What to Eat in Kolhapur Today?

Two rassas, red and white

A rassa is a thin broth made from mutton stock. Tambda rassa is the red one, coloured and fired by Kolhapuri masala, which is built on local dried chillies, onion, garlic and roasted spices. Pandhra rassa is the white one, mild and peppery, made with coconut milk. You drink them from small bowls between mouthfuls of meat, and refills usually come without asking.

The mutton thali

The full Kolhapuri mutton thali brings both rassas together with mutton sukka (a dry, spiced mutton), a mutton curry, bhakri or chapati, rice, onion and lemon. It is a lunch dish; many of the best places open at midday and close in the afternoon, then open again for dinner. Go hungry, and eat with your hands if you want to do it properly.

Misal for breakfast

Kolhapuri misal is a curry of sprouted beans topped with a hot, oily gravy called kat or tarri, then crunchy farsan, raw onion and lemon, eaten with bread rolls called pav. It is spicier than the Pune version. Order it with curd if you are unsure, and ask for the tarri on the side.

Snacks

Bhadang is spiced puffed rice tossed with garlic, chilli and peanuts. It keeps well and is the snack people carry home from Kolhapur. In the evening, the promenade at Rankala Lake has bhel, pani puri and other stalls.

If you do not eat meat

Kolhapur is not only mutton. Misal, bhadang and the vegetarian Maharashtrian thali of bhakri, vegetables, dal and rice are easy to find all over the city.

Handling the heat

If the chilli is too much, ask for buttermilk or curd, eat more rice, and leave the red rassa for the end. Locals will not mind; many of them water it down too.