If you don’t mind a food coma, feast on the best dishes of India, one state at a time
The Indian sub-continent is blessed with diversity, and with the vast expanse of people, culture, and traditions, food becomes a lifeline, a common connection for all. As a wise person once said, ‘there is no love more sincere, than the love for food’.
Putting our traditional dishes in the spotlight here are the most famous dishes from each state of the country you must try before you say goodbye.
Mumbai: Famous Misal Pav
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Misal pav is a popular street food in Maharashtra. A great breakfast recipe that includes a curry made of sprouts, topped with finely chopped onions, tomatoes, and ‘farsan’(fried savory mixture) and lime juice served pav, heated on the pan with a hint of butter.
Punjab: Makki Di Roti & Sarson Da Saag
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Makki di Roti is a corn meal Indian bread that tastes fabulous with ‘Sarson saag’ – mustard green and a glass of lassi. The dish is regarded as the traditional way to prepare saag and is usually served with makki di roti literally (unleavened cornbread). It can be topped with either Makkhan (unprocessed white butter or processed yellow butter) or more traditionally with ghee.
West Bengal: Kosha Mangsho
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This Spicy Bengali Mutton Curry aka Kosha Mangsho is a perfect lunch recipe that would be loved by all. Velvety gravy with juicy pieces of meat served with maida luchi (pooris), full of flavors from the mutton, spices, and mustard oil.
Gujarat: Dhokla
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Dhokla is a vegetarian dish made from a fermented batter of rice and split chickpeas. It is served with tangy chutneys and can be eaten for breakfast, as a main course, as a side dish, or as a snack.
Kashmir: Rogan Josh
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Rogan Josh is an aromatic lamb dish with flavors of browned onions, various spices, and yogurt. It is usually served with steamed rice and consists of pieces of lamb or mutton braised with gravy flavored with garlic, ginger, and aromatic spices (cloves, bay leaves, cardamom, and cinnamon).
Tamil Nadu: Pongal
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Vegetarian Pongal is a rice lentil dish that is often prepared in south Indian homes as an offering to the goddess. But it is also a comfort food that is very easy to digest.
Assam: Papaya Khar
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Khar is a completely offbeat dish prepared out of the unusual combination of red rice, beaten pulses, and raw papaya along with traditional Assamese spices. Khar (alkali) is synonymous with Assamese cuisine. Essentially, it is an exotic liquid strained from sun-dried banana skin and cooked with a seasonal vegetable like papaya(omita), water gourd (pani lau), or mustard greens (lai Haak).
Bihar: Litti Chowkha
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Litti Chowkha is baked from wheat flour dough, stuffed with a mixture of roasted gram flour, spices and lemon juice, and served with chokha (baked and pulped vegetables).
Himachal Pradesh: Dham
Dham is a dish prepared by cooking red kidney beans (rajma), green lentils (moong daal), and rice in curd. It is served teamed with mash daal, boor ki kari and a sweet & sour sauce made from tamarind and jaggery (gur).
Andhra Pradesh: Pootharekulu
Pootharekulu literally means coated sheets of sugar preparation. They are made by making thin wrappers prepared from rice flour, pure ghee and lots of powdered sugar.
Telengana: Biryani
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Biryani more famously the Hyderabadi version, is prepared in the form of kachay gosht ki Biryani and dum ki Biryani. This all time classic needs no explanation.
Goa: Fish Curry
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Xit Codi meaning curry rice is the deliciously tangy fish curry made with special spices, served with steamed rice or roti.
Uttarakhand: Kafuli
This easy-to-make thick curry recipe is made using spinach, fenugreek leaves, garlic, ginger, green chilies, curd, rice paste and a mélange of spices. Kafuli is commonly served as a main-dish and savored best with chapattis or steamed rice.
Chakhwi is one of the very traditional and very delicious and healthy preparations of the Tripura cuisines and the m.ain ingredients of chakhwi are Bamboo Shoot, Green Papaya and verities of lentil.
Kangshoi is a soupy stew of seasonal vegetables, coarsely chopped onions or spring onion, dried or fried fish pieces, and water.
Meghalaya: Jadoh
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Jadoh is red hill rice cooked with pork pieces. It is a Khasi version of Biryani and is a laboriously-made dish prepared with rice and meat. Being Khasi cuisine, it takes hours to make.
Kerala: Appam
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Appam is a type of pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. The origin of Appam is disputed and potential sources of origin might be Sri Lanka or the southern tip of India. It is a common food in Sri Lanka and the Indian state of Kerala where it is eaten most frequently for breakfast or dinner.
Madhya Pradesh: Bhutte Ka Kees
Bhutte Ka Kees is an easy and delicious recipe that you can cook for your tea time break. This recipe is a street food in Indore but is also made in households very often. Easy to make and delicious to taste, this recipe can be prepared in less than 30 minutes.
Rajasthan: Dal Baati Churma
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Dal Bati Churma is a traditional Rajasthani treat with spicy dal with sweet churma along with deep-fried crunchy batis (bread).
Haryana: Bajre Ki Khichdi
Bajre ki Khichdi is a porridge (khichdi) made of coarsely crushed pearl millet and is eaten with pure ghee or sesame oil.
Arunachal Pradesh: Thukpa
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Thukpa is boiled noodles, filtered and mixed with vegetables and meat items.
Sikkim: Momo
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Momo is a type of South Asian dumpling, served with spicy sauces, popular across the Indian subcontinent and the Himalayan regions of broader South Asia.
Karnataka: Bisi Bele Bath
Bisi Bele Bath is a dish in which the sambar dal and rice are cooked together with tamarind and spice powders.
Nagaland: Pork with Bamboo Shoot
Pork with bamboo shoots is simply a dish that is cooked with dry bamboo shoots, loads of chilies, and herbs. This dish tastes heavenly with boiled rice.
Mizoram: Misa Mach Poora
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Misa Mach Poora is a seafood delicacy with roasted shrimp that get even better with a squeezed lemon.
Odisha: Chenna Poda
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Chhena poda is a cheese dessert from the Indian state of Odisha. Chhena poda literally means Roasted Cheese in Odia. It is made of well-kneaded homemade fresh cheese chhena, sugar, and suji, and is baked for several hours until it browns.
Chhatisgarh: Chila
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A chila is a North-Indian crepe made out of chickpea flour. You can have your chila with chutney or roll it around a stuffing like Tofu Crumble.
Jharkhand: Dhooska
Dhooska or Dushka is a popular deep fried snack eaten all over Jharkhand. The main ingredients of the dhooska are powdered rice, chana dal (powdered) and sometimes boiled potatoes are also added to this savory dish. The bread is then deep fried. It is often served with any sauce or chutney.
Uttar Pradesh: Tunde Ke Kebabs
Tunde KeKebab also known as Buffalo meat galouti kebab is a dish made out of minced meat which is popular in Lucknow, India. It is a part of Awadhi cuisine and is said to incorporate 160 spices.
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