Marathi cuisine finds new expressions in fine dining

From fun bar bites to elevated mains, chefs from the region are putting a spotlight on the rich culinary traditions of the state

- Rituparna Roy

For one of his tasting menus in Mumbai, chef Akash Deshpande plates up a piquant dried bombil or Bombay duck over a brioche toast. The dish is served along with bombil mousse shaped like seashells, and prawn papad clipped to resemble the bamboo frames used to dry fish along the coastline. He calls the course "Bombil", a fish synonymous with the coastal communities of Maharashtra, and the city's food culture. "My mother grew up in Konkan, and so, when there is no fresh fish or meat, she prepares a sukhat with dried fish," says the chef and co-founder of Luv restaurant while talking about his inspiration.

At a time when fine-dining menus evolve with fresh takes on hyperlocal cuisines, the culinary culture of Maharashtra remains confined to a few select dishes. But there's more to Marathi food than vada pav and misal. A new era of chefs is changing the narrative by showcasing the diverse food heritage of the state with bold, progressive formats. Think puran poli baklava, karvanda Cosmopolitan, and goda masala pizza, that too served in an omakase in Japan.

In her cookbook Pangat, A Feast (2019), Mumbai-based author and culinary consultant Saee Koranne-Khandekar deep dives into the food practices of the Marathi community. It began with a Facebook group called "Angat Pangat" in 2015 when she realised the need to spotlight the traditional cuisines to "understand them in the context of topography and produce, historical background and migratory patterns, and literature," as she notes in the book.