Though most people are not very familiar with Konkan cuisine and it has yet to find its way into five-star kitchens, there does exist a large and interesting culinary repertoire. Overlooking the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea is the Karwar district, which presents a strong blend of the traditional and the contemporary-each co-existing with the other with surprising ease.

The staple diet of Karwar is fish curry and rice. Unlike the rest of India, most people in karwar eat fish. In the monsoons, when no fresh fish is available, most karwari have very long faces. The other favorite chicken is a close second. Karwar cuisine is really palatable satisfying the gluttony of anyone, especially a gourmet or connoisseur. The cuisine in karwar is a perfect blend of diverse food cultures - the Konkan,

INFLUENCES :
The cuisine of Karwar Konkan Maratha people has its own distinctive flavors and tastes. It can be divided into two major sections-the coastal and the interior. A major portion of Karwar, which lies on the coast of the Arabian Sea, is loosely called the Konkan and boasts of its own Konkani cuisine, which is a homogeneous combination of Malvani, Gaud Saraswat Brahmin, and Goan cuisines.

STAPLE FOOD :
As in most of the other states of India, rice is the staple food grain in Karwar too. Like the other coastal states, there is an enormous variety of vegetables in the regular diet and lots of fish and coconuts are used. Grated coconuts spice many kinds of dishes, but coconut oil is not very widely used as a cooking medium. Peanuts and cashew nuts are widely used in vegetables and peanut oil is the main cooking medium. Another feature is the use of kokum, a deep purple berry that has a pleasing sweet and sour taste. Kokum, most commonly used in an appetizer-digestive called the sol kadhi, is served chilled.

SPECIALTIES :
Among seafood, the most popular fish is Panchlay or the Mix of different type of small fishes, which is normally used to make fish curry. Bangda or mackerel is another popular fish in Karwar. It is curried with red chilies, ginger and thaiphal. Pomfret is another popular fish eaten barbecued, stuffed, fried or curried. Pamphlet triphal ambat is a traditional dish in which fish is cooked in creamy coconut gravy that greatly enhances its taste.

Besides fish, crabs, prawns, shellfish and lobsters are also relished by the coastal kawrarians. A popular prawn dish is the sungtachi kodi, which consists of prawns in coconut gravy, blended with spices and asafetida. All non-vegetarian and vegetarian dishes are eaten with boiled rice or with bhakris, which are soft rotis made of rice flour.

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