[mangamadaiyan]

Don't forget the Pav Bhaji. The "Pav" in the name of the dish derives from Portuguese "Pāo".

I'll stop with this and refrain from mentioning how South Indian cuisine has been corrupted by Northern Indian cultural imperialism :)

[fuzztester]

>Don't forget the Pav Bhaji.

Dont forget the vada pav either.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vada_pav

Not a bad dish, though carb-heavy, like pav bhaji.

I've had it many times when I lived in Maharashtra.

For me, it's incomplete without the fried and salted green chillies as an accompaniment. Yum. :)

[mangamadaiyan]

Yum indeed! I also make sure to ask for an extra helping of the (dry) peanut chutney. That and the green chillies are must-haves with a vada pav for me :)

[fuzztester]

I don't remember that dry peanut chutney.

Do you mean thecha?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thecha

I have read about it, but unfortunately I did not come across it, despite living in Maharashtra for some years.

Got to say, from the description, it sounds like it would taste quite good.

And could be a good accompaniment to many dishes.

[mangamadaiyan]

I've always heard it referred to as "Dana Chutney", Dana being a contraction of Shengdana.

I don't know if it's the same thing as Thecha, though -- but it does fit the description. I'm wondering if this is a geographical difference in culinary terminology :)

[fuzztester]

Yes, I think it must be the same.

Dana (as a short form) and shengdana both mean peanuts, in Marathi, the main language of Maharashtra.

Actually dana means seed in both Marathi and Hindi, as in anardana, which means pomegranate (seed), meaning the part of the pomegranate that you eat.

As you said, words can vary a lot between regions - and not just for culinary terms.

[mangamadaiyan]

Indeed :) My fondness for Vada Pav and Dana Chutney came to be because I spent a few years in Pune.

[mangamadaiyan]

Too late to edit, didn't see the typo earlier. s/pāo/pão/ .

[rational_indian]

The pav is actually pronounced as pao sometimes.

[mangamadaiyan]

The Portuguese "Pão" sounds more like the French "Pan". "Pav" or "Pao" is the Indianization.