Gatari Amavasya

2026: 7 Traditional Malvani Preparations For A Sumptuous Thali Spread

Gatari Amavasya 2026 will take place on August 12, 2026. Celebrated predominantly in Maharashtra, India, the Gatari or Gatahari Amavasya celebration typically includes a “last feast”. It comprises elaborate thalis with non-vegetarian dishes and celebratory drinks before Shravan (Sawan), a holy month-long period of fasting and abstinence. Celebrated on a no-moon night (amavasya), the term gatari refers tog "abandoned diet", signifying stepping away from certain foods. Here are some famous dishes that you can prepare for a traditional thali.

A staple of Gatari Amavaya, Kombi Vade includes a traditional chicken curry (kombdi is chicken in Marathi and Konkani) served with fried dumplings (vade, resembling puri at times), onions, and lemons. The curry is coconut-based and fiery, the vade are savoury, fluffy, and puffed, and the entire dish creates a rich, comforting balance of textures and intense coastal flavours. The meal is usually served with sol kadhi, which helps balance the heat from the spices.  

In Malvani, the terms rassa refers to curry, typically meat or seafood curry. This particular dish combines two forms of curry: tambda, a thin, spicy, tangy, red coloured curry (almost soup like consistency) made with mutton or chicken stock and pandhra, a creamy white coloured curry cooked with coconut milk. It’s supposed to help balance the tang and heat of tambda. Often served as part of the Kolhapuri Mutton Thali, the tambda pandhra rassa is accompanied with traditional flatbread like bhakri, chapati or rice. 

Chicken Rassa is both, a dish and a category of dishes since it refers to chicken curries. There can be multiple ways to prepare this one, from mildly spiced daily preparations to local village-style curries that might feature a thicker consistency or different spice blend. For a Gatari Amavasya thali, cook chicken on the bone in vatan, a fragrant roasted coconut-onion paste that forms the gravy base for many Maharashtrian curries. The rassa is served hot with buttery pav, jowar bhakri, or rice.

By now, you’re familiar with what rassa indicates. The chul, here, refers to the cooking style, or rather equipment, since this is cooked on a chulha (wood-fired hearth). This is a traditional mutton curry with a distinc smoky aroma, thanks to the heat from the chulha. The curry is slow-cooked to infuse the meat and gravy with a deep, earthy smokines. The flavour, though, edges on the spicier side and you’d often find this paired with rice and solkadhi to balance the heat. 

It’s not all curries on the list! There’s also chicken sukka, a dry masala chicken recipe made with a dense paste comprising traditional Malvani masala. Bursting with coconut-y aroma and flavours, this one’s punchy, hot, and tangy and served with vade, bhakri, or amboli (a traditional pancake, similar to a thick dosa). And don’t confuse this one with the Mangalorean chicken sukka. While also a traditional semi-dry chicken dish, the spice blend and base are different for both. 

Combine fresh prawns, grated coconut, and aromatic Malvani masala, and you have this spicy, semi-dry seafood dish from Maharashtra.Served with bhakri, vade, or steamed rice, the sukka involves coating the prawns generously with the masala. You can also make a curry instead. Adjust the base by adding vatan (the blended coconut-onion paste) and extra water or thin coconut milk to loosen the thick masala. 

Kekda refers to crabs. Like most dishes, this one also uses coconut for aroma, texture, and taste, along with regional spices for that trademark fiery flavour. What’s particularly noteworthy about this seafood curry is that the crab claws and shells are intentionally cracked before cooking. The natural, inherent sweetness of fresh crab meat balances the heat, while the cracked shells  absorb the deep flavours of the gravy.

Fiery dishes, fresh fish curries and key ingredients, like coconut, Malvani Masala, garlic, and red chili powder dominate the festive dining table. But it is not just about putting together the traditional thali, but what goes behind it. Families collectively prepare for the next season, with households cleaning lamps and storage jars (barnis) to refill them with salt and spices for the upcoming vegetarian days. Whether you pick every dish on the list, adapt a few to personal tastes, or mix and match, the core idea remains the same — community gathering around a large, indulgent feast.