Maharashtrian Food Words: भाकरी, मिसळ पाव and मोदक

Maharashtrian food ranges from street snacks in Mumbai to festival sweets in Pune. Learning the names helps you order and understand menus.

Popular dishes

Dish	Notes
वडा पाव	a spiced potato fritter in a bread roll, a Mumbai favourite
मिसळ पाव	a spicy sprout curry served with bread
पावभाजी	mashed vegetable curry with buttered bread
भाकरी	flatbread from millet or sorghum
पोळी (चपाती)	wheat flatbread
पुरणपोळी	sweet flatbread filled with lentils and jaggery
मोदक	sweet steamed dumplings, associated with Ganesh festival
श्रीखंड	sweet strained yoghurt
साबुदाणा खिचडी	tapioca pearl dish, eaten during fasts
कांदे पोहे	flattened rice with onions
आमटी	spiced lentil soup

Basic food words

Marathi	Meaning
जेवण	meal
नाश्ता	breakfast, snack
भात	rice
भाजी	vegetable dish
डाळ	lentils
दूध	milk
दही	curd
तूप	ghee
साखर	sugar
मीठ	salt
पाणी	water
चहा	tea
फळ	fruit
मसाला	spice

Tastes

• गोड — sweet
• तिखट — spicy
• खारट — salty
• आंबट — sour
• कडू — bitter
• चविष्ट — tasty

Phrases

• मला भूक लागली आहे. — I am hungry.
• मला तहान लागली आहे. — I am thirsty.
• जेवण चविष्ट आहे. — The food is tasty.
• थोडे तिखट कमी करा. — Please make it a little less spicy.
• बिल द्या. — Please give the bill.

Culture

Sweet पुरणपोळी is prepared for festivals, and मोदक for Ganesh Chaturthi.

Tips

1. Learn the dish names.
2. Learn गोड, तिखट and चविष्ट.
3. Use the dictionary to check menu words.

Look up any word with English Marathi Dictionary →