Maharashtra Faq

Shopping in Maharashtra offers diverse varieties. As Maharashtra is a vast state, every region and every district has its own specialty. Mumbai offers wide ranges of shopping to visitors. There are marketplaces, which can be suited to every type of pockets. Chor Bazaar, Mutton Street and Zaveri Bazar are some of the important areas, where shoppers enjoy with delight.

The shopping arcades of five-star hotels like Oberoi and Taj Mahal offer a good variety of up-market shops. In central and suburban Mumbai, the Dadar, Bandra-Linking Road, and Juhu Road areas are good spots for shopping. Colaba and Flora Fountain (Hutatama Chowk) has full of shopping items like ethnic artifacts and departmental stores.

State emporiums at the World Trade Centre, at Cuffe Parade are a perfect for buying souvenir, a rare artifact or textiles. The prices at the Central Cottage Industries Emporium (Apollo Bunder) and Khadi Village Industries Emporium (D.N.Road) are fixed. But the quality is genuine.

When we talk of shopping in Aurangabad, himroo shawls, mashroo and kimkhab weaves click on one’s mind. We can’t also forget the well-known fine paithani silk sarees. The silver inlay craft of Bidri ware too is world famous.

Shopping in Pune too is like that of Mumbai. Jewellery, Maharashtrian traditional wares, pearl nose ring, necklace and the nine-yard sarees are readily available at Tulsi Baug. Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar or Deccan Gymkhana is another place for good shopping, while Mahatma Gandhi Road is a place with big stores.

Kolhapur is popular for its cotton textiles, in particular Kolhapuri sarees. This city is also popular for its jewellery and leather sandals or Kolhapuri chappals. Kolhapur is also famous for its special type of necklace called Kolhapur saaj. This jewellery is very much special for Maharashtrian women. Har and malas, mohanmal, bormal, chaplahar, kolhapuri saaj, pohehar and putlihar are the jewelleries that are made in Kolhapur. These names are derived from the peculiar shapes of the jewelleries. Thushi, a choker with closely bound tiny gold beads, is very popular in Kolhapur.

In Nagpur, Sitabuldi, WHC Road, Dharampeth Road, Residency Road (Sadar) are famous for shopping. Poonam Chambers in Chhindwara Road is a shopping mall for branded clothes and non-branded clothes, shoes, super bazaar, gifts and cards, jewellry shops, furniture, snacks and fast food, and music. Nagpur is famous for its world-class oranges as well. Orange products like jam, jelly, marmalade and fruit squash can also be purchased in cheapest rates with best quality.

In Nashik one can find wide varieties of little brass statues and beaded necklaces are available everywhere. Nashik is popular for its jewellery as well.

Maharashtrians consider anna, or food equals to Brahma, the creator of the universe. Maharashtrians believe in offering their food first to the God as a thanksgiving. Especially on festive occasions, specific mithais (sweets) are offered such as ukadiche modak (Ganesh Chaturthi) and satyanarayan puja sheera.

Maharashtrian cuisine has two major styles – Konkan and Varadi. A major portion of Maharashtra, which lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea, is called the Konkan having its own Konkani cuisine, which is a combination of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin and Goan cuisines. The cuisine for the interior Maharashtra or the Vidarbha area is called Varadi cuisine.

Maharashtrian cuisine is packed with the subtly flavoured vegetarian delicacies and hot aromatic meat and fish curries, while the crunchy, crisp sweets are made mostly from rice and jiggery are also their favourite. The Konkan food has a lot of coconut in it and strong in masalas, red chillies and coriander.

The spicy Kolhapuri food emphasizes on mutton. The food of the Vidarbha region is prepared strong in red chillie powder and garlic. Mumbai has its own pot-pourri of dishes like vada pav, misal and pav bhaji, which are immensely popular across India.

Konkan Cuisine
Konkan cuisine is strong in spice, red chillie powder, corianders, and prepared with coconut oil. It is prepared using a deep purple berry that has a pleasing sweet and sour taste, kokum and raw mango as souring agents along with tamarind and lime.

Maharashtrian Cuisine
Maharashtrian cuisine is of two kinds – Konkani and Varadi. Despite its difference in style of preparation, both the style use lot of seafood and coconut. Peanut oil is the main cooking medium, and grated coconuts, peanuts and cashew nuts are widely used in vegetarian dishes.

Mumbai Chaat
Mumbai has people with different working in different economy levels. Thousands of working families live on the diets prepared at street vendors. The most encouraging thing is these vendors even level with the taste of the expensive restaurants up to some extent.