Regional

Famous Foods from Regions of India

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India and Indian food are diverse. There is no need to write this with every post, but then there are always readers for whom Indian food is a mystery. To demystify Indian food, we are listing down some of the famous foods specific to different regions of India. Some specific to states, some to regions within states, some for a group of states. These foods are the food-identity of the respective places.

Regions of India

Regions here are mostly States and Union Territories of India, but sometimes they are groups of states or even a part of a state. Soon we will add some food so unique that it is found only in one city!

For simplicity we will call them ‘food’, but it could be a dish, a category of dishes, or even some unique food ingredients. While curating this list what we have in mind is to represent the uniqueness and diversity of Indian food. Some items on the list would be just fun and amusing.

The videos with each of the regions of India below are meant to give you not only information but also experience of that region. The videos are curated from various content creators. As much as possible, they are in English, to reach a wide spectrum of visitors from India and abroad.

Note: The items listed here are just samples of the variety of Indian food. They are only a small fraction of what each region offers. For more dishes, information, visuals, and local experience, watch the accompanying curated videos. If there’s anything you really want added to the list, please mention in the comments.

So, let’s start.

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#1

Delhi

Chaat (a range of hot and cold street snacks)

Chhole Bhature (chickpea curry with spongy fried flatbread)

Nahari (meat slow cooked with spices)

Butter Chicken (roasted chicken pieces in tomato and cream gravy)

Soya Chaap (soya mince prepared like kebabs)

Seekh Kebab (minced meat with spices cooked over charcoal on skewers)

Rabdi Falooda (sweetened and flavored, grainy condensed milk with vermicelli and nuts, served cold)
#2

Tamil Nadu

Idli (thick rice and lentil steamed cakes)

Dosai/Dosa (rice and lentil crêpes, plain or stuffed)

Uttapam (rice pancake with toppings such as onion, tomato, chopped chilies, cheese)

Sambar (lentil curry with assortment of vegetables)

Chettinad Chicken (curry with a spice mix unique to the Chettinad region)

Rasam (spicy and sour soup)

Paruppu Payasam (mung dal and jaggery pudding)

Murukku (spiral fried snack)

Pollachi Nandu Fry (crab fry)
#3

Gujarat

Thepla (fenugreek leaves, gram flour flatbread)

Undhiyu (chickpea and vegetable curry cooked with buttermilk and spices)

Khaman (fluffy, spongy steamed chickpea cubes)

Dabeli (burger-like snack from the Kachh reagion, stuffed with a sweet-spicy potato paste)

Gujarati Kadhi (sweet, tangy, spicey yogurt-based curry thickened with gram flour)

Murghanu Shaak (tangy chicken curry with potato and drumstick)

Basundi (smooth, sweetened and thickened milk with saffron and nuts served cool often with chopped fruits)
#4

West Bengal

Jhal Muri (street snack made of rice puffs mixed with spices, crunchy lentils and nuts, and chopped onion and tomato)

Puchka (Bengali version of gol-gappa/pani-puri; fried crispy dough crust, filled with spiced water and boiled potato)

Ilish Maach (various preparations of Hilsa fish cooked usually with mustard paste; fried, steamed or with jhol/gravy)

Kosha Mangsho (meat curry, thin, thick or dry, made with spices, tomato, and yogurt)

Aloo Potol Posto (potato and sharp gourd curry with poppy seed and coconut paste)

Shukto (mixed vegetable curry made with milk and panch phoran, a spice-mix specific to the region)

Kathi-rolls (flatbread rolls, stuffed with eggs, meats, cheese, and vegetables)

Mishti Doi (yogurt sweetened with palm jaggery)

Sondesh (cottage cheese and sugar dessert in many variations, flavors, and shapes)
#5

Jammu and Kashmir

Dum Aloo/Olav (slow cooked baby potatoes in tomato and onion gravy)

Rista (meatballs in red onion gravy)

Goshtaba (meatballs in a white spiced yogurt gravy)

Tabak Maaz (lamb-ribs boiled with spices and then fried in ghee/clarified butter)

Rajma-Chawal (red kidney beans in a red tomato gravy, served with steamed/boiled rice)

Nadru Yakhni (lotus stem in a white yogurt gravy)

Rogan Josh (lamb curry in a red yogurt-onion gravy)

Kahva (herbal green tea with saffron and nuts)

Kashmiri Shufta (sweetened, dried fruits and nuts, with spices, dried coconut, cottage cheese and rose petals)

Sund Panjiri (roasted whole wheat flour with dry ginger, dry fruits and ghee)
#6

Maharashtra

Misal Pav (fluffy square bread and spicy sprouted lentil soup topped with chickpea noodles, served with chopped onion and lemon wedges)

Pav Bhaji (fluffy square bread and curry of mashed mixed vegetables)

Kothambir Vadi (steamed or fried cakes of spiced coriander and chickpea flour mixture)

Thalipeeth (multigrain flatbread flavored with spices, herbs and leafy vegetables such as spinach and fenugreek)

Peethla Bhakri (creamy chickpea flour curry and millet flatbread)

Fish, chicken, and mutton curries and fry made with different masalas of different regions, such as, Malvani, Konkani, Sauji, Kolhapuri, Koliwada

Aamti (sweet and sour soupy lentil curry)

Solkadhi (cool, sweet and sour soothing drink of coconut milk and kokum, a sour local fruit)

Puran Poli (sweet whole-wheat flatbread stuffed with jiggery and lentil flour mixture)

Ukadiche Modak (steamed dumplings with a soft all-purpose flour shell, stuffed with coconut and jiggery mixture)

Shreekhand (sweet, creamy flavored yogurt)
#7

Sikkim

Sel Roti (ring-shaped deep fried rice flour bread)

Phagshapa (pork belly strips in a chili-radish stew)

Thukpa (noodle soup with shredded vegetables and meat, flavored with garlic, onion, and mild spices)

Masauyra Curry (fermented black-gram curry made with onions and spices)

Momos (steam-cooked dumplings stuffed with minced meat and vegetables)

Dhindo (simple, boiled millet flour cakes)

Sha Phaley (minced meat stuffed fried pastry; tofu and cheese options are also available)

Thomba/Chang (homemade fermented millet alcoholic beverage)
#8

Karnataka

Ragi Mudde (balls of ragi/finger-millet flour cooked with water)

Bisi Bele Bath (one pot dish of rice, lentils, and spices)

Gojju (sweet-sour-spicy thick curry of meats, vegetables, or fruits)

Pandi Curry (pork curry with the fermented extract of a local sour fruit called kachumpuli)

Thatte Idli (larger than the usual, fluffy idli/steamed rice cake)

Korri Gassi (chicken curry with Mangalore masala)

Kundapur Ghee Roast (chicken slow cooked with ghee/clarified butter and paste of byadgi chillies)

Mysore Pak (bars of gram flour cooked with sugar and ghee)

Dharwadi Peda (extra caramelised balls of condensed milk, dusted with castor sugar)

Belagavi Kunda (slightly caramelised and sweetened milk flavored with cardamom and garnished with dry fruits)
#9

Arunachal Pradesh

Lukter (slices of pork roasted over charcoal and lightly coated with paste of king chilli/bhut jalokia and ginger)

Marua (jaggery sweetened millet porridge)

Chura Sabji (curry of fermented yak cheese with vegetables and bhut jalokia/king chilli)

Pikey Pilla (bamboo shoots and smoked pork curry with pilla sauce, which is a dark liquid, filtrate of ash of some fruits and herbs)

Apong (fermented alcoholic rice drink/beer)

Koat pitha (fried balls of rice flour, jiggery, and banana)
#10

Punjab

Sarson da Saag te Makke Di Roti (mustard leaf curry with corn flatbread)

Lassi (sweet, churned yogurt, sometimes flavored with fruits or even chocolate)

Maa Ki Daal (creamy black gram daal, in a tomato and spices gravy, topped with fresh cream)

Amritsari Machchhi (fish fritters)

Amritsari Kulcha (tandoor oven baked flatbread with a spices potato filling)

Tandoori Chicken (tandoor oven roasted chicken marinated with hung yogurt and spice mix)

Butter Chicken (chunks of tandoori chicken in a tomato and cream gravy, topped with butter)

Pinni (sweet balls made of whole wheat flour, ghee/clarified butter, jaggery, and dry-fruits/nuts)
#11

Odisha

Pakhal (soupy rice and yogurt, fermented overnight)

Dalma (moong dal with assorted vegetables and spices)

Badi Chura (sun dried nuggets of lentil paste pan fried with spices, onion, and garlic)

Chungdi Malai (prawn curry with a coconut milk base)

Aalu Dum and Chakuli (potato curry with onion masala base, served with fluffy rice and lentil pancakes/disks)

Dahi Bada, Aalu Dum, Ghugni (another combination of aalu dum, with chickpea curry. and lentil dumplings soaked in watered-down yogurt, topped with chopped onion and coriander)

Macha Ghanta (fried head of fish in an onion-garlic gravy)

Chhena Poda (baked, to light caramelization, and sweetened cottage cheese and semolina cake)

Khir Mohan (cottage cheese balls dipped in sugar syrup)

Rasabali (fried flattened balls of cottage cheese and semolina dipped in sweetened reduced milk)
#12

Uttarakhand

[Video is subtitled in English.]

Kafuli (spiced curry of mashed leaves of spinach and fenugreek, thickened with rice flour, and made creamy with yogurt)

Bhag Ki Chutney (fresh condiment made of bhang/hemp seeds with spices and tamarind)

Aalu Ke Gutke (dry potato curry)

Pahadi Raita (seasoned with mustard seeds, grated hill-cucumber in yogurt)

Phaanu (spiced curry of ground local lentils)

Kandalee Ka Saag (spiced curry made of boiled and ground leaves of Stinging Nettle)

Chainsoo (lentil curry of ground urad dal)

Mandwe Ki Baadi (fudge of finger millet/ragi flour; eaten savory, sweet/desert or plain/substitute for bread and rice)

Jhangora Ki Kheer (sweet, creamy porridge of Barnyard Millet and milk)

Bal Mithai (fudgy cake of caramelized milk covered with tiny sugar balls)

Patode (steamed, cubed and fried multiple layers of Colocasia leaves with a paste of spices and herbed chickpea flour between each layer)

Bhutwa (dry curry of mutton/lamb offal/intestines, stomach and liver)

Arsa (disk-shaped fried cakes of rice flour and jaggery)

Singori (milk condensed to almost a solid, sweetened and wrapped in a cone of maalu creeper leaf)

Singhal (sweet, fried, thick spirals of semolina, yogurt, and banana paste)

Buraansh ka Sharbat (Rhododendron drink)
#13

Nagaland

Samathu (thick pickle-like curry of smoked-pork)

Galho (one pot soupy dish of green leafy vegetables, rice, fermented soyabean, and smoked pork/beaf)

Hinkevju (simple soupy dish with various leafy vegetables and French beans)

Aikibeye (lightly salted colocasia roots with mustard leaves)

Fish Cooked in Bamboo (with light flavors of bamboo shoots, green chilies, and ginger-garlic)

Black Sticky Rice Pudding (sticky black rice cooked with milk and sugar)

Zutho (rice beer made by fermentation of sprouted rice grains)
#14

Chhattisgarh

Aamat (mixed vegetable curry with the speciality of bamboo shoots)

Faraa (snack of smoked thick rice flour wicks, seasoned with spices and curry leaves)

Chila (rice and lentil flour flatbread)

Muthia (steamed rice flour cakes tempered with sesame seeds and dried red chillies, served with chili-garlic chutney)

Angakar roti (thick rice flour flatbread, more like a cake, roasted between leaves of banyan tree over low fire of cow-dung cakes)

Chausela (fried flatbread of rice flour)

Dubki Kadi (tangy yogurt and lentil flour curry with lentil flour fritters)

Bore Basi (leftover cooked rice, soaked overnight in plain water, served with pickle, chilies, and onion)

Dehrori (fried rice dumplings dipped in cardamom-flavoured sugar syrup)

Khurmi (fried whole-wheat flour chunks coated with castor sugar)

Pidiya (cigar shaped sweet dish made with fried rice flour coated with castor sugar and dried coconut powder)

Chapda Chutney (hot and tangy condiment made of mashed red-ants and ant eggs)

Mahua Wine (fermented drink of mahua flowers)
#15

Kerala

Kadala Curry (Kerala style black chickpea curry)

Karimeen Pollichathu (fried fish coated with onion, tomato, coconut-milk gravy, then wrapped in banana leaf and fried again)

Fish Molee (fried fish in a spiced coconut milk gravy)

Malabar Parotta (flaky, crispy flatbread of all-purpose flour)

​Idiyappam (bunch of steamed rice flour strings, served with a curry or stew)

Kozhi Varuthathu (crispy chicken fried with ginger, garlic, chili, vinegar and curry leaves)

Erissery (lentil and pumpkin stew)

Palada Payasam (rice pudding)

Pazham Pori (whole ripe banana coated with batter and fried)

Thalassery Biryani (Kerala style biryani, a spiced rice dish cooked with layer of fried chicken)

Palm Toddy (fermented palm juice alcoholic drink)
#16

Himachal Pradesh

Madra (curry of chickpeas or vegetables cooked in oil with spices)

Siddu (Steamed bun with a sweet filling of crushed dry fruits)

Tudkiya Bhath (One-pot rice dish with spices, potato, lentils, yogurt, onion, and garlic)

Chha Gosht (Marinated lamb cooked in a paste of chickpeas and yogurt with various spices)

Aktori (Buckwheat leaves cooked with a sweet batter of wheat flour and milk, like a pancake)

Babru (Deep-fried thick flatbread stuffed with ground black gram and spice mix, served with tamarind chutney)

Bhey (Sliced lotus stem cooked with gram flour ginger, garlic, onion and spices)

[Video in Hindi and English, subtitles in English]
#17

Puducherry

Pondy Moussaka (Mediterranean/Greek influenced dish of layered vegetables with herbs and spices, topped with a creamy béchamel sauce then baked)

Khow Suey (Burmese dish of noodles and vegetables and meat in a coconut milk sauce)

Spinach Crepe (Thin crepes with a filling of spinach with onions, garlic, and spices)

Mutton rolls (stir-fried and spiced mutton mince rolled in a flatbread)

Quiche (savory French tarts filled with eggs, cheese, vegetables and various meats or sea foods)

Crab masala (popular crab curry in South Indian flavors)

Nei Parotta (knotted bread deep fried ghee/clarified butter)

[The video is mostly in Hindi, with some English. Subtitles are in English.]
#18

Assam

[Coming Soon]
#19

Uttar Pradesh

[Coming Soon]
#20

Andhra Pradesh

[Coming Soon]
#21

Ladakh

[Coming Soon]
#22

Lakshadweep

[Coming Soon]
#23

Bihar

[Coming Soon]
#24

Mizoram

[Coming Soon]
#25

Rajasthan

[Coming Soon]
#26

Tripura

[Coming Soon]
#27

Madhya Pradesh

[Coming Soon]
#28

Manipur

[Coming Soon]
#29

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

[Coming Soon]
#30

Goa

[Coming Soon]
#31

Meghalaya

[Coming Soon]
#32

Haryana

[Coming Soon]
#33

Daman and Diu

[Coming Soon]
#34

Jharkhand

[Coming Soon]
#35

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

[Coming Soon]
#36

Telangana

[Coming Soon]
6 Amazing Indian Desserts from Different Corners of the Country

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