Culture
Most of the people of Sawantvadi are Malvani people as Sawantvadi falls in the Malvan region.
Malvani cuisine
The food of a rich household is for every day, rice, pulse, vegetables, pepper, [All classes are fond of red pepper and spices.] clarified butter, oil, salt, and dried fish, and once or twice a month, mutton or fowls and eggs. On special occasions they eat fried cakes of rice and udid flour, vadas ; wheaten cakes staffed with gram flour and sugar, puran-polis; and though rarely, sugared and buttered wheat balls, ladus. Brahmans, Lingayats, and Gujarat Vanis, whether Vaishnavs or Shravaks, are an exception to this, as except the Gaud Brahmans or Shenvis who eat fish, they touch no animal food. The food of a middle-class household is rice, nachni bread, curry, and vegetables, for every day, with vadas on special occasions. The every day food of a poor household is nachni bread, and occasionally rice and curry with vadas. Those who drink liquor and milk, and have not a supply of their own, buy their liquor daily from a Bhandari or Christian liquor-seller, and their milk from the milkman generally a Gavli. Except dried fish, which is usually bought in October, stores of rice, pulse, salt, and red pepper, enough to last from four to six months, are laid in during March and April. The well-to-do pay in ready money, and the poorer re-pay at harvest with twenty-five or thirty per cent interest. The supply of animal food is bought when wanted.
Arts and handicrafts
Sawantvadi City is famous for its arts and culture. It is especially known for its wooden crafts. Apart from that various traditional arts still thrive in the city.
Lacquerware - Sawantvadi is well-known for its extremely popular lacquer-ware. Earlier a languishing trade, this art form was brought in the public eye, and more importantly to foreign tourists, by Princess Satwasheela Devi. Using traditional local talent more people have been trained and the palace has proved instrumental in the production of lovely lacquer-ware furniture, chess sets, board games, candlesticks, fruit and vegetables and little dolls — all beautifully made and coloured. However, the quality of the articles render the items extremely expensive
