Nerul: Think Agri Koli food and images of kolambi koliwada, agri chicken sukka, stuffed pomfret fry, chimbori kalvan and kombadi vade come floating to mind.

The Agris and Kolis are two major ethnic micro communities of Maharashtra. Both the communities are mostly found in the state's coastal districts. While the Agris are mainly involved in fishing, salt making and rice farming, Kolis have a long history of fishing and their identity and culture are deeply rooted in fishing. Hardly a surprise then that seafood forms a major part of the cuisine of both the communities.

While it could be argued that the Agri Koli cuisine has not achieved acclaim like Punjabi or Mughlai food, connoisseurs will vouch that the cuisine of the coastal communities is no less than that of other communities.

In case any proof is required, consider this. The Courtyard By Marriott Navi Mumbai in Nerul is organising the Agri Koli Mejwani sea food festival for the second consecutive year.

The immense success of our first edition and the popularity of the Agri Koli cuisine was the prime motivator for us to organise the festival for the second year, a hotel official said.

Agri Koli Mejwani 2.0 was inaugurated on May 16. Courtyard chef Avinash Nalawade has partnered guest chef Savita Koli for the festival which will culminate on May 25.

Offering the freshest catch combined with traditional masalas and authentic home style preparations, the delectable menu prepared by the Nalawade-Koli team is guaranteed to tingle the taste buds and satiate the senses.

While the cuisine caters primarily for those who like savouring their pomfrets and the surmais, the chefs have added vegetarian dishes on their menu too. From dalimbichi usal to tondli chanadal, vegetarian gourmands can savour authentic dishes from Agri Koli kitchens. But there is no denying the fact that it is by non vegetarians for the non vegetarians.