By 4:30 in the morning, when most are still asleep, Prakash Bharati has already lit his wood-fired stove. By the time the sun rises over Rashin village in Karjat taluka of Ahilyanagar district, the mutton is slow-cooking in large pots, a deep red curry beginning to bubble. In a few hours, hundreds of people will queue up, some having driven 20 kilometres, some much more, just to eat a plate of it. But this isn’t a restaurant. There are no walls, no air-conditioning, no menu cards. Just a makeshift tent near a weekly livestock market, and mutton that has been cooked the same way for over six decades. Welcome to Rashin’s Palatla Mutton, one of Maharashtra’s most unusual food traditions. What is a Pala? The word Pala refers to the temporary tent-like shelters set up inside Rashin’s livestock market every Tuesday, the village’s designated weekly market day. The stalls open around 7:30 am and wind down by noon. The tradition began not as a food destination, but as a practical solution.…