Email
Print
ShareThe man at the door, dressed in all his finery, is very clear that he is happiest speaking to you in Marathi. And so it should be, as you enter Diva Maharashtracha, an eaterie dedicated to Maharashtrian cuisine.
The eaterie is pleasant looking and the service is quick and friendly. We opt for the non-vegetarian thali, but in hindsight, we should have had one thali and ordered some other dishes a la carte.
Still, we were not disappointed, hardly. Koliwada prawns were the starter du jour and to that we added an alu wadi, from the vegetarian section. The prawns were fresh and the Koliwada batter amazingly light. The subtlety of the flavour made it a clear winner.
The alu wadi -- also known as pathra in Gujarati -- and made from taro or colocasia leaves was fried crisp, with a garnish of fresh coconut and sesame seeds. Quite delicious.
The thali comes with a peas curry, or rather a dry dish which was light and tasty. The pithla -- besan or chickpea flour curry -- was also delicious and went very well with the jowar bhakri -- yes, shades of a sort of elegant jhunka-bhakar.
The tomato soup was all right, but that could be because I am not much of a soup eater. The cucumber and coconut salad was scrumptious and worked through the meal as an excellent complement to the spicy dishes.
The non-vegetarian thali comes with a chicken and a mutton dish (some days you get fish, but not on Thursdays). The chicken hirve rasa was chicken in a green coriander based masala and was the clear winner of the day. The succulent boneless pieces of chicken in this sumptuous flavourful gravy tempted even my chicken-hating dinner companion. It tasted good with jowar and rice rotis but much better with the rice.
The mutton pathare was mutton in a standard ginger-garlic-onion gravy but was suitably chilli hot (the cucumber salad came in handy here) and was also very good. Rice again is the best accompaniment.
The flavours at Diva Maharashtracha are well-crafted and delicate; they neither overpower nor overwhelm you but instead encourage you to try a little more. This is a tough accomplishment with Indian food.
The thali came with a sevai kheer (vermicelli milk pudding) but I'm not a milk person. So I ordered a puranpoli and was well-pleased with the lightness of the paratha and the depth and heft of the sweetened dal. The melted ghee on the side was a wicked touch. The companion ordered a paan ice-cream, which is intriguing and then it's more than enough.
Next time, the rest of the menu.
