Konkani cuisine is the cuisine of the

Saraswat Brahmin The Saraswat Brahmins are Hindu Brahmins, who are spread over widely separated regions spanning from Kashmir in North India to Konkan in West India to Kanara (coastal region of Karnataka) and Kerala in South India. The word ''Saraswat'' is de ...

s from the

Konkan The Konkan ( kok, कोंकण) or Kokan () is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, running from Damaon in the north to Karwar in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau in the east. The hinterland ...

region on the western coast of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. Konkani cuisine differs within the Saraswat Brahmin subsects and within the

Canara Kanara, also known as Karavali is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The region comprises three civil districts, ...

region. Konkani cuisine originally hails from the Konkan region including

Uttara Kannada Uttara Kannada is a district in the Indian states and territories of India, state of Karnataka. Uttara Kannada District is a major coastal district of Karnataka, and currently holding the title of the largest district in Karnataka. It is borde ...

Udupi district Udupi district (also Udipi or Odipu in Tulu language) is an administrative subdivision in the Karnataka state of India, with the district headquarters in the city of Udupi. It is situated in the Canara coastal region, there are seven talu ...

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

, Damaon, and Goa, India. Konkani cuisine is popular served in many restaurants throughout the western coast of India, and especially in the cities of Bombay and Bangalore. Each variation has its unique flavour and makes uses of different vegetables and fruits available in the region. Konkani cuisine is usually pesco-vegetarian, except ''

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' ( Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...

s'' and ''

purohit Purohita ( sa, पुरोहित), in the Hindu context, means ''chaplain'' or ''family priest'' within the Vedic priesthood. In Thailand and Cambodia, it refers to the royal chaplains. Etymology The word ''purohita'' derives from the S ...

s'' who follow a strictly saatvik vegetarian diet. According the Konkani folklore, fish, meats are regarded as sea vegetables. Historically, they have refrained from eating any terrestrial animals in general.

Lacto-vegetarian Saraswat cuisine

Their curries use a lot of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family (Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the f ...

coconut oil frameless , right , alt = A cracked coconut and a bottle of coconut oil Coconut oil (or coconut butter) is an edible oil derived from the wick, meat, and milk of the coconut palm fruit. Coconut oil is a white solid fat; in warmer climates du ...

tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabacea ...

kokum ''Garcinia indica'', a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as ''kokum'', is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It primarily grows in the Western Ghats, especially the Goa and Konk ...

& curry leaves and the cuisine is largely influenced by

South Indian cuisine South Indian cuisine includes the cuisines of the five southern states of India—Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana—and the union territories of Lakshadweep, Pondicherry, and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands ...

. Three cuisine is very similar to Malvani cuisine of southern Concan and Udupi or Mangalorean cuisine. Their cuisine is less spicy and has less

Portuguese cuisine The oldest known book on Portuguese cuisine, entitled ''Livro de Cozinha da Infanta D. Maria de Portugal'', from the 16th century, describes many popular dishes of meat, fish, poultry and others. ''Culinária Portuguesa'', by António-Maria De O ...

influences than the cuisine of their Goan Catholic counterparts. ''Hooman ani Xit'' (fish curry and parboiled rice) is the staple food of the Saraswat Brahmins of Goa, whereas the regular consumption of

Indian bread Indian breads are a wide variety of flatbreads and crêpes which are an integral part of Indian cuisine. Their variation reflects the diversity of Indian culture and food habits. Ingredients Most flat breads from northern India are unleavened a ...

s such as ''

puri Puri () is a coastal city and a municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is also known as '' ...

s'', ''

chapati Chapati (alternatively spelled chapatti, chappati, chapathi, or chappathi; pronounced as IAST: ), also known as ''roti'', ''rotli'', ''safati'', ''shabaati'', ''phulka'', (in East Africa) ''chapo'', (in Marathi) ''poli'', and (in the Maldives) ...

s'' and '' parathas'' are seen mainly amongst the Saraswat Brahmin of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...

, India. Satvik Brahmin (sub-set of Saraswat Brahmins), which is a strictly

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetariani ...

cuisine that does not use vegetables that grow underground, such as

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

potatoes The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern United ...

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

, etc. Dishes such as ''Savalem raandaap'' are prepared among the

Bhat Bhat (also spelled as Bhatt or Butt) is a surname in the Indian subcontinent. Bhat and Bhatt are shortened rendition of Bhatta. Etymology The word "Bhat" ( sa, भट, ) means "teacher" in Sanskrit. While the original shortened rendition of "Bh ...

s (Priests), conservative

Goud Saraswat Brahmin Gaud Saraswat Brahmins (GSB) (also Goud or Gawd) are a Hindu Brahmin community of the north. The Konkani language, Konkani speaking Gaud Saraswat of Goa and southern India claim to be descendents of these Gaud Saraswat Brahmins of the north t ...

s and Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmins. This is followed by most Konkani families on festivals like

Ganesh Chaturthi Ganesh Chaturthi ( ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and ...

follow this style of cooking. On certain days (Mondays in particular), all Saraswat Brahmins eat only vegetarian food. This is particularly true in families whose ''

Kuldevta A kuladevatā (), also known as a kuladaivaṃ, is an ancestral tutelary deity in Hinduism and Jainism. Such a deity is often the object of one's devotion (''bhakti''), and is coaxed to watch over one's clan (''kula''), gotra, family, and child ...

'' (clan deity) or other family deities like Mangesh,

Nagueshi Nagueshi or Nagesh is a form of Lord Shiva worshipped by Konkani Hindus in India. The temple lies in verdant surroundings in the Ponda district of Goa. Unlike many other Hindu temples of Goa which were shifted out of the Velha Conquistas the Na ...

or any other form of Mahadeva Shiva. In

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi Language, Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also Romanization, romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the I ...

and Jammu region, Saraswat Brahmins traditionally observe strict lacto vegetarian diet.

Various Saraswat cuisine

Rajapur Saraswat cuisine

This cuisine forms a part of lacto-vegetarian cuisine. This cuisine has the combination of

Goan Goans ( kok, गोंयकार, Romi Konkani: , pt, Goeses) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, who form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, Dravidian, Indo-Portuguese, and ...

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

and Malvani cuisine culture. '' Khatkhatem'', a stew containing at least six vegetables, is popular. Other popular dishes include ''bhaji'' or ''shaak'' (made from different vegetable curry and fruit), ''vaal bhaji'' (a curry/dish made out of drumsticks) ''usli/ Usal'' (spicy pulses in a thin watery gravy), ''

misal ''Misal'' (Marathi: मिसळ isəɭ meaning "mixture"), is a very popular spicy dish in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra. The dish is mostly eaten for breakfast or as a midday snack or sometimes as a one-dish meal, often as part of ...

'' ( topped with fried snacks), ''tondak'' (beans combined with cashews), ''rass'' (coconut-based dishes), ''undri'' (a dish made out of rice flour, jaggery, and coconut), ''ghawan'' (a special variant of dosa, which is similar to ''neer dose'', a

Tuluva The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada ...

dish) ''hoomans'' (different types of curries), ''karams'' (vegetable salads), ''lonche'' (

Indian pickle South Asian pickles, also known as avalehikā, pachchadi, achaar (sometimes spelled as aachaar), athaanu, loncha, oorugaai, or aavakaai, is a pickled food made from a variety of vegetables and fruits preserved in brine, vinegar, edible oils, and ...

s) and '' papads/happal'' (

flatbread A flatbread is a bread made with flour; water, milk, yogurt, or other liquid; and salt, and then thoroughly rolled into flattened dough. Many flatbreads are unleavened, although some are leavened, such as pizza and pita bread. Flatbreads r ...

Fast food Fast food is a type of mass-produced food designed for commercial resale, with a strong priority placed on speed of service. It is a commercial term, limited to food sold in a restaurant or store with frozen, preheated or precooked ingredie ...

s include ''Moongacho gathi'' (curried

green gram The mung bean (''Vigna radiata''), alternatively known as the green gram, maash ( fa, ماش٫ )٫ mūng (), monggo, or munggo (Philippines), is a plant species in the legume family.Brief Introduction of Mung Bean. Vigna Radiata Extract G ...

), ''botatyache patal bhaji'' (

potato The potato is a starchy food, a tuber of the plant ''Solanum tuberosum'' and is a root vegetable native to the Americas. The plant is a perennial in the nightshade family Solanaceae. Wild potato species can be found from the southern Uni ...

curry), ''tur dal ross'' (split

pigeon pea The pigeon pea (''Cajanus cajan'') is a perennial legume from the family Fabaceae native to the Old World. The pigeon pea is widely cultivated in tropical and semitropical regions around the world, being commonly consumed in South Asia, Sout ...

curry), etc.

Chitrapur Saraswat cuisine

Chitrapur Saraswat cuisine is unique and its various forms have been published in the Rasachandrika book both in Marathi and English. These are recipes that would have been passed down from mother to daughter or daughter-in-law. The cuisine consists either of curries and vegetables made with ground fresh coconut gratings or tempered beans, sprouts, pulses (dals) garnished with coconut gratings. However, nowadays, for health reasons, the use of coconut gratings is kept to a minimum. Typical Bhanap or Amchi (as the Chitrapur Saraswats refer to themselves) dishes are: * ''Batata Song'' (potatoes cooked with tamarind, onions, garlic, chili powder and turmeric) * Ambat * Dalithoy *

Patoleo ''Patoleo'' (singular: ''Patoli''; Goan Konkani: पातोळ्यो) are stuffed turmeric leaf wraps, a dish which is mostly prepared on the western coast of India and other Indian Ocean islands. The stuffing is made from grated coconut, ri ...

* Patrode * Surnoli * ''Kairus'' (ground coconut base with spices, capsicum, potatoes, tamarind, peanuts and cashews) * ''Sukke'' (ground coconut base, spices and a variety of vegetables like potatoes) * ''Knolkhol'' (kohlrabi), peas, cauliflower, okra * ''Ghashees'' * Mango pickle made with unripe Apinmedi mango

Pesco-vegetarian cuisine

Most konkani Saraswat Brahmins are pesco-vegetarians. The inclusion of

fish Fish are Aquatic animal, aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack Limb (anatomy), limbs with Digit (anatomy), digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and Chondrichthyes, cartilaginous and bony fish as we ...

in the diet is not looked upon as non-vegetarian. Legend has it that when the

Saraswati Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a g ...

River A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of ...

dried up, the Saraswats who could not farm were permitted to eat

sea food The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Se ...

. The fish were euphemistically called ''sea vegetable'' or झळकें from ( जल काय -Jal Kaay).

Oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

s, for example, are sometimes called ''samudra phalam'', or 'sea fruit'. A typical

breakfast Breakfast is the first meal of the day usually eaten in the morning. The word in English refers to breaking the fasting period of the previous night.Anderson, Heather Arndt (2013)''Breakfast: A History'' AltaMira Press. Various "typical" or " ...

in a Saraswat home may include ''pez'' (

congee Congee or conjee ( ) is a type of rice porridge or gruel eaten in Asian countries. It can be eaten plain, where it is typically served with side dishes, or it can be served with ingredients such as meat, fish, seasonings and flavourings, most ...

) of ''ukdem tandhul'' (parboiled rice) and ''lonche'' ( pickles) and papad. Wealthier homes may serve

dosa Dosa may refer to: People * Bogoljub Mitić Đoša, Serbian actor * Csaba Dosa (born 1951), Romanian athlete * Dosa ben Harkinas * Dosa ben Saadia (935 - 1018), Talmudic scholar and philosopher * Dosa or Dossa Júnior * Edward Dosa-Wea Neufv ...

idli Idli or idly () is a type of savoury rice cake, originating from the South India,popular as breakfast foods in Southern India and in Sri Lanka. The cakes are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented black lentils (de-husked) and ric ...

(in

South Canara South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...

and other parts of

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union terr ...

) or '' sannas'' (in Goa), along with

chutney A chutney is a spread in the cuisines of the Indian subcontinent. Chutneys are made in a wide variety of forms, such as a tomato relish, a ground peanut garnish, yogurt or curd, cucumber, spicy coconut, spicy onion or mint dipping sauce ...

or '' sambhar''. ''Shevaiyn phann'' or ''phow'' are other breakfast foods occasionally served. Rotis and bhakris are typical types of bread eaten along with ''tondak'' or seasoned ''batatabhaji'' (potato stir-fry preparation). Lunch and dinner may feature ''daat dalitoi'' and rice (''xit'', pronounced ''sheeth'') in a ''Dorkes home, whereas '' Bhanaps'' would prefer ''ambat'' with their rice for ''kalvani''. A typical Saraswat lunch would have ''sheeth'', ''roass'' or ''varann''; if the diner is not vegetarian, lunch may include ''hoomann'', ''bhaji'', ''tondak'', ''lonche'', ''papodd'', and ''toi'' or ''kadhi''. Kadhi is made to serve the dual purpose of ''mukhashuddhhi'' (mouth purification, perhaps after all the relatively

spicy Pungency () refers to the taste of food commonly referred to as spiciness, hotness or heat, found in foods such as chili peppers. Highly pungent tastes may be experienced as unpleasant. The term piquancy () is sometimes applied to foods with a l ...

stuff) and ''jeervonn'' (digestive kadhis include

asafoetida Asafoetida (; also spelled asafetida) is the dried latex ( gum oleoresin) exuded from the rhizome or tap root of several species of ''Ferula'', perennial herbs growing tall. They are part of the celery family, Umbelliferae. Asafoetida is th ...

, ''vomvom,

jeera Cumin ( or , or Article title
) (''Cuminum cyminum'') is a

mustard seed Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about in diameter and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are an important spice in many regional foods and may come from one of three diff ...

s). Typically, this is a watery preparation which the luncher cups in his hand as it is poured onto his plate and drinks it before mixing a small portion of his rice with it to eat at the end of the meal. The most savoured as well as preferred ''kadhis'' amongst the Konkani Saraswat Brahmins is the ''kokumachi kadhi'' or ''konkam kadhi''.

Kokum ''Garcinia indica'', a plant in the mangosteen family (Clusiaceae), commonly known as ''kokum'', is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses. It primarily grows in the Western Ghats, especially the Goa and Konk ...

is a fruit found and grown within the western Konkan coast of India and is commonly used in Saraswat cuisine. Formally it is often said that no meal is complete without ''kokum khadhi''.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Saraswat Cuisine Konkani cuisine Indian cuisine by culture Vegetarian dishes of India Goan cuisine Karnataka cuisine South Indian cuisine Semi-vegetarianism