Being in Maharashtra at the moment, I’ll kick off.
Had one of my favorite meals last night from a family-favorite Malvani (coastal cuisine) place my dad discovered a few decades ago and we never leave town without visiting.
Chicken Rassa (curry), Fried Bombil (Bombay Duck), and a not-Malvani dish they make the best version of which I’ve ever eaten anywhere: Palak Paneer, lol. They also included a tiny portion of a typical potato prep / Batatyachi Bhaji which I adore.
The Bombil is an odd fish unique to this region, which is most often encountered dried. It stinks to high heaven when the dehydrated version is deep fried (which is how it’s most often eaten), but the fresh version is most popular flattened with the spine removed, and then coated in a light batter and semolina and flash-fried for a crisp outer and a soft, tender inner. Just fantastic. Nothing comes close.
Malvani curry uses spices not often encountered in other parts of India. My favorite is a dry chicken prep (Sukka) but adding that would have been too much food, so we went with the Rassa (thin curry) that someone else wanted, and is still delicious.
Bears mentioning that chapatis have localized differences all over the country, and the change to Maharashtra is that they are often large (dinner plate sized) and made with oil rather than ghee, which makes them soft and pliable even when cold or leftover.
