A good meal transcends all cultural boundaries and being open to the cuisines of any country you visit is the best way to connect with its people and their culture. Talking with the locals will give you some ideas of the perfect dish to try there.
India is a country full of versatile lip-smacking meat and seafood cuisines no matter which State or Region you visit. Each has it’s own traditional way of cooking and it’s specialty dishes. Sometimes certain items are very popular in a State or City even though those dishes have originated from another State. If you are a tourist then you must try the Hyderabadi Biryanis, Samosas, Chicken Tikkas, Pav Bhaji (puffed bread with spicy pureed vegetables), Masala Dosa (stuffed rice & lentil crepes).
Let’s go Regionally for some of the ” MUST TRY” Food in India.
Delhi: Dahi Bhalla (white lentil fritters in sweet yogurt and tangy spicy mint and tamarind chutneys), Papri Chat (crispy-fried round wafers topped with boiled potato, chickpeas, a yogurt sauce, tamarind and cilantro chutneys), Tandoori dishes (viz, Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Boti Kabab, Seekh Kabab to name a few), Paranthe (unleavened flatbreads made from wheat flour, stuffed with various veggies and/or paneer), Mutton Burrah kebab (marinated chops & chunks meat, skewered, roasted and charred in tandoor yielding tender, spicy, smoky meat), Shahi paneer (cottage cheese dish), Sohan Halwa (made of sprouted wheat flour, nuts, ghee, milk, sugar), Kulfi (India’s version of ice cream), Shahi Tukda (Dessert made with bread and reduced milk).
Mumbai / Bombay: Bombil fry (Bombil or Bombay Duck is a fish and not a duck) found in plenty in the sea-waters around Mumbai. It is coated with semolina and crispy fried, Baida Roti (pan fried flour bread stuffed with spiced chicken or ground mutton and enveloped in whipped eggs and shallow pan fried), Batata Vada (dumplings made with mashed boiled potatoes and spices, dipped in gram flour batter and deep fried. It’s served with cilantro chutney), Butter Chicken (chunks of chicken, marinated overnight in a yogurt and spice mix that includes ginger-garlic paste and lime juice, bar-be-cued in a tandoor and cooked in a rich tomato sauce made with butter and spices), Patrani Machchi (fish marinated with cilantro and ground coconut with spices, wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed).
Calcutta / Kolkata: Phuchka (Crunchy hollow balls made with semolina / flour, filled with chickpea and sweet, sour, tangy lip smacking flavoured water), Jhalmuri (Roasted peanuts, puffed rice, chopped onions and juicy tomatoes tossed together in sweet, sour, tangy and spicy chutneys), Kathi Rolls (a soft flat flour bread wrap with a stuffing of paneer / curried mutton / exotic flavoured chicken / mixed veggies or eggs), Macher Jhol (spicy marinated fish curry cooked in mustard oil), Rasgulla (sweet dish of cottage cheese balls floating in thick sugar syrup), Sandesh (cottage cheese sweetdish), Misti Doi (thick& creamy sweet yougurt made in earthen kulad / pot).
Madras / Chennai: Chettinad Pepper Chicken (spicy chicken cooked in freshly ground spices), Thogayal (gravy or a chutney made with curry or mint leaves), Appam (pancakes made with rice batter and coconut milk), Idiyappams (noodle clusters that are pressed from a ball of wheat or rice flour dough, salt, clarified butter and steamed), Parotta (flat panbread made with all purpose flour and minced vegetables), Puliyodarai / Puliyogare (tamarind rice spiced up with chillies and peanuts), Thayir Sadam (curd rice), Sweet Pongal (Rice boiled with milk and jaggery during the Pongal festival. This sweet pongal is made specially in earthen pots with a wood fire.), Payasam (sweet dish made of rice or semolina, sugar and milk), Kesari (sweet dish made with semolina, sugar & ghee and a pinch of saffron, Filtered coffee (sweet, frothy, milky coffee made from freshly roasted and ground dark coffee beans which is brewed with a metal device that resembles two cylindrical cups, one of which has a pierced bottom that nests into the top of the “tumbler” cup, pierced pressing disc with a central stem handle and one below to receive the brewed coffee).
Kashmir: Rogan Josh (chunks of lamb in spicy red gravy), Goshtaba (ground meat balls in saunff flavored creamy sauce), Tabak Maz/Qabargaah (fried rack of lamb), Syoon Pullav (meat p ulao), Nadir-Haaq/Karam Ka Saag (lotus stem in spinach or radish), Dum Aloo (whole baby potatoes cooked in spicy yogurt based fennel flavored gravy), Rajmah-Gogji (kidney bean with turnip).
Punjab: Amritsari Machchi (carom seed flavored fried fish) , Makki di Roti – Sarson da Saag (combination of a dsih cooked with green mustard leaves and corn bread), Choley-Bhature (combination spicy chick peas and fried bread made of all purpose flour), Kadhi Pakora (spicy yogurt curry with lentil dumplings), Naan/Kulcha (flat breads cooked in tandoor), Keema (braised mince meat), Paya (spicy soup made from goat trotters), Kunna Gosht (meat cooked in earthen vessels), Dal Makhani (lentils cooked with abundance of butter), Malpua ( khoya and flour sweet dish with semolina).
Haryana: Raabri (dish made with millet flour pan bread and buttermilk/yogurt), Chaach (Indian skimmed buttermilk), Lassi (drinks made from yogurt), Kachri Ki Sabzi (vegetable made from a wild variety of cucumbers that also resembles a small yellow melon), Hara Dhania Cholia (green gram with fresh cilantro leaves), Pethe ki sabji (ash-gourd vegetable), Tamatar Chutney (tomato chutney), Bajre ki Khichdi (millet rice preperation), Mithe Chawal (dessert made with rice).
Chandigarh: Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Bhuna Ghost (lamb cooked by continuosly stirring with whole spices), Mutton Pulao (rice dish with meat and whole spices), Punj Ratani Dal (mixture of 5 lentils), Kadai Paneer (cottage cheese cooked in typical iron vessel called Kadai with lots of onion, garlic and tomatoes).
Rajasthan- Mirchi Bada (large green Chilles stuffed with mashed potates with spices, dipped in gram flour and deep fried), Pyaaz ki Kachori (flaky deep fried bread stuffed with lightly catamelized spicy onlion filling), Dal-Baati-Churma (a combination of three different food items – spicy lentils, baked or grilled balls of wheat flour dough and a sweet, made of wheat flour, sugar and dry fruits. Ghee/clarified butter made from buffalo or cow milk is an important ingredient in all the three items), Bikaneri Bhujia (lentil trial mix) , Lahsun ki chutney ( garlic chutney), Saanth Ro Achaar (pickled wild boar meat), Khad khargosh (wild hare cooked and roasted underground), Ker-Sangri (a combination of berries and dried beans cooked with yogurt and spices), Lal Maas Gatte ( spicy red curry meat with curried gram-flour dumplings), Mohan Maas (meat cooked in milk), Mawa Kachori (stuffed and deep fried pastry with reduced milk solids and nuts).
Gujarat: Thepla (spicy wheat pancake), Dhokla (steamed sponge like bread made of fermented batter of gram flour), Khandvi (a slowly cooked savory snack made mainly of gram flour and yoghurt), Handvo (savoury steamed vegetable cornmeal cake), Panki (paper thin pancake, roasted in banana leaves), Gathiya (long stick made of split pea), Khichdi (rice and lentil or rice and mung bean), Undhiu (spicy mixture of vegetables), Gujarati Thali (meal consists of roti, dal, rice and vegetables).
Maharashtra: Kothambir Vade (cilantro and gram flour balls with spices and deep fried), Vada-Pav (spicy deep fried potato ball sliders), Kanda-Pohe (a preparation of flatened rice and onion), Kolhapuri Vegetables (spicy mixed vegetables), Thalipeeth (multi-grain pancake), Sabudana khichdi (Prepation made out of Sago), Shrikhand (sweet dish made from strained yogurt), Modak (sweet dumpling stuffed with a filling of coconut and jaggery).
Tamil Nadu: Upma (popular hot-cereal breakfast made with semolina), Pepper Rasam (a spicy and tasty soup usually served with steamed rice), Idli (cakes made with fermented mixture of rice and urad dal) , Sambar (thick vegetable and lentil stew, goes well with idli), Vahrehvah Banana Dosai (thick banana pancake crispy on the exterior side with spongy interior), Pepper Chicken (stir fried black pepper chicken), Varuval (a dry dish with chicken, fish or vegetables fried with onions and spices), Poriyal (curry), Kuzambu (ingredients like lentil or vegetables stewed in a gravy of coconut milk and spices), Paruppu Urandai Kozhambu (lentil balls in tamarind based gravy or korma style gravy), Paruppu Usili (prepared by steaming lentils and cooking along with vegetables such as beans, cluster beans, broad beans, cabbage), Koottu (delicious authentic side dish which can made with potatoes and/or with any vegetable), Kola Kolumbus (kofta gravies), Keerai Masiyal (type of spinach curry), Kothu Parotta (made with mince of parotha, egg, meat, and a spicy chillie sauce), Muttai Parotta (made from minced parotta and scrambled egg), Paniyarams (dumplings), Lemon Rice, Thalappakatti Biryani (rich spicy meat and rice dish), Sweet Pumpkin Curry, Vendaikkai Mappas (Stir fried okra in spicy coconut curry), Karupatti Halwa (sweet dish).
Goa: Feni (locally brewed drink distilled from the fermented sap of the coconut flower-stalk or cashew fruit), Prawn Balchao (pickled prawns in a hot red and tangy sauce), Fish Recheado(whole fish, usually a mackerel or pomfret slit down the center and stuffed with a spicy red paste and shallow fried), Vindaloo (It’s a spicy pork chunk preparation with lots of red chilies, garlic and Goa vinegar), Xacuti (Goan Chicken curry), Chicken Cafreal (marinated pieces of chicken in a paste made of spices, chilies, garlic, ginger and lemon juice and then deep-fried or shallow fried till dry), Spicy Chourico Sausages (spicy pork sausages), Bibinca( concoction made from layer upon layer of coconut pancakes…traditionally 16 layers).
Kerala: Sadya Meal (A vegetarian meal served on banana leaf with steamed rice and a host of side-dishes), Avial (A thick mixture of vegetables, curd and coconut, seasoned & flavored with coconut oil and curry leaves), Malabar Paratha (Layered flaky flat bread),Puttu (Steamed rice flour cake – It’s steamed in long hollow bamboo or metal cylinders), Appam (Soft pancake made from toddy fermented rice batter), Payasam (Dessert made from milk, coconut extract, sugar, cashews).
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