What to Eat in Ganpatipule Today?

Alphonso season

Ratnagiri is the home of the Alphonso mango, called hapus in Marathi. The fruit is at its best from about April to May, when stalls along the Ganpatipule road sell it by the dozen and as aamras, a thick sweet pulp eaten with puris. Early-season fruit is expensive and later fruit is cheaper and often sweeter. Buy from sellers who let you smell and press the fruit; a ripe hapus smells strongly even through the skin.

Fish curry and rice

The everyday lunch on this coast is fish curry with rice or bhakri. The gravy is made with coconut, red chilli and kokum, a sour purple fruit that gives it tang. Pomfret, surmai and bangda (mackerel) are common, and prawns turn up at most seafood places. Ask for the catch of the day rather than a fixed menu. Fishing boats stop from June to at least the end of July for the monsoon ban, so fresh fish is scarcer then and dried fish is more common.

Sol kadhi

Sol kadhi is a pink drink of coconut milk and kokum, served with almost every Konkan meal. It is cooling, slightly sour and sometimes spiked with garlic and green chilli. Drink it alongside a spicy curry or at the end of the meal.

Kombdi vade

Kombdi vade pairs a hot, dark chicken curry with vade, puffy fried breads made from a spiced flour. It is a Malvani dish from further down the coast, but you will find it on menus here too.

Modak for Ganesha

Modak is Ganesha's favourite sweet, so it is no surprise to find it in a temple town. The ukadiche modak is steamed: a thin rice-flour shell around coconut and jaggery, eaten warm with a spoon of ghee. It is made in most homes at Ganesh Chaturthi and is offered at the temple during its festivals.

Vegetarian food

The eating houses near the temple serve simple Maharashtrian vegetarian thalis. The temple also serves khichdi prasad to devotees at lunchtime. See where to eat for the places listed here.