In my mind if I were to serve you an authentic Maharashtrian food experience it would not be possible to do so through one meal. I would need a minimum of four to introduce the distinct and authentically Maharashtrian food experiences that the state has to offer. The coastal cuisine from the Malwan coast is a fish and sea food lovers delight. The spicy Kolhapuri cuisine with the famed Tambda and Pandhra Rassas that take the meat eating experience to a whole new altitude, only to be shamed by the even more spicy Saoji cuisine from Vidarbha. The three aforementioned cuisines are however the glitz which sits atop the basic vegetarian Maharashtrian cuisine. The fare is the 'ghar ka khana' the Marathi manoos survive on everyday and Aaswad is one of the more famous eateries in Mumbai where you can taste hearty vegetarian Maharasthrian cuisine, may not be glamorous, but it is definitely very very tasty.
Aaswad is a value for money food joint and the interiors seem to state the same. Space is a bit cramped with almost all tables designed to seat four people at the most. Most importantly the place appears to be clean and hygienic. The service is prompt and attentive with language being a slight problem. The waiter we had was not very fluent in Hindi and we were lucky to be bailed out by a Maharashtrian who could converse with him as well as suggest a few of the local must haves. You could be restricted to try your luck pointing out dishes on the English menu card without knowing a great deal about what might be served to you but I think that's a risk worth taking.
At Aaswad we sampled quite a large number of dishes due to us being a pretty large group, we sampled piyush, pithale bhaji bhakri, dalimbi usal, kharwas and puran pohli. (I think you may understand now that it is safer to go there with a Maharashtrian :)).
Piyush meaning "amrit" is the Marathi Manoos' food of the Gods. We were served this first at Aaswad, piyush is a yellow drink with a lot of milk, kesar and shrikhand (if you are Bengali the taste is somewhat like a "Ghol", only better). Piyush looks a bit like liquid custard and has a sweet curdy taste. It was the perfect filler as we waited for the meal without taking too much stomach space.
The pithali bhaji bhakri was served next, the dish had three parts, the bhakri which is a round bread cam with choices of bajra, rice and jowar. We sampled a bit of all three:). The bhaji was made of brinjal which the Marathis refer to as "Vang", it was spicy with a generous helping of tomato and coconut. The pithale was the undoubted star of the piece, it looks exactly like daal but is cooked using 'besan' or chikpea flour spiced up with mustard, cumin with a generous amount of coriander, the texture is exactly that of a thick-ish daal with the coriander clearly visible. It was brilliant both from a taste perspective and when you know what the ingredients are.
Our meal was rounded off by the dalimbi usal and the special pola usal, the dalimbi usal was a preparation of sprouts cooked in soury kokum. Again extremely tasty and easily one of the best ways to have bean sprouts. We had it with some more bhakri and also ordered a couple of puris as a side. The dishes were also wonderfully complemented with a kokum chutney and another spicy chilli chutney on the table - added spice on offer at all times.
For dessert we ordered kharwas and puran pohli, the 'kharwas' is a pudding made out of the milk from a cow which has just given birth, soft, not too sweet and positively delectable. The puran pohli appears to be a bread but is stuffed with some lentils and a generous amount of jaggery. The dessert made us wish that we had not had the main course but then that is always the case in a great meal. Overall a truly outstanding meal and a must have for the all round Maharashtrian culinary experience.
A meal for two at Aaswad for two people without drinks will cost you approximately Rs 250/- on the higher side.
How to get there: Aaswad is perhaps aptly located right out side the Shiv Sena Bhavan in Dadar TT. Bal Thackeray's imposing statue looks to the restaurant situated slightly towards the left of the gaze. It serves as a rightful beacon of the unequivocal competency of the Marathi Manoos with a clear niche in the city with much cosmopolitan competition - at least on culinary terms. Jai Maharashtra!
