Traditional recipes
Time-honoured dishes from every region, with their history and meaning.
Showing 781–840 of 977
- Bombil fry
बोंबील फ्राय
Bombay duck fish, pressed flat, coated in spiced semolina and rice flour and fried crisp.
Mumbai and the Konkan coast, Maharashtra40 minNon-vegetarian - Boti kura
बोटी कूरा
Goat tripe and intestines, carefully cleaned and cooked in a spicy, dark masala; a prized village dish of Telangana.
Telangana2 hours (including cleaning)Non-vegetarian - Dal dhokli
दाल ढोकली
Spiced wheat-flour pieces simmered in sweet and sour toor dal, a one-pot Gujarati meal.
Gujarat50 minVegetarian - Enduri pitha
एंडुरी पीठा
Fermented rice and urad batter with a coconut-jaggery filling, steamed in fresh turmeric leaves. The pitha of Prathamastami.
Odisha40 min + soaking and fermentingVegan - Ghughute
घुघुते
Fried sweets of wheat flour and jaggery in shapes such as birds, drums and swords, made for Ghughutiya (Makar Sankranti) in Kumaon.
Kumaon, Uttarakhand1 hr 30 minVegan - Gogji razma (turnip with kidney beans)
गोगजी राजमा
Kidney beans and turnips cooked together in a mildly spiced gravy, a filling winter dish of Kashmir.
Kashmir valley1 hr + overnight soakingVegan - Indori khasta kachori
इंदौरी खस्ता कचौरी
Flaky fried pastries filled with spiced moong dal, a morning favourite in Indore served with chutneys.
Madhya Pradesh (Indore and Malwa)1 hour 15 minVegan - Kanji vada
कांजी वड़ा
Soft moong dal fritters soaked in kanji, a tangy fermented mustard-seed water. A Marwari speciality for Holi.
Rajasthan (Marwar and Jaipur)40 min + 2–3 days fermentingVegan - Khurchan
खुरचन
Delicate layers of milk skin scraped from slowly simmered milk, sweetened and stacked; a dairy sweet of Braj.
Mathura–Vrindavan (Braj); also Khurja1 hour 30 minVegetarian - Kulkuls
कुलकुल
Small curled dough shells made by rolling dough over a fork or comb and frying them until crisp, then coating them in sugar syrup.
Goa1 hr 30 minEggetarian - Kumro chhokka (pumpkin and potato curry)
कुमड़ो छक्का
Red pumpkin and potato cooked with panch phoron and a hint of sweetness, eaten with luchi or rice.
West Bengal30 minVegan - Malabar pathiri (nice pathiri)
मालाबार पथिरी
Paper-thin, soft rice-flour rotis of the Mappila kitchen, cooked on a tawa and softened with coconut milk.
Kerala, Malabar region45 minVegan - Nashasta
नशास्ता
A soft, set sweet made from wheat starch, sugar and ghee, a festive speciality of Kangra.
Kangra, Himachal Pradesh1 hr + 2–3 days soaking the wheatVegetarian - Posola bhaji (banana stem)
पोसोला भाजी
The tender core of the banana stem, chopped finely and cooked with potato, gram and a light tempering.
Assam40 minVegan - Royyala iguru (Andhra prawn fry)
रोय्याला इगुरु (आंध्र झींगा फ्राई)
Prawns cooked down with onion, red chilli and fennel-spiced masala until the gravy clings to them.
Andhra Pradesh (coastal districts)40 minNon-vegetarian - Thatte idli
तट्टे इडली
Large, flat, plate-sized idlis steamed on round plates, served with butter, chutney and podi along the Bengaluru–Mysuru road.
Karnataka (Bidadi and the Bengaluru–Mysuru road)30 min + soaking and fermentingVegetarian - Tisi ki chutney
तीसी की चटनी
A dry, nutty chutney of roasted flaxseed with garlic and chilli, eaten with rice, roti or litti.
Bihar15 minVegan - Basanti pulao (sweet yellow pulao)
बसंती पुलाव
Short-grain aromatic rice cooked in ghee with turmeric, whole spices, cashews and raisins, mildly sweet and served on festive days.
West Bengal45 minVegetarian - Besan chakki
बेसन चक्की
A firm, grainy sweet of roasted gram flour, ghee and sugar syrup, cut into squares. A Diwali sweet in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan45 min + settingVegetarian - Bhaderwah rajma
भद्रवाह राजमा
Small, sweet red kidney beans from the Bhaderwah hills cooked slowly in an onion-tomato gravy and eaten with rice.
Jammu region (Bhaderwah, Doda district)1 hr + overnight soakingVegan - Bilahi khatta (sweet-sour tomato chutney)
बिलाही खट्टा
Ripe tomatoes cooked down with jaggery or sugar and a little mustard, served at the end of a festive meal.
Assam25 minVegan - Bongu chicken (bamboo chicken)
बोंगु चिकन (बाँस में पका चिकन)
Spiced chicken packed into a green bamboo tube, sealed with leaves and roasted over an open fire, a dish of the Araku hills.
Andhra Pradesh (Araku Valley and the Eastern Ghats)1½ hoursNon-vegetarian - Davanagere benne dose
दावणगेरे बेन्ने दोसे
Small, thick butter dosas that are crisp outside and soft inside, served with coconut chutney and potato palya in Davanagere.
Davanagere, Karnataka30 min + soaking and fermentingVegetarian - Dham-style chana dal
धाम की चने की दाल
Split Bengal gram cooked thick with whole spices and finished with ghee, one of the dals served in the Kangri dham.
Kangra and Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh50 min + 1 hour soakingVegetarian - Gakkad bharta
गक्कड़ भरता
Thick wheat breads roasted in the embers of a fire and eaten with smoky mashed brinjal, a rustic winter meal of Malwa and Nimar.
Madhya Pradesh (Malwa and Nimar)1 hourVegetarian - Garijalu
गरिजालु
Crisp half-moon pastries stuffed with roasted gram, coconut and jaggery or sugar; a Deepavali sweet of Telangana.
Telangana1 hour 15 minVegan - Karthigai pori urundai
कार्तिगै पोरी उरुंडै (मुरमुरे के लड्डू)
Puffed rice bound with jaggery syrup, coconut bits and cardamom into balls, made for the festival of lamps, Karthigai Deepam.
Tamil Nadu30 minVegan - Kolambi bhaat
कोळंबी भात
Prawns and rice cooked together with coconut, green masala and whole spices in the Konkan style.
Mumbai and the Konkan coast, Maharashtra50 minNon-vegetarian - Malaiyo
मलइयो
A cloud-light winter froth of milk churned with saffron and sugar, traditionally left overnight under the open sky to catch the dew.
Varanasi (similar 'makhan malai' in Lucknow)30 min + overnightVegetarian - Manda pitha
मंडा पीठा
Soft steamed rice-flour dumplings with a sweet coconut, chhena or jaggery filling.
Odisha45 minVegetarian - Marua roti
मड़ुआ रोटी
Flatbread of finger millet flour, eaten in winter and on the eve of the Jitiya fast.
Bihar30 minVegan - Masala chhaas
मसाला छाछ
Thin spiced buttermilk with roasted cumin, ginger and coriander, drunk with almost every Gujarati meal.
Gujarat10 minVegetarian - Pahadi murga (hill chicken curry)
पहाड़ी मुर्गा
Country chicken cooked in mustard oil with onions, tomato and hill spices such as jakhiya, a weekend favourite in the hills.
Uttarakhand1 hr 15 minNon-vegetarian - Rabri
रबड़ी
Milk reduced slowly in a wide pan until thick, with layers of cream folded in, flavoured with cardamom and nuts; a favourite sweet of Old Delhi's halwais.
Old Delhi1 hour 30 minVegetarian - Shalgam di sabzi
शलगम दी सब्ज़ी
Winter turnips cooked down with onion, ginger, tomato and a touch of jaggery into a soft, sweet-and-spicy mash.
Punjab40 minVegan - Unnakkaya
उन्नक्काया
Spindle-shaped dumplings of mashed ripe plantain stuffed with a sweet egg, coconut and nut filling and fried, a Malabar teatime treat.
Kerala, Malabar region1 hrEggetarian - Akkara adisil
अक्कार अडिसिल
Rice cooked slowly in milk with jaggery and plenty of ghee, the temple sweet of Margazhi and the Andal tradition.
Tamil Nadu, especially Srivilliputhur and Vaishnava temples1 hourVegetarian - Bah gaj achar (bamboo shoot pickle)
बांह गाज अचार
Fermented bamboo shoot pickled in mustard oil with chilli and spices, sour and pungent.
Assam30 min (plus 1–2 weeks maturing)Vegan - Chakuli pitha
चकुली पीठा
Thin, soft pancakes of fermented rice and urad dal batter, a common Odia breakfast eaten with dalma, ghuguni or jaggery.
Odisha30 min + soaking and fermentingVegan - Chane ka saag
चने का साग
Tender gram leaves cooked with garlic and mustard oil, a winter green of the Bihar countryside.
Bihar30 minVegan - Girmit
गिरमिट
A tangy puffed-rice snack of Hubballi-Dharwad, tossed with an onion-tomato-tamarind masala and topped with fried gram flour sev.
North Karnataka (Hubballi, Dharwad and nearby)20 minVegan - Gobhi gajar shalgam da achar
गोभी गाजर शलगम दा अचार
A sweet, sour and spicy winter pickle of cauliflower, carrot and turnip in mustard oil with jaggery and vinegar.
Punjab1 hour + 3–4 days maturingVegan - Jowar ki roti
ज्वार की रोटी
Hand-patted sorghum flatbreads, a staple of the Nimar region along the Narmada, eaten with dal, kadhi and chutneys.
Madhya Pradesh (Nimar: Khargone, Khandwa, Barwani, Burhanpur)30 minVegan - Kalari kulcha
कलाड़ी कुलचा
Slices of kalari, a ripened cheese from the Jammu hills, fried in their own fat and stuffed into a soft kulcha with onion and chutney.
Jammu region (Udhampur and Ramnagar area)15 minVegetarian - Kallummakkaya fry (mussel fry)
कल्लुम्मक्काया फ्राई (सीप फ्राई)
Green mussels from the Malabar coast tossed in a spicy masala and fried crisp in coconut oil.
Kerala, Kozhikode, Kannur and Kasaragod coast40 minNon-vegetarian - Khoba roti
खोबा रोटी
A thick wheat roti decorated by pinching patterns into its surface, slow-cooked on a tawa and filled with ghee.
Rajasthan (Marwar)40 minVegetarian - Kodiguddu pulusu (egg curry in tamarind gravy)
कोडिगुड्डु पुलुसु (इमली वाली अंडा करी)
Boiled eggs simmered in a tangy onion and tamarind gravy, an easy everyday curry in Andhra homes.
Andhra Pradesh35 minEggetarian - Launglata
लौंगलता
Crisp pastry parcels filled with khoya and nuts, sealed with a clove, fried and soaked in syrup.
Varanasi and eastern Uttar Pradesh1 hourVegetarian - Malidalu
मलीदालु
Fresh wheat rotis crumbled with jaggery, ghee, cardamom and nuts and pressed into balls; a festival sweet of Telangana homes.
Telangana45 minVegetarian - Methi na gota (Dakor na gota)
मेथी के गोटा (डाकोर के गोटा)
Light, fluffy fritters of coarse gram flour and fenugreek leaves, famous at the temple town of Dakor.
Kheda district (Dakor), Gujarat30 minVegetarian - Panta bhat (fermented rice)
पान्ता भात
Cooked rice soaked overnight in water so it ferments lightly, eaten cool with salt, green chilli, onion, lime and fried or mashed sides.
West Bengal10 min + overnight soakingVegan - Saoji chicken
सावजी चिकन
A very hot, dark chicken curry from Nagpur, made with a roasted spice blend and a thin, oily gravy.
Nagpur and Vidarbha, Maharashtra1 hr 15 minNon-vegetarian - Sol kadhi
सोल कढी
A pink, cooling drink of coconut milk and kokum, flavoured with garlic and green chilli, served with or after a Goan meal.
Goa and the Konkan coast20 minVegan - Ariselu
अरिसेलु
Soft, chewy discs of rice flour and jaggery syrup, deep-fried and pressed: the most important sweet of Telugu Sankranti.
Andhra Pradesh1½ hours + 6 hours soakingVegetarian - Bajka
बजका
Gram-flour fritters of onion, potato or seasonal vegetables, the Bihari name for pakoda.
Bihar30 minVegan - Bonam (bellam annam for Bonalu)
बोनम (बोनालु का गुड़-चावल)
Rice cooked with milk and jaggery in a new pot, which women carry on their heads to offer to the Mother Goddess at Bonalu.
Hyderabad, Secunderabad and across Telangana45 minVegetarian - Jaunpur imarti
जौनपुर की इमरती
Flower-shaped coils of urad dal batter fried in ghee and soaked in sugar syrup; Jaunpur's best-known sweet.
Jaunpur and eastern Uttar Pradesh1 hour + 4 hours soakingVegetarian - Jhalmuri
झालमुड़ी
Puffed rice tossed with mustard oil, onion, chilli, boiled potato, peanuts, chanachur and lime, sold in paper cones on Kolkata’s streets.
West Bengal10 minVegan