Traditional recipes
Time-honoured dishes from every region, with their history and meaning.
Showing 361–420 of 977
- Besan masala roti
बेसन मसाला रोटी
A rustic flatbread of gram flour and wheat flour with onion, green chilli and spices, eaten with white butter and buttermilk.
Haryana30 minVegetarian - Boiled tapioca and yam with chilli chutney
उबला टैपिओका और रतालू मिर्च चटनी के साथ
Tapioca and yam boiled with salt and eaten with a fiery chutney of chilli, onion and coconut oil.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands40 minVegan - Chicken cooked in bamboo (Tripura style)
बाँस में पका चिकन (त्रिपुरा शैली)
Chicken with ginger, chilli and onion packed into a green bamboo tube and cooked over a fire in its own juices.
Tripura1½ hoursNon-vegetarian - Dalle khursani achar (round chilli pickle)
डल्ले खुर्सानी अचार
A fiery pickle of Sikkim’s GI-tagged dalle chillies preserved in mustard oil with fenugreek, mustard and salt.
Sikkim30 min + 1 week maturingVegan - Doi chira (jolpan)
दोई चिरा (जलपान)
Flattened rice soaked and served with thick curd and jaggery, the classic Assamese breakfast and Bihu jolpan.
Assam10 minVegetarian - Ghavan
घावन
Thin, lacy rice-flour pancakes from the Konkan coast, often eaten with sweet coconut milk or chutney.
Konkan coast, Maharashtra20 minVegan - Ghevar
घेवर
A honeycomb-like disc of fried batter soaked in sugar syrup, made for the monsoon festivals of Teej and Raksha Bandhan.
Rajasthan (Jaipur and beyond)1 hourVegetarian - Gur gur cha (butter tea)
गुर गुर चा (मक्खन वाली चाय)
Salted tea churned with butter and milk, drunk many times a day to keep warm at high altitude.
Ladakh20 minVegetarian - Hinkejvu
हिंकेज्वू
A Sumi Naga dish of colocasia, cabbage, beans and mustard leaves boiled together in a light, wholesome broth.
Nagaland (Sumi Naga)40 minVegan - Hmarcha rawt (chilli chutney)
ह्मारचा रॉट (मिर्च की चटनी)
A fiery pounded chutney of roasted Mizo chillies, ginger, onion and salt that goes with every meal.
Mizoram15 minVegan - Inji puli (puli inji)
इंजी पुली
A sweet, sour and hot relish of ginger, tamarind, green chilli and jaggery, served in a small spoonful on the sadya leaf.
Kerala35 minVegan - Kadhi bari
कढ़ी बड़ी
Gram-flour fritters soaked in a tangy curd and besan curry, eaten with rice on Sundays and festivals.
Bihar1 hourVegetarian - Kanchipuram idli
कांचीपुरम इडली
A spiced temple idli flavoured with pepper, cumin, ginger and ghee, traditionally made as an offering in Kanchipuram's Vishnu temple.
Kanchipuram40 min + soaking and fermentingVegetarian - Kandi podi (Andhra lentil powder)
कंदी पोडी (आंध्र की दाल पाउडर)
A roasted powder of toor dal, chana dal and red chillies, mixed with hot rice and ghee: the 'gunpowder' of the Andhra meal.
Andhra Pradesh25 minVegetarian - Karah prasad
कड़ाह प्रसाद
A soft, glossy halwa of equal parts whole-wheat flour, ghee and sugar, prepared with prayer and given as blessed food in every gurdwara.
Punjab and Sikh communities everywhere30 minVegetarian - Kashmiri kahwa
कश्मीरी कहवा
Green tea brewed with saffron, cardamom and cinnamon and served with slivered almonds, Kashmir's drink of welcome.
Kashmir valley10 minVegan - Kelli chana
केली चना
A spicy, tangy snack of boiled chickpeas and peas in a thin gravy, sold by street vendors in Imphal.
Manipur (Imphal)40 min + overnight soakingVegan - Khakhra
खाखरा
Thin wheat crackers roasted slowly until crisp, with flavours such as methi, jeera or masala.
Gujarat45 minVegetarian - Khoya jalebi
खोया जलेबी
Dark, thick jalebis made from khoya, fried in ghee and dipped in syrup. A sweet Jabalpur is known for.
Madhya Pradesh (Jabalpur and Mahakoshal)1 hourVegetarian - Khurmi
खुरमी
Crisp sweet fried snacks of wheat and rice flour with jaggery, sesame and coconut, made for Teeja and Pola.
Chhattisgarh1 hourVegan - Kolkata egg roll
कोलकाता एग रोल
A flaky paratha fried with a layer of egg, rolled around sliced onion, green chilli, lime and sauces, Kolkata’s favourite street food.
Kolkata, West Bengal30 minEggetarian - Kullu trout
कुल्लू ट्राउट
Fresh trout from the cold streams of the Kullu valley, lightly spiced and pan-fried in mustard oil.
Kullu, Himachal Pradesh30 minNon-vegetarian - Machha jhola
माछ झोल
A thin, everyday Odia fish curry with potatoes, cooked with panch phutana and a simple spice paste.
Odisha40 minNon-vegetarian - Nagli ambil (finger millet drink)
नागली आंबील
A thin, cooling porridge of finger millet flour cooked in water and mixed with buttermilk, drunk in the fields in summer.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli20 min + coolingVegetarian - Pandi curry (Kodava pork curry)
पंदी करी
Dark, tangy pork curry of Kodagu, flavoured with roasted spices and kachampuli, the black vinegar of the Malabar tamarind.
Kodagu (Coorg), Karnataka1 hour 15 minNon-vegetarian - Parathe Wali Gali paratha
पराँठे वाली गली का पराँठा
Stuffed parathas deep-fried in ghee in an iron kadhai, served with potato-pumpkin sabzi and banana-tamarind chutney, as made in Chandni Chowk's famous lane.
Chandni Chowk, Old Delhi1 hourVegetarian - Pehak (fermented soybean chutney)
पेहाक (किण्वित सोयाबीन की चटनी)
A pungent chutney of fermented soybeans pounded with hot chillies, salt and ginger, eaten in small amounts with rice.
Arunachal Pradesh15 min (with ready fermented soybean)Vegan - Phutkal saag
फुटकल साग
The tender young leaves of the phutkal (a wild fig tree) boiled and cooked with garlic and chilli, a sour spring green eaten fresh or dried for later.
Jharkhand45 minVegan - Pudoh
पुदोह
Steamed rice-flour cakes filled with spiced minced pork, a Khasi snack sold in tea shops.
Meghalaya (Khasi Hills)1 hour + soakingNon-vegetarian - Pulasa pulusu (Yanam)
पुलसा पुलुसु
A tamarind-based curry of pulasa (hilsa) fish from the Godavari, cooked slowly in a clay pot in Yanam and nearby towns.
Yanam (Puducherry) and the Godavari delta1 hr 15 minNon-vegetarian - Tender coconut cooler
नारियल पानी शरबत
Fresh tender-coconut water with its soft flesh, sometimes with a squeeze of lime: the islands' everyday drink.
Lakshadweep10 minVegan - Tisreo sukhe (dry clams with coconut)
तिसऱ्यो सुके
Clams tossed with grated coconut, onion and spices until dry, a coastal Konkani dish cooked when clams are plentiful.
Goa45 minNon-vegetarian - Aloo bhujia (Bihari style)
आलू भुजिया
Thin potato sticks stir-fried in mustard oil with nigella and green chilli, the everyday side for dal-bhaat.
Bihar25 minVegan - Bamboo shoot bhaji
बांस के कोंपल की भाजी
Tender bamboo shoots gathered from the forest in the monsoon, boiled and stir-fried with onion, chilli and spices, a seasonal tribal dish.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli1 hrVegan - Bathua roti
बथुआ रोटी
Whole wheat roti kneaded with chopped bathua leaves and ajwain, a winter bread eaten with curd and white butter.
Haryana30 minVegetarian - Chak-hao kheer
चाखाओ खीर
A deep purple pudding of Manipur’s GI-tagged black rice cooked slowly in milk with sugar and cardamom.
Manipur1 hour 15 min + soakingVegetarian - Chhabeel (kachi lassi)
छबील (कच्ची लस्सी)
Chilled milk diluted with water and lightly sweetened, served free to passers-by at roadside stalls on Guru Arjan Dev's martyrdom day.
Punjab10 minVegetarian - Chingudi jhola
चिंगुड़ी झोल
Prawns cooked with potato or pumpkin in a light, spiced gravy, a favourite along Chilika and the Odisha coast.
Odisha (coast and Chilika area)35 minNon-vegetarian - Dehrori
देहरौरी
Fritters of coarse rice paste and curd, fried in ghee and soaked in sugar syrup, a festive sweet of Chhattisgarh.
Chhattisgarh1 hour (plus soaking and fermenting)Vegetarian - Fish steamed in banana leaf (Tripura home style)
केले के पत्ते में भाप में पकी मछली (त्रिपुरा शैली)
Small fish or fish pieces rubbed with mustard, chilli and turmeric, wrapped in banana leaf and cooked on a pan or over embers.
Tripura40 minNon-vegetarian - Kadambuttu (Kodava rice balls)
कदंबुट्टु
Steamed balls of broken rice, soft inside, eaten with pandi curry or chicken curry in Kodagu.
Kodagu (Coorg), Karnataka45 minVegan - Khichdi, khatta and kheema
खिचड़ी, खट्टा और क़ीमा
A Hyderabadi weekend breakfast of soft masoor-dal khichdi with a sour tamarind sauce (khatta) and spiced minced meat.
Hyderabad, Telangana1 hourNon-vegetarian - Kholak (ngamphe with butter tea)
खोलाक (नम्फे और मक्खन चाय)
Roasted barley flour (ngamphe, or tsampa) kneaded with butter tea into a quick, filling dough.
Ladakh10 minVegetarian - Koinar saag
कोइनार साग
Young leaves of the koinar (kachnar, Bauhinia) tree cooked as a soft green with garlic and mustard oil, a spring food of Jharkhand.
Jharkhand40 minVegan - Kootu curry
कूट्टु करी
A thick curry of black chickpeas, yam and raw banana with ground and roasted coconut, one of the richer vegetable dishes of the Onam sadya.
Kerala45 min + soakingVegan - Kumbakonam kadappa
कुम्बकोणम कडप्पा
A mild, creamy side dish of moong dal, potato and a ground coconut, fennel and poppy seed paste, served with idli and dosai.
Kumbakonam and the Thanjavur area35 minVegan - Lukter (dried meat with chilli)
लुक्टर (मिर्च के साथ सूखा मांस)
Strips of meat smoke-dried over the hearth and tossed with crushed hot chilli and salt, a long-keeping relish served with rice.
Arunachal Pradesh30 min (with ready smoked meat)Non-vegetarian - Mawa kachori
मावा कचौरी
A sweet kachori filled with mawa, nuts and cardamom, fried and dipped in sugar syrup. A speciality of Jodhpur.
Rajasthan (Jodhpur)1 hourVegetarian - Methi muthia
मेथी मुठिया
Steamed rolls of flour and fenugreek leaves, sliced and tempered with sesame and mustard seeds.
Gujarat45 minVegetarian - Mizo fish and vegetable stew
मिज़ो मछली और सब्ज़ी स्टू
River fish simmered with greens, bamboo shoot, ginger and chilli in a light, clear broth.
Mizoram30 minNon-vegetarian - Morena gajak
मुरैना गजक
Thin, brittle sheets of sesame and jaggery, beaten until flaky. The winter sweet of Morena in the Chambal region.
Madhya Pradesh (Morena and Gwalior, Chambal region)1 hourVegetarian - Mudda pappu
मुद्दा पप्पु
Plain toor dal cooked soft and mashed with salt and turmeric, eaten with hot rice, ghee and avakaya.
Andhra Pradesh30 minVegetarian - Mughlai paratha
मुगलई पराठा
A square, stuffed paratha filled with beaten egg, onion and green chilli, shallow-fried until crisp and served with potato curry and onion salad.
Kolkata, West Bengal45 minEggetarian - Nagori halwa
नागौरी हलवा
Small, crisp puris of semolina and flour eaten with sweet suji halwa and spicy potato sabzi; a winter breakfast of Old Delhi.
Old Delhi1 hourVegetarian - Nihari kulcha
निहारी कुलचा
Mutton shank stew slow-cooked overnight with spices and thickened with flour, eaten with soft kulcha at dawn.
Lucknow (old city)6–8 hours slow cookingNon-vegetarian - Noon chai (sheer chai)
नून चाय
Pink, salted milk tea made by long boiling of green tea leaves with a pinch of baking soda, drunk with breads at breakfast.
Kashmir valley40 minVegetarian - Pithla
पिठलं
A quick, comforting gram-flour curry tempered with garlic and green chilli, eaten with bhakri or rice.
Maharashtra20 minVegan - Ragi koozh
रागी कूल
A cooling, lightly fermented porridge of finger millet and broken rice, served with buttermilk, shallots and green chillies.
Puducherry and Tamil Nadu30 min + overnightVegan - Raja mircha chutney
राजा मिर्च चटनी
A very hot chutney of roasted Naga king chilli and tomato, served in small amounts with every meal.
Nagaland15 minVegan