AHILYANAGAR

Ahilyanagar, previously known as Ahmednagar, is celebrated for its local cuisine, affectionately described as Zan Zanit by the residents to capture the essence of its spicy and flavor-packed dishes. One of the most beloved staples is Papad Bhaji, which has been a favorite among locals since 1986. The district is also home to historic eateries like Kailas Udpi and iconic food stalls such as Sopanrao's Vada Pav, which have become an integral part of the district.

The food culture in Ahilyanagar has undergone significant transformation over recent years, influenced by changing lifestyles and the availability of diverse cuisines. Historically, the diet in Ahilyanagar was simple and primarily homemade, focusing on nutritional value. Staples of the local diet included bhakri, bhaji, and peanut chutney. Dining out was uncommon, and the few available eateries were modest 'khanavals' that served traditional meals like bhaji and poli. In contrast, modern Ahilyanagar presents a different culinary scene, with a vast array of cuisines readily accessible. The culture of dining out has grown, especially with the rise of online food delivery services. Even traditional home-cooked meals have evolved to include dishes like parathas, idli, and dosa. Nevertheless, in most homes, women continue to be the primary cooks, despite the district's development.

In Ahilyanagar, a recent dietary shift has emerged among traditionally vegetarian communities such as the Marwadis and Brahmins. These communities have historically adhered to a strict saatvik diet, aligned with the religious and cultural principles. However, this dietary tradition is undergoing a transformation. A growing number of individuals within these communities are now incorporating meat, poultry, or even seafood into their meals, marking a departure from their long-standing vegetarian practices.

In recent years, Ahilyanagar has seen a substantial rise in the culture of dining out, a shift that reflects broader trends in urban lifestyle changes. During the morning hours, numerous breakfast stalls, commonly referred to as nashta/breakfast stalls, emerge throughout the district. These stalls offer a variety of popular breakfast dishes such as Parathas, Idli and Vada Sambar, Sabudana Khichdi, Sabudana Vada, and Papad Bhaji. Breakfast, especially for children, is accompanied with milk. Traditionally, residents of Ahilyanagar relied exclusively on milk supplied by local milkmen, sourced directly from community gaushalas (cow shelters). One such renowned gaushala in the district is Panjarpol, which has been a significant provider of fresh milk throughout the area. A significant portion of the community still prefers milk directly delivered from the gaushala as opposed to packaged milk, favoring its freshness and traditional procurement method.

Lunch typically commences around afternoon in Ahilyanagar, where the staple diet consists of chapati, bhakri, bhaji, rice, and dal/amti. The traditional Maharashtrian bhajis, such as Batata ani Flower cha Rassa, Batata chi Bhaji, Vaangi chi Bhaji, Chavalichi Bhaji, and Bhendi chi Bhaji, are prepared daily in most local households. If residents are feeling peckish, they tend to look for nashta such as Chiwda, Farsan, Sev, Chakli and Mathri. A few popular companies that offer these snacks are Aashirvad Chiwda, Thapar Food Products, and Chaffe Farsan.

As day turns to night, people in Ahilyanagar settle down or go outside for dinner after work. Items for dinner are usually similar to lunch. However, the atmosphere in areas outside such as Professor Colony Chowk become lively, with an array of food stalls, restaurants, and cafes.

Anand Mukhwas is a popular locally-made supari (betel nut) that is commonly eaten as an after-meal digestive in the district. Supari is often mixed with badi saunf, which are an important spice used in Indian sweet pickles, chutneys, curries, and candies. Fennel seeds are said to provide several health benefits, such as relief from cough, cold, bronchitis, and asthma. They are also considered a good mouth freshener and a source of minerals like Copper, Zinc, Iron, and Vitamin C. Shri Ganesh Traders is one of the best supari wholesalers in Ahmednagar district. On the same note, Anand Products, located near Saras Bridge in Ahmednagar, is another popular retailer of fennel seeds and other spices.

In Ahilyanagar, there is a famous term used to describe the food of the district. The term is ‘Zan Zanit’ which means spicy, hot and flavourful. People of the district prefer eating spicy food, especially food items that have rassa or tari.

Ahilyanagar is renowned for its significant contribution to Maharashtra's sugar production, accounting for over half of the state's total output. Despite recent droughts affecting sugarcane cultivation in Maharashtra, farmers in Jamkhed taluka, continue to grow the crop due to several reasons. These include an assured market and price, value addition through sugar factories, less labor-intensive cultivation, lower risk of complete crop failure compared to vegetables and horticulture, and limitations in public irrigation systems to provide water as per the requirements of high-frequency, limited irrigation crops like vegetables and fruits.

Nevertheless, the district also cultivates a variety of crops, including Kharif crops like bajra, cotton, maize, groundnut, soybean, and moong, as well as Rabi crops such as jowar, wheat, and gram. In addition to these staples, Ahilyanagar is known for its fruit production, with grapes, oranges, and pomegranates being major crops. Historically, chikoo, guava, and amla were also grown in the region. The district's Bhandardara village, which receives heavy rainfall, is particularly suitable for rice cultivation, with Indrayani rice being a local specialty. In recent times, non-local fruits such as kiwi, pear, strawberry, cherry, avocado, and dragon fruit have entered the local markets, alongside non-native vegetables like zucchini, broccoli, red and yellow capsicum, red cabbage, and lettuce.

The types of pickles that can be found in every household are mango pickle, lemon pickle and chili pickle. Women in the district are also known for making khajur (dates) pickle and amla pickle.

In most Indian communities, the first solid food introduced to babies is typically dal water and rice water. However, in Gujarati and Marwari communities, the initial food given to infants is honey.

When children go to school, they usually carry two tiffin boxes. One box is for the short breakfast break, while the other is for the longer lunch break. During the breakfast break, children often enjoy apples, bananas, or seasonal fruits. For the lunch break, their tiffins typically contain chapati-bhaji, paratha, sandwiches, or instant noodles.

Some schools go a step further by providing meals to their students and teachers. For breakfast, these schools serve dishes like Poha, Upma, or Sabudana Khichdi. For lunch, schools often offer chapati-bhaji along with a sweet snack.

The seasonal food in the district includes Sugarcane Juice, Kurdai, Mango Murabba, Mango Chunda, Kairi Loncha (raw mango pickle), Kairi Panha, Kairi Dal, Kheer Gavhale, Potato Chips, Gulkand, Wheat Shevai, and nachni, moong, udad, and poha papad during summers. In winters, the seasonal food includes Hurda, amla candy, amla supari, Amla Loncha, Chavanprash, Dinka Ladoo, Methi Ladoo, Til Vadi, Til Ladoo, Til Papadi, and Til Gul. Additionally, the most popular festival-driven food in Maharashtra is Puran Poli and Katachi Amti.

Lekurwali Bhaji, also known as Bhogi chi Bhaji or Khengat Bhaji, is a traditional dish prepared during the Bhogi festival. It is a mixed vegetable made using seasonal winter vegetables - typically carrots, green peas, brinjal, flat beans, green chana, etc. It is traditionally served with Bajra Bhakri on Bhogi.

A festival celebrating the birth of Ganesh, Ganesh Chaturthi is usually celebrated for 10 days. During this festival, modaks are gluten-free desserts that are made with rice flour dough and are stuffed with sweet coconut and jaggery filling flavored with cardamom seeds. These dumplings are steamed and typically served as an offering on the first day of the festival in amounts of 11 or 21.

Narali Bhat is a sweet coconut rice dish that is traditionally prepared in Maharashtra during the festival of Narali Poornima, which coincides with Raksha Bandhan. The rice is cooked in coconut milk and sweetened with jaggery.

In the past, limited food items like Puri, Potato Bhaji, Jalebi, Masale Bhat (rice), Boondi, Kadi or Matha were served at weddings. Earlier, the wedding food was made at home but now catering companies have taken over. Today, at least 9-10 different dishes are available at weddings. Paneer dishes have become a dominant food item which is served at almost all the weddings across different communities. Snacks such as Dhokla, Vada, Bhajji, Bread Roll, Pani Puri, Dahi Bhala, Gulab Jamun, Aloo Tikki, Kachori, etc. are also served frequently.

Different cuisines such as Italian, Chinese, South Indian, and Punjabi have also made their way into local Maharashtrian weddings. Desserts include Ice Cream, Kulfi, Kheer, Rabdi, Gajar ka Halwa, etc.

The prasad that is usually offered in religious sites includes items like Shira (suji ka halwa), Sweet Boondi, Lapshi, Khadi Sakhar (crystal sugar), and Peda. In Shirdi, the place of Sai Baba, visitors are offered Boondi-Ladoo. Historically, only a few items like Lapshi or Sweet Boondi were offered in bhandaras. However, today, a complete meal consisting of Puri, Potato Bhaji, Sweet Boondi, Masale Bhaat, and Farsan is commonly served. One of the most famous bhandaras in Ahilyanagar takes place at Agadgaon village. Every Sunday, a bhandara/maha prasad is held at Agadgaon, featuring dishes such as Amti Bhakri and Kala Masala Bhaji.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) of Ahilyanagar district (2019-2020), the percentage of men aged 15 and above who consume tobacco is 37.7%. On the other hand, the percentage of women aged 15 and above who consume any kind of tobacco is 14.7%.

In Ahilyanagar, you can find a paan shop at every corner. Heera Moti is a famous Paan shop that offers about 300+ varieties of Paan. Their most famous paan is known as ‘Rampyaari’. As soon as one puts this paan in their mouth, it immediately starts melting. It doesn't require any chewing. Some of the popular paan varieties that this shop offers include gold paan, silver paan, chocolate, mango, blueberry, magai blackcurrant, kacha aam, guava, imli chocolate, kesar, vanilla, strawberry, raspberry, milk chocolate, mix fruit, bubblegum, mava kulfi paan, etc.

The most popular dish of Ahilyanagar is Papad Bhaji. This unique dish is only found in Ahilyanagar city. This dish consists of a crunchy fried papad and bhaji which is served on top of the papad along with tamarind chutney, onion, and thecha. The papad is made of rava, maida, cumins seeds, and ajwain seeds, while the bhaji is a mixture of masoor (red lentil) daal, potatoes, tomatoes, peas, and onions.

Daal Baati Churma is a popular dish from the Rajasthani cuisine. This dish is generally made by the Rajasthani and Marwadi communities. Earlier, this dish wasn't available in any restaurants in the district but in the last few years thali restaurants have opened up due to high demand. The owner of these restaurants, the chefs, and even the waiters of these restaurants belong to the Rajasthani community.

This dish consists of a dal which is served on top of the bati. The bati is crushed and a dollop of ghee is added to it along with the daal. Churma is a sweet dish made of finely crushed wheat, ghee, and sugar. Some of the popular thali restaurants from the district are Sneh Bhoj, Brahma Bhoj, and Suvarnam Bhoj.

Ashirvad Chiwda is one of the oldest snack shops of Ahilyanagar district. It was established in 1973. Their three most famous varieties are batata (potato) chivda, maka (corn) chivda, and upwas chivda.

Kailas Udpi was established in 1980 by D. Bhosle, who used to wait tables and work in the kitchens of big restaurants of that time. He would observe how the dishes were made and what ingredients were used. After gaining enough experience and trying different recipes, he finally landed on a recipe that would change his destiny and decided to start his own food business in the year 1980. He started selling Vada Sambar and Sabudana Vada on a handcart in Kapad Bazar area of Ahilyanagar city.

Today, more than 40 years later, his family runs a highly successful restaurant that is always crowded and busy. This ever busy restaurant is a proof of how much the locals love this restaurant that serves some of the most delicious food items that can be eaten at any hour of the day. Some of their most famous dishes include Udit Vada Sambar, Kaju Patis, Kala Sona, Takkar, Mukabala, and Dahi Vada.

Street food items like Vada Pav, Fried Bhajji, Samosa, Pani Puri, Dahi Puri, Manchurian, and Hakka Noodles, although unhealthy, are loved by the people of the district.  The most popular street food item of Ahilyanagar is Vada Pav. The two most famous Vada Pav stalls of Ahilyanagar are Sopanrao Vadewala and Jadhav Vada.  Sandwiches are also a very common street food item. The most popular sandwich shops of the district are Raman Sandwich and Dilip Sandwich, established 45-50 years ago. Other popular spots are Asha Bhel, established in 1964 and Papillon Juice Bar, established in 1984.

Many women from the district sell homemade food products such as Papad, Chivda, Kurdai, Shevaya (vermicelli), Pickles, Chutney, Modak, Puran Poli, Faral Food, Namkeens, etc. The most famous group of women who sell homemade food products belong to the Sindhi community. This community lives in Sindhi Colony, Tarakpur area of Ahilyanagar city. Their most popular product is ‘Sindhi Papad.’