Saraswat cuisine facts for kids

Konkani cuisine is the yummy food from the Saraswat Brahmin people. They live in the Konkan area on the western coast of India. Konkani food is a bit different depending on which Saraswat Brahmin group you ask. It also changes across the Konkan-Canara region. This special food comes from places like Uttara Kannada, Udupi district, Dakshina Kannada, Damaon, and Goa.

You can find Konkani food in many restaurants along India's western coast. It's especially popular in big cities like Bombay and Bangalore. Each type of Konkani food has its own taste. It uses different vegetables and fruits from that specific area. Most Konkani food includes fish but no other meat. This is called pesco-vegetarian. However, some religious leaders, called acharyas and purohits, eat only a very strict vegetarian diet. This is known as a saatvik diet.

According to old Konkani stories, fish and other seafood are seen as "sea vegetables." Historically, these people generally avoided eating animals that live on land.

What is Saraswat Vegetarian Food Like?

Saraswat vegetarian food uses a lot of coconut. They also use coconut oil, tamarind, a fruit called kokum, and curry leaves. This cooking style is very much like South Indian cuisine. It's also similar to Malvani cuisine and Udupi or Mangalorean cuisine.

This food is usually less spicy. It also has fewer influences from Portuguese cuisine compared to the food of Goan Catholics. In Goa, Saraswat Brahmins often eat Hooman ani Xit. This is fish curry with parboiled rice. In Maharashtra, Saraswat Brahmins eat more Indian breads. These include puris, chapatis, and parathas.

Some Saraswat Brahmins follow a very strict vegetarian diet. This is called the Satvik Brahmin diet. They do not eat vegetables that grow underground. This means no onions, potatoes, or garlic. Dishes like Savalem raandaap are made by priests and some traditional Saraswat groups. Many Konkani families cook this way during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi. On certain days, like Mondays, all Saraswat Brahmins eat only vegetarian food. This is especially true for families who worship certain gods, like Mangesh or Nagueshi. In Punjab and Jammu region, Saraswat Brahmins also traditionally eat only vegetarian food.

Different Kinds of Saraswat Food

There are different styles of Saraswat cuisine. Each has its own special dishes and flavors.

Rajapur Saraswat Dishes

This type of food is also lacto-vegetarian. It mixes flavors from Goan, Udupi, and Malvani cooking.

A popular dish is Khatkhatem. This is a stew with at least six different vegetables. Other well-known dishes include bhaji or shaak. These are curries made from various vegetables and fruits. Vaal bhaji is a curry made from drumsticks. Usli/Usal is a spicy pulse dish with a thin gravy. Misal is usal with fried snacks on top. Tondak combines beans with cashews. Rass are dishes made with coconut. Undri is a sweet dish made from rice flour, jaggery, and coconut.

Ghawan is a special type of dosa. It is similar to neer dose, a dish from the Tuluva people. Hoomans are different kinds of curries. Karams are vegetable salads. Lonche are Indian pickles. Papads/happal are thin, crispy flatbreads. Quick snacks include Moongacho gathi (curried green gram). There's also botatyache patal bhaji (potato curry) and tur dal ross (split pigeon pea curry).

Chitrapur Saraswat Dishes

Chitrapur Saraswat cuisine is very special. Many of its recipes have been written down in a book called Rasachandrika. This book is available in both Marathi and English. These recipes have been passed down through families for many years.

The food often includes curries and vegetables made with fresh grated coconut. It also features tempered beans, sprouts, and pulses (dals) with coconut on top. However, today, people use less coconut for health reasons.

Some common dishes from the Chitrapur Saraswats (who call themselves Bhanap or Amchi) are:

• Batata Song (potatoes cooked with tamarind, onions, garlic, chili powder, and turmeric)
• Ambat
• Dalithoy
• Patoleo
• Patrode
• Surnoli
• Kairus (a dish with a ground coconut base, spices, capsicum, potatoes, tamarind, peanuts, and cashews)
• Sukke (another dish with a ground coconut base, spices, and various vegetables like potatoes)
• Knolkhol (kohlrabi), peas, and cauliflower
• Ghashees
• Mango pickle made from unripe Apinmedi mangoes

Why Some Eat Fish: Pesco-Vegetarian Food

Most Konkani Saraswat Brahmins are pesco-vegetarians. This means they eat fish but no other meat. Eating fish is not seen as eating non-vegetarian food by them.

There's a story that explains this. Long ago, the Saraswati River dried up. The Saraswats could not grow crops anymore. So, they were allowed to eat sea food or fish. They even called fish "sea vegetable" or झळकें (which means "water body"). For example, Oysters are sometimes called samudra phalam, meaning "sea fruit."

A Typical Day of Eating

A normal breakfast in a Saraswat home might be pez. This is a type of congee made from ukdem tandhul (parboiled rice). It's served with lonche (pickles) and papad. In wealthier homes, you might find dosa, idli (in South Canara, Karnataka, and other parts of South India), or sannas (in Goa). These are usually eaten with chutney or sambhar. Sometimes, Shevaiyn phann or phow are also served for breakfast. Rotis and bhakris are types of bread eaten with tondak or seasoned batatabhaji (potato stir-fry).

For lunch and dinner, a Dorke's home might have daat dalitoi and rice (xit, pronounced sheeth). Bhanaps might prefer ambat with their rice. A typical Saraswat lunch includes sheeth (rice), roass or varann. If someone eats fish, lunch might also have hoomann. Other dishes include bhaji, tondak, lonche, papodd, and toi or kadhi.

Kadhi serves two purposes. It helps clean your mouth after eating spicy food. It also helps with digestion. Digestive kadhis often have asafoetida, vomvom, jeera, and fennel seed. Sometimes, kadhis are simply flavored with karivel and sanswam (mustard seeds). This is usually a watery dish. People often cup it in their hand and drink it. Then, they mix a small amount with their rice at the end of the meal.

The most popular kadhi among Konkani Saraswat Brahmins is kokumachi kadhi or konkam kadhi. Kokum is a fruit that grows on the western Konkan coast of India. It is commonly used in Saraswat cuisine. People often say that a meal is not complete without kokum khadhi.