Although Bhakri (millet rotis) and rice is made all over the state, you should know that Maharashtra is like a mini universe in itself. Even the way Marathi is spoken by locals changes as you travel towards the southern part of the state - you realise that the food tastes just as different too.
Now the Northern Khandeshi cuisine uses a lot of peanuts in their cooking (peanut chutney is omnipresent on every thali!), you will find that they are as proud of their Baingan Bharta as they are of their fiery meat dishes.
Towns like Jalgaon and Nashik fall into this area. Now I’m very partial to the very modern restaurant at the Sula vineyards, but if you can deal with the black masala-style chicken or mutton or even fish, head over to Jayesh Khanawal and become the everyman. Come to think of it, the non-coastal regions of Maharashtra deserve a food bible of their own, so we will travel the ghats for that food some other time.
Of course, the best way to experience the coast is to drive out with friends who have just food on the agenda (hotel stops that suit your pocket exist everywhere, so I leave that to you).
When you stumble upon a quiet beach, of which there are many, the irritation lines on your forehead will automatically vanish and you will watch the waves gently splash on the undisturbed sands. Case in point: Tarkarli, a beach town that like many beach towns, offers the predictable ‘vada pav’ and ‘bhel’ on the beach. Ignore such obvious distractions.
Konark Hotel Bar and Restaurant may sound like a shady hotel, but the seafood there is just incredible, and the lady who runs the place makes you feel right at home, explaining the intricacies of their food. Thali places like Chaitanya serve great fish as well… But home stays that have popped up will help vegetarians among you with great suggestions. Be generous with your tipping because the prices on these foods are a steal (especially if you’re travelling from big metros).
Food is as bountiful as the sea here. There's the freshest seafood. From the tiniest of shrimps to tiger prawns, crabs and lobsters, and fish the way you like ‘em: pomfrets to be baked, bangda to be fried, anchovies (Mandli) and barracuda (Tonki) to be shallow fried with masalas…
Speaking of masalas, here’s a little ‘did you know’ for your luncheon conversation. Five hundred years ago, when the Portuguese landed in Goa for our spices like cinnamon and cloves and also coconut, they brought with them potatoes, tomatoes, and green and red chillies to set your mouths afire. And we adapted these into our foods so well that it’s hard to imagine any Indian cuisine without tomatoes and potatoes and green chillies today. The Portuguese gave us the use of vinegar in our foods as they turned the locally made toddy into toddy vinegar. We turned their Carne de vinha D’alho into the dish we call ‘vindaloo’!
If you're looking for 'healthy' and don't eat red meats, you will regret not trying the pork, beef and mutton dishes that will improve your Portuguese vocabulary instantly! Cafreal, Balchao, Xitt Codi and not to forget the Xec Xec masalas! Every time I ate the food, my Marathi and Konkani improved as well: I began saying, 'Jhakaas!' a la Anil Kapoor and 'Maka zhai' (I want) every time I saw a menu!
But if you’re eating fish and seafood, don't worry too much about going overboard. Most coastal fare (even though prawns and fish are ‘fried’) is not deep-fried. It’s fresh catch, so shallow frying is usually the best ways to treat these foods. And curries use fresh coconut that is considered to be healthy. Some fish can be oily (like Mackerel) but the clever use of Kokum, cinnamon and vinegar in the cooking tends to balance out the nutritional content…
So try different kinds of fish - from fish stuffed with green coconut chutney to fish roe made with Rechado masala… From the Konkan down the Ratnagiri part of Maharashtra, you will find fresh seafood all along the coast. But hey, you must try the incredible Goan sausages: the Chorizo. There are two kinds of Chorizo: the beads or the rosary chorizo and the long sausage…
As the world comes to Goa, and indeed all along the coast, you will find authentic Goan food places being elbowed out and replaced by pizza chains and Udipi restaurants, but the discerning foodie will discover ‘Ros Omelette’ when driving along the coast. It’s a regular Indian masala omelette but served with chicken curry which you can eat with the locally made Katre Pao (a pointy ended soft bun). The best Ros Omelettes are served by street carts, so you will just have to roll down the windows and let your nose guide you.
Goan Catholic cuisine is unique and very few authentic places serve this beautiful mix of Portuguese and Indian traditional meals. Family-owned Bhatti Village (named so because it used to be a distillery) is a treasure and the food here made me want to park the car right outside and sleep in there so I could get every other meal there.
Why have I not mentioned any dessert places? Are you kidding me? There are bakeries upon bakeries that serve old-fashioned baked desserts (don’t tell anyone, but I fell in love with Serradura the ‘sawdust’ pudding. It’s marie biscuits sawdust in a layer of whipped cream and condensed milk!). But dahlings, you are travelling through Alphonso mango state! And you think I’m going to recommend some gulabjamun/kulfi, etc., as dessert? If it’s mango season, every self-respecting restaurant will serve ‘aamras’, and more ‘aamras’. Fancier places with serve mango cheesecake, but just buy the alphonso mangoes and get to the hotel room and devour this divine food.
Most of the coastal temple towns aren’t ‘strictly vegetarian’ yet. Down at Kolhapur (not exactly the ‘coast’) where the grand temple to Ambabai (Lakshmi) is a must-visit, you will discover the hottest, the tastiest chicken curries: the pandhra rassa (the white curry) and the tambda rassa (the red curry). It is paired with the uber healthy ‘bhakri’ (made from different millets and even rice) or rice. I have even tried eating the curry with idli and the experience was simply awesome.
Back to the coast, if you ever get a chance to get to a fish market, you will experience a very different energy. And you will compare it to the now closed Tsukiji Outer fish market in Tokyo. The energy and the awe-inspiring varieties of fish is the same, except that grannies selling you toddy vinegar in water bottles are smarter about money than you can ever be.
When you reach the border towns of Karnataka and Maharashtra and the landscape feels different, you wait for keema dosa to arrive at an unnamed dhaba. You don’t fail to notice the pictures of the Gods hanging behind the cash register or the desk with locally made biscuits. As the sun goes down into the ocean quietly, and you are drinking coffee that is so strong and sweet you could drive down to Rameshwaram without getting tired, perhaps you'll wish like I did that you had taken a picture with the panditji outside the temple to the local deity in Chiplun who blessed people by saying: 'May your taste buds never fail you!’
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