What was the diet of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj?

Shivarai was a pure vegetarian; And vegetables and bread were their main diet! Although Shivarai himself did not eat meat, some of his Sardars and Mawlas used to eat meat on rare occasions. And they still do today! As hunting was the hobby of the royal family and Mawlas, some people without any thought consider Shivaraya as a non-vegetarian! However, the possibility that Shahaji Raje ate meat cannot be ruled out. (Of course, this is only a guess.) Shivarai himself was not a non-vegetarian, but he never hated non-vegetarians. If we want to give evidence about this Shiva Rai was not a non-vegetarian, we can refer to hundreds of books. Parmanand, a contemporary of Shivaraya, has clearly mentioned it in the book 'Sri Shivbharat'. Many editions of this book are still available in the market today.

During Shiva Raya's time, however, it was customary to sacrifice bucks on special occasions. But this custom was followed by the kings. Meat was rarely cooked at Shiva Raya's fort. Shiva Raya's diet consisted mainly of jowari, millet or ragi bread and vegetables. Milk, butter, ghee, curd and buttermilk were used by Shivaraya and his mawlas. Each Sardar of Shivaraya used to bake 30-40 loaves of bread at a time! Although the Mawls were not allowed to eat meat at the fort, they were free to eat meat at home. Even during the time of Peshwas, though Peshwas themselves were vegetarians, prominent Sardars like Nishde, Holkar and others used to eat meat on rare occasions. Even today the people of Maharashtra are largely vegetarians. And those who eat meat for a month and a half also have vegetables as their main diet...