Adda With Kalyan: What Ganpati Loves To Eat #Hangout

Kalpana Talpade (left), Bimba Nayak & Shakti Salgaokar (top) & Jayesh Paranjape

Ganeshotsav is here, and what better way to bring in the festivities than by understanding the food customs and traditions of the grand Maharashtrian festival. On this week's Adda with Kalyan, we try to explore what the Elephant God loves to eat by speaking to Bimba Nayak, Shakti Salgaokar and Kalpana Talpade from Mumbai, and Jayesh Paranjape from Pune.

Pathare Prabhus, who claim to be the original inhabitants of Mumbai, are hardcore non-vegetarians and the community believes in offering mutton and fish to Ganpati's mother, Gauri. Kalpana, who was a contestant on MasterChef India 3, reveals that their modaks are slightly different from other Maharashtrians as the filling is made of sugar instead of jaggery.

Shakti, who is a writer and has been an IFN chef, points out that as a kid her mother would prepare five different flavours of modaks for all five days of the festival.

In Pune, sarvajanik Ganeshotsav was started by Balgangadhar Tilak in 1893. Jayesh, who conducts food walks in the old parts of the city, says that the food comprises of several vegetarian dishes like valachi bhaaji (broad beans curry), alu vadi (fritters made of chickpea flour wrapped in colocasia leaves and fried) and tradition is to start the meal with kheer.

Watch the Google hangout here ->