Tara Paan CentreChhatrapati Sambhajinagar
An elaborately built paan that has become a reason people stop in the city
The paan is assembled to order with a long list of additions. It is a modern institution, not an old one, and it is the single most photographed food item in Marathwada.
The naan-qalia counters of the old cityChhatrapati Sambhajinagar (City Chowk, Shahganj, Aurangpura)
Mutton qalia with tandoor naan, from evening until late
A cluster rather than a single shop. Ask for the qalia rather than for a curry, and expect it thin — a thick one has been made for tourists.
The Paithani weaving centres at PaithanPaithan
Handloom Paithani bought at the loom
Worth understanding before buying — most Paithani sold in Maharashtra is woven at Yeola in Nashik district, and a great deal of it is power-loom. A hand-woven pallu has no floating threads on the reverse; that is the test.
The Himroo workshops of the old cityChhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Himroo shawls and stoles on pit looms
Very few handlooms remain in operation; most stock on the shelves is power-loom cloth sold under the name.
Langar at Takht Sachkhand Sri Hazur SahibNandedसे 1708
A free kitchen running continuously, open to anyone
The oldest continuously operating institutional kitchen in the region, by a wide margin.
The Kesar mango marketsJalna and Beed
Marathwada Kesar mango, in season
May and early June only. The variety holds its own geographical indication and is grown on land too shallow and too dry for Alphonso, which is the whole reason it is planted here.
The masala chakkisLatur, Beed, Parbhani
Grinding a household's year of kala masala
In April the flour mills switch to masala and the whole lane smells of roasted coconut. Families bring their own roasted ingredients and take back a year's tin; nobody buys the blend ready-made if they can avoid it.