What the Fork: Kunal Vijayakar Shares His Top 5 Favourite Kolhapuri Foods Beyond Tambda, Pandhra Rassa

Have just started this journey through a land that I consider my own, a land that has seldom been on my travel itinerary and the one that I have hardly explored — Maharashtra. Of course, I do not need to prompt you that the purpose of this quest is as much food, as is discovery. Most people, friends, colleagues, I know living in Mumbai, have always had a place of origin. During vacations, some of my friends regularly visited their native places in big cities, small towns, even districts and villages spread all over our vast country. But for me, I hail from Mumbai, and there isn’t a single place in the back-country that can give me a sense of provenance. To me, it is all here in Mumbai, all going back generations. So, I decided that I shall embrace the whole of Maharashtra and look for consanguinity.

It so happened that the Maharashtra tourism sent me on a mission to get to know the state and its food better. Let me start with the first place where I landed. Kolhapur, which is halfway down from Mumbai to Goa. Though the city of Kolhapur prominently features in the Hindu mythology, and has been ruled by several dynasties, Kolhapur, as we know it, today was established by Tarabai, widow of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s son Rajaram, and mother of the first ruler Shivaji II.

Kolhapur is a land of warriors and its people have long been known for their valour, virility and mettle which reflect in their hardy, robust and hot-blooded cuisine. Don’t get me wrong, the cuisine is not as spicy as it is made out to be and definitely not as fiery as say, the cuisine of Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region. Kolhapuri food is rich in aromatic spices, wealthy in fine quality meat and bold and sharp, thanks to the home-grown ‘lavangi mirchi’ (clove chilli). Combined with the Sankeshwari chilli, this typical Kolhapur chilli powder and the flavourful and aromatic Kolhapuri Masala (a combination of dried red chillies, dry coconut and whole spices) is used to heat up the local dishes.

When you talk about Kolhapuri food, it is impossible to start the conversation without the mention of Tambda-Pandhra. These are two kinds of gravies or ‘rassa’, ‘tambda’ meaning red and ‘pandhra’ meaning white, that no Kolhapuri meal is ever complete without. Both the Tambda and Pandhara Rassas are soup like and are served together in a thaali. The Pandhra Rassa is made with brawny mutton stock, dry coconut, fresh coconut milk and poppy seeds, with ginger, garlic, coriander and garam masalas. To the Tambda Rassa is added red chilli, which makes it look fiery red with a thin layer of oil, or ‘kaat’. Both these fine soupy, spicy gravies are eaten with ‘Mutton Loncha’ or a Mutton Pickle, one of my top favorite Kolhapuri foods. So, here are my absolutely favourite Kolhapuri foods beyond the Tambda and Pandhra Rassa.

Mutton Lonche or a Mutton Pickle, as the name suggests, is a dry mutton preparation. There are two kinds of mutton pickle, one that is served cold and can be stored in the refrigerator for long, the other a hot ‘mutton sukka’ kind of recipe. Both contain coconut, sesame seeds and fried mutton with spices. It turns out spicy and tangy and is fabulous with pandhra rassa and chapati or rice.

Mutton Fry is mutton pieces that are first cooked and then marinated in spices and then deep fried. The tender spicy mutton turns smoky and crisp, and I love eating this with the tambda rassa and chapatis.

Golyachi Biryani is made with small balls of ‘keema’. This biryani is normally white in colour and is mildly spiced. Minced mutton is made into little koftas, the size of marbles, and served along with fragrant rice.

Kolhapur Bhakarwadi is one of my favourite savoury snacks. Unlike it’s Pune counterpart, the Kolhapuri Bhakarwadi is generally consumed immediately. That’s because it has a stuffing of dry coconut, fresh coriander, poppy seeds and spices all wrapped up in a roll made of besan, steamed, sliced and then deep fried. The end result is a crisp, flaky, spicy bite stuffed with a crunchy, soft and spicy filling.

Kolhapuri Misal in itself means mixture. Whoever decided to mix crisply fried Farsaan and Chivda with a spicy usal or curry of moong and channa is a qualified genius. Unlike the Puneri Misal, or the Dahi Misal, the Kolhapuri Misal is quite idiosyncratic. The curry or the ‘usal’ itself is made with sprouted ‘matki’ and slices of potato, and is mildly spicy. It is poured on top of a medley of crispy ‘farsan’ and then topped with a hot, thin, red oily gravy called ‘kat’, a bit like a ‘tarri’. (The kat is so popular that this spicy soup is also served with ‘batata wada’ and is called ‘kat-vada’) The misal is finally garnished with grated coconut, chopped onion, coriander, and a dollop of thick curd. Unlike the other Misal Pav, the Kolhapui Misal is served with a sliced bread.

You have to visit Kolhapur to understand the depth of that food and where it comes from, and to finally realise that the Kolhapuri Chicken that is available in your neighbourhood Indian restaurant has pretty much nothing to do with Kolhapur, and possible neither Maharashtra at all.

Kunal Vijayakar is a food writer based in Mumbai. He tweets @kunalvijayakar and can be followed on Instagram @kunalvijayakar. His YouTube channel is called Khaane Mein Kya Hai. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.

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