Monsoon Season Food: Try This Rare Maharashtrian

Phodshichi Bhaji

Recipe

When it comes to monsoon season food, Maharashtrian cuisine leads the way. Though there are several foods people enjoy in the monsoon, Phodshichi bhaji is one dish that’s prepared in Maharashtrian kitchens for only a few short weeks each year. It’s made from a wild, grass-like green called phodshi that grows in the wild, like many other greens in the rain-soaked plains and coasts. In Maharashtra, these grow in forests and hilly patches of the state, and are turned into a particular sabzi recipe, a stir-fry rather, using the chopped greens with soaked moong dal, onions and garlic, finishing with goda masala and grated coconut. Phodshi, also known locally as safed mulsi or kuli, is hard to find outside its narrow monsoon window. This wild leafy green resembles a broad blade of grass rather than a leafy vegetable, with a mildly bitter, vegetal flavour that mellows once cooked. Nutritionally, phodshi hasn't been studied as extensively, but the limited research reveals that the plant is a source of carbohydrates, minerals and protein, and is traditionally considered useful for respiratory conditions like bronchitis. Making this phodshichi bhaji sabzi recipe is quite easy; it is a dry dish after all. Just make sure that if it is your first time, you can identify the phodshi from the weeds that are often part of the bunch. Discard those, then wash the greens in water thoroughly to remove any dirt or impurities. The bottom white part is usually cut off, as it is hard to cook, and the green parts are then chopped for the sabzi. Some cooks like to cook a non-vegetarian version with dried fish or sukki macchi, because the rains pause fish catching for a while.