Try this mouthwatering Maharashtrian Thali on the occasion of Maharashtra Day

Veg special thali at Aaswad in Dadar

It's tough not to love a thali. After all, how can one not fall in love with a platter that is full of mouthwatering dishes with a wide variety of flavours and textures? In fact, it is one of the best ways to sample the local cuisine.

To taste the best of Maharashtrian cuisine, we tried out a Veg Maharashtrian Thali at Aaswad Upahar & Mithaigriha. Located in the heart of Dadar, Mumbai, Aaswad is reputed for offering authentic vegetarian Maharashtrian cuisines. In fact, one can gauge its popularity by the crowd waiting outside its door even in the non-peak hours for their turn to taste its yummy Maharashtrian offerings.

When it comes to Maharashtrian food, it's almost impossible to sample the entire gamut through a single thali. After all, for a state as diverse as Maharashtra, sometimes the flavour of the same dish varies from region to region namely - Konkan, Desh, Khandesh, Marathwada, and Vidarbha. While a limited thali might not be ever able to cover such a vast food heritage, what we got to taste at Aaswad, had our hearts and tummy full.

Just like any thali, the Special Veg Thali at Aaswad came with a wide variety of dishes ranging from starters, main courses, and sweets to interesting accompaniments. The starter consisted of mini Kothmbir vadis that were as perfect as they could get - crispy from the outside and soft from within with a burst of flavours of whole spices and coriander leaves. Moving on to the main course, it consisted of Vatanaya chi bhaji - a spicy white peas curry, Dudhi chi bhaji - a spicy and sweet bottle gourd curry and gram dal curry, Maharashtrian kadhi - a tangy yoghurt-based curry, Batatyachi bhaji - simple dry spiced potatoes, Masala bhaat - a spicy rice preparation, Puris - a kind of deep fried bread, Kudrai - rice-based papad, Gulab jamun - fried dumplings soaked in sugar syrup and Amla Pickle - a tangy pickle made out of goosberries. All the flavours of spicy, savoury, sour, bitter and sweet were packed into one plate making the thali a complete package. To go along with the Puri, we ordered Aamras, a sweet mango pulp because having Aamras-puri is the ultimate Maharashtrian summer mandate, so why not? For the drinks, we had Kairi Panhe. This is a summer speciality with tangy and sweet flavour with flavour notes of cardamom.

While our stomachs were full, the desire to taste Aaswad's famous Pithala-Bhakri was far from over. We ordered the Pithala-Bhakri-Bhaji thali which was a wholesome meal in itself. Tasting creamy Pithala with hot Bhakri is an experience in itself. Bharali vangi - a sweet and spicy eggplant-based curry came along with the Pithala-bhakari and it complimented the duo of Pithala-bhakri really well. For the accompaniments, the thali had Thecha - a spicy garlic chutney, White butter, and Dangar - a black gram-based chutney.

The entire combination was so satisfying we wish we had a bigger appetite to taste more at Aaswad. So make sure, you enter the eatery with your stomach empty since there's a lot to fill up not only your stomach but your heart too.

You can head to Aaswad at :

Aaswad Upahar & Mithai Gruh
Sanskruti Building Gadkari Chauk, 4, Lady Jamshedji Rd,
opp. Shiv Sena Bhavan, Dadar West, Mumbai.

Prices -

Special Thali: Rs. 220
Pithale Bhaji Bhakari: Rs. 110
Aamras: Rs. 160
Kairi Panhe: Rs. 78