Traditional recipes
Time-honoured dishes from every region, with their history and meaning.
Showing 61–120 of 977
- Litti chokha
लिट्टी चोखा
Wholewheat balls stuffed with spiced sattu, roasted and dipped in ghee, served with a smoky mash of brinjal, tomato and potato.
Bihar1 hour 15 minVegetarian - Makki di roti
मक्की दी रोटी
Thick, hand-patted flatbread of maize flour cooked on a griddle and topped with white butter, the winter partner of sarson da saag.
Punjab30 minVegetarian - Mas podichathu
मास पोडिचतु
Shredded tuna stir-fried with coconut, onion, curry leaves and spices, a staple of island kitchens.
Lakshadweep40 minNon-vegetarian - Methi thepla
मेथी थेपला
Soft, spiced flatbreads of wheat flour and fenugreek leaves that keep well for days, the travel food of Gujarati families.
Gujarat40 minVegetarian - Momo
मोमो
Steamed dumplings of thin wheat-flour wrappers filled with minced meat or vegetables, served with a fiery tomato and chilli sauce.
Sikkim1 hour 15 minNon-vegetarian - Monpa thukpa
मोनपा थुकपा
A warming noodle soup with vegetables or meat in a clear broth, everyday food in the cold hills of Tawang and West Kameng.
Tawang and West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh45 minNon-vegetarian - Pesarattu
पेसरट्टू
A thin, crisp crepe of ground whole green moong, flecked with ginger and chilli, often served with upma folded inside.
Andhra Pradesh30 min + 6 hours soakingVegetarian - Puducherry meen kuzhambu
पुदुच्चेरी मीन कुलम्बु (मछली करी)
A tangy fish curry of tamarind, shallots and roasted spices, cooked in clay pots in Puducherry's fishing villages.
Puducherry and the Tamil coast45 minNon-vegetarian - Sakkarai pongal
शक्करै पोंगल (मीठा पोंगल)
Rice and moong dal cooked with jaggery, ghee, cardamom and cashews, the sweet pongal offered to the Sun on Thai Pongal.
Tamil Nadu45 minVegetarian - Shorshe ilish (hilsa in mustard sauce)
सोरशे इलिश
Hilsa steaks cooked in a sharp sauce of ground mustard seeds, green chillies and mustard oil, Bengal’s best-loved fish dish of the monsoon.
West Bengal40 minNon-vegetarian - Smoked pork with bamboo shoot
बांस की कोंपल के साथ स्मोक्ड पोर्क
Smoked pork cooked with sour fermented bamboo shoot and king chilli, the best-known dish of Nagaland.
Nagaland1 hourNon-vegetarian - Allam pachadi (ginger chutney)
अल्लम पचड़ी (अदरक की चटनी)
A sweet, sour and hot chutney of ginger, tamarind and jaggery, the classic partner for pesarattu.
Andhra Pradesh20 minVegan - Aloo paratha with white butter
आलू पराठा
Whole-wheat flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, cooked on a tawa and served with white butter, curd and pickle.
Chandigarh (Punjabi and Haryanvi cooking)45 minVegetarian - Aloo pitika (mashed potato)
आलू पिटिका
Boiled potato mashed with raw mustard oil, onion, green chilli and coriander, the simplest and most loved Assamese side dish.
Assam20 minVegan - Amritsari kulcha
अमृतसरी कुलचा
Flaky, potato-stuffed leavened bread baked against the wall of a tandoor and served with chole and butter, Amritsar's favourite breakfast.
Amritsar, Punjab1 hour + 2 hours restingVegetarian - Andaman prawn curry
अंडमान झींगा करी
Sea prawns cooked with onion, tomato and spices and finished with coconut milk.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands35 minNon-vegetarian - Arachuvitta sambar
अरचुविट्टा सांभर
Toor dal and vegetables simmered in tamarind with a freshly roasted and ground spice and coconut paste, the everyday heart of a Tamil meal.
Tamil Nadu45 minVegan - Bajre ki roti
बाजरे की रोटी
Thick pearl-millet flatbread patted by hand and baked on a tava or over a chulha, eaten with white butter, jaggery and greens.
Haryana30 minVegetarian - Banarasi kachori sabzi
बनारसी कचौड़ी सब्ज़ी
Small puffed kachoris filled with spiced urad dal, eaten with a hot potato–pumpkin curry: the morning street breakfast of Varanasi.
Varanasi (Banaras)1 hour + soakingVegetarian - Berma bwtwi
बरमा बुतुई
A light, soupy stew of vegetables cooked with berma (fermented fish) and green chillies, eaten with rice.
Tripura30 minNon-vegetarian - Bhatt ki churkani
भट्ट की चुड़कानी
Black soybeans roasted and cooked in a dark, thick gravy with rice paste in an iron pan, a classic of Kumaon.
Kumaon, Uttarakhand45 minVegan - Chamba madra
चंबा मदरा
Chickpeas cooked slowly in yoghurt and ghee with whole spices, a rich dish of the Chamba and Kangra dham feast.
Chamba and Kangra, Himachal Pradesh1 hr + overnight soakingVegetarian - Chicken xacuti
चिकन शकुती
Chicken in a rich, dark gravy of roasted coconut and many roasted spices, including poppy seeds, a dish of Goan festivals and Sunday meals.
Goa1 hr 15 minNon-vegetarian - Chilka roti
छिलका रोटी
A soft, thin pancake of rice and chana dal batter cooked on a griddle, a simple everyday bread of Jharkhand eaten with chutney or vegetables.
Jharkhand30 min + 4 hr soakingVegan - Chingri malai curry
चिंगड़ी मलाई करी
Large prawns simmered in a mild, sweetish coconut-milk gravy with whole spices and ghee, a dish for weddings and special lunches.
West Bengal45 minNon-vegetarian - Dal bafla
दाल बाफला
Wheat dough balls boiled, then baked and soaked in ghee, served with spiced dal. The feast dish of Malwa.
Madhya Pradesh (Malwa: Indore, Ujjain, Ratlam)1 hour 15 minVegetarian - Dal makhani
दाल मखनी
Whole black urad and a little rajma, slow-cooked for hours and finished with butter and cream; Delhi's richest dal.
Delhi3 hours + overnight soakingVegetarian - Dohneiiong
दोहनेईओंग
Pork cooked in a dark, nutty gravy of roasted black sesame seeds, a signature Khasi dish.
Meghalaya (Khasi Hills)1 hourNon-vegetarian - Gatte ki sabzi
गट्टे की सब्ज़ी
Boiled gram-flour dumplings simmered in a tangy curd gravy, made when fresh vegetables are hard to find.
Rajasthan50 minVegetarian - Hyderabadi haleem
हैदराबादी हलीम
Broken wheat, lentils and meat cooked for hours and pounded to a smooth, rich porridge; GI-tagged and eaten across Hyderabad in Ramzan.
Hyderabad, Telangana4 hours + overnight soakingNon-vegetarian - Kolhapuri misal pav
कोल्हापुरी मिसळ पाव
A fiery sprouted moth-bean curry topped with farsan, onion and lemon, eaten with soft pav.
Kolhapur, Pune and Nashik, Maharashtra45 min + sproutingVegetarian - Lakshadweep tuna curry
लक्षद्वीप टूना करी
Tuna cooked in a coconut-milk gravy with shallots, chilli and kodampuli or tamarind.
Lakshadweep45 minNon-vegetarian - Mutton yakhni
मटन यखनी
A pale, mild mutton curry cooked in yoghurt with fennel, dry ginger and cardamom, without any chilli or turmeric.
Kashmir valley1 hr 15 minNon-vegetarian - Mysore masala dosa
मैसूर मसाला डोसा
A crisp dosa spread with a red garlic-and-chilli chutney and filled with a soft potato palya, served with coconut chutney.
Karnataka (Mysuru and Bengaluru)40 min + soaking and fermentingVegetarian - Odisha Rasagola
ओडिशा रसगोला
Soft balls of fresh chhena cooked in light sugar syrup, usually a pale cream colour. A GI-tagged sweet tied to the Jagannath tradition.
Odisha (famously Pahala and Salepur)1 hourVegetarian - Pork with axone
अखुनी के साथ पोर्क
Pork cooked with axone (fermented soybean), whose strong smell and deep taste mark Naga cooking.
Nagaland1 hourNon-vegetarian - Puttu and kadala curry
पुट्टु और कडला करी
Steamed cylinders of rice flour layered with grated coconut, served with a spicy black chickpea curry, one of Kerala’s best-loved breakfasts.
Kerala45 min + soaking chickpeas overnightVegan - Sattu paratha
सत्तू पराठा
Flaky wholewheat flatbread stuffed with spiced roasted gram flour, a filling breakfast across Bihar.
Bihar40 minVegetarian - Singju
सिंगजू
A crunchy salad of finely shredded cabbage, lotus stem, banana flower and herbs, dressed with roasted gram flour, perilla seeds and chilli.
Manipur25 minVegan - Sukha bombil chutney (dried Bombay duck chutney)
सूखा बोंबील चटनी
Sun-dried Bombay duck roasted and pounded with onion, garlic and chilli into a dry, punchy chutney eaten with rice or bhakri.
Daman and Diu coast25 minNon-vegetarian - Thenthuk
थेनथुक
Hand-pulled flat noodle pieces cooked in a vegetable broth, a quick home meal of Ladakh.
Ladakh45 minVegan - Thenthuk
थेनथुक
Hand-pulled flat noodles torn straight into a simmering broth with greens, a homely Monpa soup made from a simple flour dough.
Tawang and West Kameng, Arunachal Pradesh1 hourVegan - Thukpa
थुकपा
A warming noodle soup with chicken and vegetables in a clear, spiced broth, eaten across Sikkim in the cold months.
Sikkim45 minNon-vegetarian - Undhiyu
उंधियू
A mixed winter vegetable dish slow-cooked with green garlic, coconut and fenugreek dumplings. It is eaten on Uttarayan.
Gujarat (especially Surat)1 hr 30 minVegetarian - Vawksa rep (smoked pork) with chillies
वॉकसा रेप (धुएँ में पका पोर्क)
Pork smoked over the kitchen fire until dry, then cooked with chillies, ginger and greens.
Mizoram40 min (plus smoking)Non-vegetarian - Andaman crab masala
अंडमान केकड़ा मसाला
Mud crabs from the mangrove creeks cooked in a thick, spicy masala of onion, tomato, chilli and coconut.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands1 hourNon-vegetarian - Bajre ka churma
बाजरे का चूरमा
Fresh bajra rotis crumbled with ghee and jaggery or shakkar, a simple sweet of Haryanvi farm homes.
Haryana30 minVegetarian - Bengena pitika (roasted brinjal mash)
बेंगेना पिटिका
Brinjal roasted over a flame until smoky, mashed with mustard oil, onion and chilli.
Assam25 minVegan - Bhutte ka kees
भुट्टे का कीस
Grated sweet corn cooked in milk with green chillies and mustard seeds, a savoury snack from Indore.
Madhya Pradesh (Indore)25 minVegetarian - Bore baasi (soaked rice)
बोरे बासी
Cooked rice soaked in water, eaten fresh (bore) or overnight (baasi) with onion, green chilli, salt and a side of bhaji or chutney.
Chhattisgarh5 min (plus soaking)Vegan - Chainsoo
चैंसू
A rich, nutty dal made from roasted and coarsely ground black urad, cooked slowly in an iron pan.
Garhwal, Uttarakhand50 minVegan - Chakhwi
चाखुई
A thick stew of bamboo shoot and vegetables cooked with an alkaline ash water and berma, one of the signature dishes of Tripura.
Tripura45 minNon-vegetarian - Chhena poda
छेना पोड़ा
Fresh chhena kneaded with sugar and semolina and baked until the outside caramelises. Odisha’s ‘burnt cheese’ sweet.
Odisha (associated with Nayagarh district)1 hour 30 minVegetarian - Dal pitha
दाल पीठा
Steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with spiced chana dal paste, a Bihar favourite in winter.
Bihar1 hour + soakingVegan - Daman fish curry
दमन मछली करी
A thin, tangy home-style fish curry with onion, tomato, red chilli and kokum or tamarind, eaten with rice in the fishing villages of Daman.
Daman35 minNon-vegetarian - Dohkhlieh
दोहख्लिएह
A Khasi salad of boiled pork mixed with raw onion, ginger and green chilli.
Meghalaya (Khasi Hills)40 minNon-vegetarian - Gundruk soup
गुन्द्रुक सूप
A sour, warming soup of gundruk, the fermented and dried leaves of mustard, radish and cauliflower, cooked with tomato and chilli.
Sikkim25 minVegan