Maharashtrian cuisine is a delightful combination of spicy, tangy, and sweet flavors, offering a rich array of vegan-friendly dishes. From hearty rice dishes to crispy snacks and decadent desserts, this cuisine provides the perfect segue to plant-based living. In this guide, you’ll find an assortment of mouth-watering vegan dishes with a 7-day meal plan that will make incorporating these flavors into your week easier than ever.
What’s Inside:
Part 1: A curated list of essential vegan Maharashtrian dishes, from flavorful rice preparations to delightful snacks and desserts.
Part 2: A 7-day meal plan, making it easy to enjoy these dishes throughout the week.
Note: A plant-based diet can help reduce your risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and type 2 diabetes. According to the American Heart Association, plant-forward diets, full of vegetables, legumes, and nuts, support heart health and overall well-being.
Part 1: A Flavorful Maharashtrian Vegan Feast Awaits!
Rice Dishes:
- Vangi Bhat: A traditional rice dish made with roasted brinjal (eggplant), spices, coconut, tamarind, and jaggery. Vegan-friendly with a spicy kick.
- Tamarind Rice (Chidvey or Ukadiche Rice): Tangy and spicy, made with tamarind, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and various spices, garnished with roasted peanuts or sesame seeds.
- Masale Bhat: Fragrant rice cooked with vegetables, spices, and coconut, often paired with vegan raita or chutney.
- Koshimbir Rice: A refreshing rice salad with mixed vegetables, lemon, mustard seeds, and curry leaves.
Snacks:
- Batata Vada: A classic Maharashtrian snack prepared with spicy mashed potatoes wrapped in chickpea flour and deep-fried, usually served with chutneys.
- Sabudana Khichdi: Made from soaked sago, peanuts, potatoes, and mild spices, this is often enjoyed as a fasting dish.
- Kothimbir Vadi: Savory steamed snack made from chickpea flour and coriander leaves, shallow-fried to perfection.
- Chivda: A crunchy, savory mixture of flattened rice, peanuts, dry coconut, and spices.
Desserts:
- Coconut Ladoo: A quick and easy dessert made from desiccated coconut and jaggery, rolled into small balls.
- Basundi (Vegan Version): A creamy dessert traditionally made from condensed milk, but veganized with coconut or almond milk, flavored with cardamom and saffron.
- Modak: Sweet dumplings made from rice flour, filled with coconut, jaggery, and cardamom. A traditional treat during Ganesh Chaturthi.
- Shira: Semolina-based dessert flavored with sugar, cardamom, and saffron, made vegan with oil or coconut oil instead of ghee.
Legume Dishes:
- Methi Thepla with Moong Daal: Flatbread made with fenugreek leaves and served with moong dal (yellow mung bean curry).
- Vaal Curry: A curry made with vaal (field beans), cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices like ginger, garlic, turmeric, and red chili powder.
- Kadhi (Vegan Version): Tangy curry made from vegan yogurt or plant-based alternatives, chickpea flour, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and green chilies.
- Usal: Spicy curry made from sprouted legumes like moth beans (matki), garnished with fresh coconut, coriander, and sev (crispy chickpea noodles).
Vegetable Curries:
- Bharli Vangi: Stuffed eggplants cooked in a tangy, flavorful gravy made with coconut, peanuts, sesame seeds, and tamarind.
- Alu Wadi: Steamed colocasia leaves filled with gram flour, tamarind, and spices, cooked in a curry made from coconut and peanuts.
- Batata Rassa: Simple yet flavorful curry made with boiled potatoes, tamarind, coconut, and spices, typically enjoyed with chapati or rice.
- Tondli Masala: Cooked with onions, tomatoes, and spices, often flavored with garlic, cumin, and coriander. Sometimes garnished with fresh coconut.
Part 2: Your 7-Day Vegan Maharashtrian Meal Plan
Day 1:
- Breakfast: Sabudana Khichdi (traditional fasting food with a tapioca base)
- Lunch: Vegan Puran Poli (sweet flatbread with chana dal and jaggery filling)
- Dinner: Kadhi Bhaji (coconut-based curry with vegetables)
- Snack: Vegan Samosa (crispy pastry filled with spiced mashed potatoes and peas)
Day 2:
- Breakfast: Poha (flattened rice with mustard seeds, curry leaves, turmeric, peanuts)
- Lunch: Vegan Amti (spicy lentil curry with tamarind and Goda Masala)
- Dinner: Vegan Rassa (spicy vegetable curry)
- Snack: Bhel Puri (puffed rice with chutneys, peanuts, and sev)
Day 3:
- Breakfast: Misal Pav (spicy curry with sprouted beans, served with pav)
- Lunch: Vegan Sol Kadhi (refreshing drink made with kokum and coconut milk)
- Dinner: Methi Thepla (savory flatbread)
- Snack: Chivda (crispy poha snack with roasted peanuts and spices)
Day 4:
- Breakfast: Thalipeeth (savory multi-grain flatbread)
- Lunch: Pithla Bhakri (gram flour curry served with flatbread)
- Dinner: Vegan Khichdi (rice, lentils, and vegetables)
- Snack: Vegan Dhokla (steamed savory snack)
Day 5:
- Breakfast: Upma (semolina porridge with vegetables)
- Lunch: Vegan Varan Bhaat (simple lentil curry with rice)
- Dinner: Aloo Vadi (crispy, deep-fried spiced mashed potatoes)
- Snack: Sev Usal (spicy curry with moth beans, topped with sev)
Day 6:
- Breakfast: Kanda Poha (onion poha with mustard seeds and curry leaves)
- Lunch: Batata Bhaji (spiced potato curry)
- Dinner: Vegan Patal Bhaji (vegetable curry with bottle gourd)
- Snack: Ragda Pattice (spiced potato patties with white peas curry)
Day 7:
- Breakfast: Batata Vada (deep-fried spiced mashed potatoes)
- Lunch: Koshimbir (vegetable salad with mustard seeds and lemon juice)
- Dinner: Pav Bhaji (spicy vegetable curry served with pav)
- Snack: Aloo Tikki (crispy spiced potato patties)
Enjoy this vibrant and flavorful Maharashtrian vegan feast all week long! For more tasty recipes and meal plans, browse through our blogs and sign up for the 10 Weeks to Vegan email challenge to start your plant-based journey today.
Don’t forget to follow the 10 Weeks to Vegan Instagram and join the Facebook groups to share your favorite Maharashtrian vegan recipes and connect with the community. We can’t wait to see what you create!
Be kind ❀
— Contributed by Astha Gupta
