10 Easy Maharashtrian Dinner Recipes for Beginners
Maharashtra's home cooking is built on simple, wholesome ingredients —
chickpea flour, lentils, jowar, peanuts, coconut and fresh green chillies.
If you're new to Maharashtrian cuisine, these ten dinner recipes are the
perfect starting point. Each one is quick to prepare, uses pantry staples,
and delivers authentic flavour without complexity.
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Pithla Bhakri Varan Bhat Misal Pav Sabudana Khichdi Thalipeeth Zunka Bharli Vangi Amti Matki Usal Masala Bhaat
Pithla is a thick chickpea flour curry, runny enough to scoop with a jowar or bajra bhakri (flatbread).
It is the quintessential Maharashtrian weeknight dinner — ready in 20 minutes and deeply satisfying.
Ingredients
1 cup besan (chickpea flour)
2 cups water
1 onion, finely chopped
2 green chillies, slit
1 tsp mustard seeds
½ tsp turmeric
Salt to taste
Fresh coriander and 1 tsp oil
Method
Whisk besan with water until lump-free. Set aside.
Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add green chillies and onion. Sauté until golden.
Add turmeric and salt, pour in the besan mixture.
Stir continuously on medium heat for 8–10 minutes until thick and cooked through.
Garnish with coriander. Serve hot with jowar bhakri.
Tip: For a richer flavour, add a small piece of jaggery and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Varan is a thin, mildly spiced toor dal (split pigeon peas) served over steamed rice.
It is the daily comfort food of millions of Maharashtrian households — light, digestible and nourishing.
Ingredients
1 cup toor dal
½ tsp turmeric
1 tsp ghee
Salt to taste
Steamed rice to serve
Method
Pressure cook toor dal with turmeric and 2.5 cups water for 3–4 whistles.
Mash well, add salt and adjust consistency with warm water.
Finish with a teaspoon of ghee. Pour over steamed rice.
Misal Pav is Pune's most iconic street food — sprouted moth beans (matki) cooked in a fiery
rassa (gravy), topped with farsan, fresh onion, tomato and coriander, served with soft white pav bread.
Ingredients
1 cup sprouted matki (moth beans)
2 onions, 2 tomatoes
1 tbsp Kolhapuri or goda masala
½ tsp red chilli powder
Farsan, fresh coriander, lemon wedges
4 pav buns
Method
Pressure cook sprouted matki with salt for 2 whistles. Drain, reserve liquid.
Sauté onion until brown, add tomatoes and masalas. Cook to a thick gravy.
Add matki and reserved liquid. Simmer 10 minutes.
Serve in bowls topped with farsan, onion, tomato, coriander and lemon. Accompany with pav.
Sabudana Khichdi is a light pearl sago stir-fry with peanuts, green chilli and cumin —
eaten as a fasting meal or quick dinner. The secret is soaking the sabudana correctly so it
stays separate and doesn't become a sticky mass.
Ingredients
1 cup sabudana (pearl sago), soaked 4–6 hours
½ cup roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed
2 green chillies, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium potato, boiled and cubed
Salt, sugar (optional), lemon juice, coriander
Method
Drain soaked sabudana well and mix with crushed peanuts and salt.
Heat oil, splutter cumin, add green chillies and potato. Stir-fry 2 minutes.
Add sabudana mixture. Toss on medium heat 5–7 minutes until translucent.
Add lemon juice, coriander and a pinch of sugar. Serve hot.
Key tip: Spread soaked sabudana on a cloth for 30 minutes before cooking for perfectly non-sticky khichdi.
Thalipeeth is a crisp, spiced multigrain flatbread made from a blend of roasted flours
called bhajani — a nutritional powerhouse eaten across Maharashtra for centuries.
Ingredients
1 cup bhajani flour (or mix: jowar, bajra, rice, besan, wheat in equal parts)
1 onion finely chopped, 2 green chillies, fresh coriander
½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp red chilli powder, salt
Water to bind, oil for cooking
Method
Mix all ingredients with just enough water to form a soft, pliable dough.
Divide into balls. Pat each directly on a greased tawa into a thin round disc.
Make a small hole in the centre (helps even cooking). Add a few drops of oil around the edges.
Cook on medium heat 3–4 minutes per side until golden and crisp.
Serve with curd, loni (white butter) or peanut chutney.
Zunka is the dry version of Pithla — cooked without water until the besan is crumbly and fragrant.
It is bold, spicy and pairs perfectly with bhakri or chapati.
Ingredients
¾ cup besan
1 large onion, finely chopped
3–4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp red chilli powder, ½ tsp turmeric, salt
1 tbsp oil, mustard and cumin seeds
Method
Heat oil, splutter mustard and cumin, add garlic and onion. Sauté until golden.
Add spices, stir 1 minute. Sprinkle besan evenly over the mixture.
Stir continuously on low heat for 8–10 minutes until besan is cooked and dry.
Serve with jowar bhakri and raw onion.
Small brinjals stuffed with a spiced peanut-coconut masala and slow-cooked until tender.
This is a showstopper dish that tastes far more complex than it is to make.
Ingredients
8 small brinjals (slit cross-wise)
Stuffing: 3 tbsp roasted peanuts, 2 tbsp grated coconut, 1 tsp goda masala,
1 tsp red chilli powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, salt, jaggery
1 tsp oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds
Method
Grind stuffing ingredients to a coarse paste. Fill each brinjal generously.
Heat oil in a wide pan, splutter mustard seeds.
Place stuffed brinjals carefully. Cover and cook on low 20–25 minutes, turning gently once.
Serve with chapati or rice.
Amti is a sweet-sour-spicy toor dal tempered with goda masala and kokum or tamarind.
It is more complex than Varan and served on festive occasions or Sunday lunches.
Ingredients
1 cup toor dal, pressure cooked
1 tsp goda masala
½ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp jaggery
2–3 kokum pieces (or ½ tsp tamarind paste)
Mustard seeds, curry leaves, asafoetida, oil
Method
Heat oil, splutter mustard seeds, add curry leaves and asafoetida.
Add cooked dal, goda masala, chilli powder, kokum, jaggery and salt.
Simmer 10 minutes adjusting consistency. Taste and balance sweet, sour and spice.
Sprouted moth beans cooked with onion, tomato and Maharashtrian spices into a protein-rich,
dry-ish curry. A nutritious everyday dinner.
Ingredients
1.5 cups sprouted matki
1 onion, 1 tomato, 3 garlic cloves
1 tsp goda masala, ½ tsp chilli powder, ¼ tsp turmeric
Oil, mustard seeds, curry leaves, coriander
Method
Pressure cook sprouted matki with salt for 2 whistles. Set aside.
Sauté onion and garlic until golden. Add tomato and spices, cook to a paste.
Add matki with a little water. Simmer 10 minutes. Garnish with coriander.
Masala Bhaat is a festive one-pot spiced rice dish from Maharashtra — rice cooked with
vegetables, goda masala and a generous drizzle of ghee. A complete meal in itself.
Ingredients
1 cup basmati rice, soaked 20 minutes
1 cup mixed vegetables (peas, potato, brinjal)
1.5 tsp goda masala
½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp red chilli powder
Mustard seeds, curry leaves, 1 tbsp ghee
Method
Heat ghee, splutter mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add vegetables and stir 3 minutes.
Add soaked rice, goda masala, chilli, turmeric and salt. Stir to coat.
Add 2 cups water. Cover and cook on low 18–20 minutes until rice is done.
Fluff gently, serve with curd and pappad.
Try the Masala Spin Wheel
Can't choose from the list above? Spin the Masala Spin wheel
and let it decide your dinner — filter by Maharashtrian, vegetarian, or quick meals under 20 minutes.
