Traditional recipes
Time-honoured dishes from every region, with their history and meaning.
Showing 481–540 of 977
- Moong dal halwa
मूंग दाल हलवा
Ground moong dal slow-roasted in plenty of ghee and cooked with milk and sugar into a rich, grainy halwa for winter weddings.
Rajasthan1 hour + 4 hours soakingVegetarian - Murgh do pyaza
मुर्ग़ दो प्याज़ा
Chicken curry in which onions go in twice: once ground into the gravy and once as crunchy chunks at the end.
Lucknow and Awadh50 minNon-vegetarian - Panjiri
पंजीरी
Whole-wheat flour roasted in ghee and mixed with sugar, edible gum, dry fruits and seeds, eaten in winter and given to new mothers.
Punjab45 minVegetarian - Papdi chaat
पापड़ी चाट
Crisp fried wafers topped with potato, chickpeas, curd and sweet and green chutneys; the best-known chaat of Delhi.
Delhi1 hour (papdi can be made ahead)Vegetarian - Pappu charu
पप्पु चारु
A thin, tangy dal soup with tamarind, vegetables and a sweet hint of jaggery, eaten with rice.
Andhra Pradesh40 minVegan - Puliyodharai (tamarind rice)
पुलियोदरै (इमली चावल)
Rice tossed in a thick, spiced tamarind paste with peanuts and sesame, a temple offering and travel food.
Tamil Nadu40 minVegan - Queen pineapple chutney
क्वीन अनानास की चटनी
A sweet-sour chutney of Tripura's fragrant Queen pineapple, tempered with panch phoron and served at the end of a meal.
Tripura30 minVegan - Sea buckthorn juice
सी बकथॉर्न जूस
A tangy orange drink made from the small wild berries of the sea buckthorn shrub that grows along Ladakh's rivers.
Ladakh, especially Nubra and the Indus and Suru valleys30 minVegan - Sohphlang with salt and chilli
सोहफ्लांग, नमक और मिर्च के साथ
A crisp, juicy root tuber peeled and eaten raw with salt and chilli, sold by street vendors in Shillong in winter.
Meghalaya (Khasi and Jaintia Hills)10 minVegan - Xandoh guri (roasted rice powder)
सांदह गुड़ी
Rice soaked, steamed or parched, dried and pounded into a fragrant powder eaten with milk, curd and jaggery.
Assam1 hour (plus soaking and drying)Vegetarian - Yen thongba
येन थोंगबा
A homely Manipuri chicken curry with potato, ginger and onion leaves.
Manipur1 hourNon-vegetarian - Zunka
झुणका
A dry, crumbly dish of gram flour cooked with onion and spices, partner to bhakri.
Maharashtra20 minVegan - Alsi di pinni
अलसी दी पिन्नी
Round winter sweets of roasted flaxseed and wheat flour bound with jaggery and ghee and studded with nuts.
Punjab1 hourVegetarian - Bajra no rotlo
बाजरे का रोटला
A thick pearl millet flatbread patted out by hand and roasted on a clay tawa, eaten with ghee and jaggery.
Saurashtra and north Gujarat30 minVegan - Bikaneri bhujia
बीकानेरी भुजिया
Crisp thin strands of moth bean and gram flour spiced with black pepper. Bikaneri Bhujia is a GI-tagged product of Bikaner.
Rajasthan (Bikaner)40 minVegan - Chapda chutney (red ant chutney)
चापड़ा चटनी
A sour, fiery chutney of red weaver ants and their eggs ground with chilli, garlic and salt, a traditional food of Bastar.
Chhattisgarh (Bastar)20 minNon-vegetarian - Cholar dal
छोलार दाल
Bengal gram dal cooked with coconut pieces, raisins and whole spices, slightly sweet, and served with luchi on festive mornings.
West Bengal45 min + soakingVegetarian - Dahi bhalla
दही भल्ला
Soft urad dal dumplings soaked in water and smothered in sweet curd, chutneys and spices.
Delhi1 hour + 4 hours soakingVegetarian - Dahi machha
दही माछ
Fried fish simmered in a mildly spiced curd gravy, a festive dish of Odia homes.
Odisha40 minNon-vegetarian - Fish and herb broth
मछली और जड़ी-बूटी का शोरबा
Fresh river fish simmered briefly with ginger, chilli and wild herbs into a light, clear soup.
Arunachal Pradesh25 minNon-vegetarian - Gondli kheer (little millet pudding)
गोंदली की खीर
A creamy pudding of gondli, the little millet grown on Jharkhand’s uplands, cooked in milk with jaggery.
Jharkhand45 minVegetarian - Iskut (chayote) with greens
इस्कुट (चाउ-चाउ) और पत्तेदार सब्ज़ी
Chayote squash and its tender shoots boiled or lightly stir-fried, a staple vegetable of Mizo kitchens.
Mizoram20 minVegan - Joha saulor payas (joha rice pudding)
जोहा चाउलर पायस
A creamy milk pudding made with Assam’s small, fragrant joha rice.
Assam1 hourVegetarian - Kayi holige (coconut obbattu)
काई होलिगे
Thin sweet flatbread stuffed with coconut and jaggery, cooked on a griddle and served with ghee or milk, made for Ugadi and other festivals.
Karnataka1 hour 15 minVegetarian - Khatkhatem
खतखते
A thick stew of many vegetables and lentils in a coconut and tirphal masala, cooked in Goan Hindu homes for Ganesh Chaturthi.
Goa1 hrVegetarian - Makki ka paniya
मक्की का पानिया
Thick maize-flour breads baked between leaves over a slow fire, a rustic dish of the Malwa and Nimar countryside.
Madhya Pradesh (Malwa and Nimar, and Bhil areas of Jhabua and Alirajpur)1 hourVegetarian - Marchu
मार्चू
A deep-fried wheat bread of Kinnaur and the upper Himachal valleys, made at festivals and offered to the village deity.
Kinnaur and upper Shimla, Himachal Pradesh45 minVegan - Modhaga kozhukattai
मोदक कोळुकट्टै
Steamed rice-flour dumplings filled with coconut and jaggery, offered to Lord Vinayagar (Ganesha) on Vinayaka Chathurthi.
Puducherry and Tamil Nadu1 hrVegan - Modur pulav
मोदुर पुलाव
Sweet saffron rice cooked in ghee and milk with dry fruits, served at Kashmiri weddings and festivals.
Kashmir valley45 minVegetarian - Nakham bitchi
नाखम बिच्ची
A spicy Garo soup of dried fish with chillies, often served as an appetiser or alongside rice.
Meghalaya (Garo Hills)30 minNon-vegetarian - Purvanchal machhli ka salan
पूर्वांचल मछली का सालन
River fish cooked in a sharp mustard-oil gravy with onion, garlic and spices, eaten with rice in eastern UP.
Eastern Uttar Pradesh (Gorakhpur, Ballia, Varanasi and the Ganga–Ghaghra belt)45 minNon-vegetarian - Shikampuri kebab
शिकमपुरी कबाब
Soft mutton and chana dal kebabs with a surprise filling of hung curd, onion and mint.
Hyderabad, Telangana1 hour 15 minNon-vegetarian - Silao khaja
सिलाव खाजा
A crisp, many-layered pastry soaked in sugar syrup, made famous by the town of Silao near Rajgir.
Bihar (Silao, Nalanda district)1 hour 15 minVegetarian - Singal
सिंगल
Crisp, spiral-shaped fried sweets of semolina, banana and curd, made in Kumaoni homes for festivals.
Kumaon, Uttarakhand1 hr + 2 hours restingVegetarian - Steamed sticky rice with jaggery
गुड़ के साथ भाप में पका चिपचिपा चावल
Glutinous rice steamed soft and eaten with jaggery, grated coconut or milk, a breakfast and festival treat in Tripura.
Tripura45 min + 4 hours soakingVegetarian - Sticky rice steamed in leaves
पत्तों में पके चिपचिपे चावल
Glutinous rice wrapped in leaves and steamed, eaten plain or with jaggery and sesame, often packed for the fields.
Nagaland1 hour + soakingVegan - Suhali
सुहाली
Crisp, flaky fried discs of flour and ghee, sweet or salted, sent in the kothli gift for daughters at Teej.
Haryana45 minVegetarian - Tama curry (bamboo shoot curry)
तामा करी
A tangy curry of fermented bamboo shoots with potato and black-eyed beans, cooked in mustard oil.
Sikkim40 minVegan - Thayir sadam (curd rice)
तयिर सादम (दही चावल)
Soft rice mixed with curd and tempered with mustard, ginger and curry leaves, the cooling last course of a Tamil meal.
Tamil Nadu15 min (with cooked rice)Vegetarian - Ulava charu (horse gram soup)
उलवा चारु (कुलथी का सूप)
A dark, slow-cooked soup of horse gram with tamarind and spices, a speciality of the Krishna and Guntur region.
Andhra Pradesh (Krishna and Guntur districts)1½ hours + overnight soakingVegan - Unniyappam
उन्नियप्पम
Small round fritters of rice, jaggery and banana fried in ghee in a special pan, a temple offering and festival snack.
Kerala45 min + 1 hr restingVegetarian - Utong chak
उतोंग चाक
Sticky rice cooked inside green bamboo tubes over an open fire, a festival and picnic food in Manipur.
Manipur1 hour + soakingVegan - Varan bhaat
वरण भात
Plain toor dal with a touch of turmeric and hing, poured over rice with ghee and lemon: the first course of a Maharashtrian feast.
Maharashtra30 minVegetarian - Chagem pomba
चागेम पोम्बा
A thick, porridge-like dish of mustard greens, vegetables, rice and fermented soybean (hawaijar), warming and nourishing.
Manipur45 minVegan - Chicken cooked in bamboo
बांस में पका चिकन
Chicken mixed with ginger, chilli and salt and slow-roasted inside a sealed bamboo tube over an open fire.
Arunachal Pradesh1 hour 15 minNon-vegetarian - Chilra
चिलड़ा
Thin, soft pancakes of wheat, buckwheat or rice flour, a simple breakfast across the Himachali hills.
Himachal Pradesh, including Kangra, Mandi and Lahaul30 minVegan - Chiroti
चिरोटी
Flaky, layered fried pastry rounds dusted with sugar or soaked in almond milk, a traditional wedding sweet of Karnataka.
Karnataka (especially Old Mysore region)1 hourVegetarian - Elumichai sadam (lemon rice)
एलुमिच्चै सादम (नींबू चावल)
Turmeric-yellow rice with lime juice, peanuts and a crunchy dal tempering, packed for journeys and festivals.
Tamil Nadu20 min (with cooked rice)Vegan - Gaya tilkut
गया का तिलकुट
Thin, crisp discs of pounded sesame and jaggery or sugar, made in Gaya through the winter for Makar Sankranti.
Bihar (Gaya)45 minVegan - Gohana jalebi
गोहाना की जलेबी
Large, thick jalebis fried in desi ghee and soaked in sugar syrup, for which the town of Gohana in Sonipat district is famous.
Haryana (Gohana, Sonipat district)40 min + 8–12 hours fermentingVegetarian - Gol gappe
गोलगप्पे
Small, hollow, crisp puris filled with potato and chickpeas and dipped in tangy, spiced mint water; Delhi's favourite street snack.
Delhi45 min with ready-made puris; 1 hour 30 min if making themVegan - Kadaknath chicken curry
कड़कनाथ चिकन करी
A spicy curry of the black-fleshed Kadaknath chicken, a GI-tagged native breed of Jhabua.
Madhya Pradesh (Jhabua and Alirajpur)1 hour 30 minNon-vegetarian - Kappa
कप्पा
A Garo dish of meat, dried fish or vegetables cooked with kalchi, an alkaline water made from plant ash.
Meghalaya (Garo Hills)50 minNon-vegetarian - Kashmiri phirni
कश्मीरी फिरनी
A chilled pudding of ground rice cooked in milk with sugar, cardamom and saffron, set in small earthen bowls.
Kashmir valley40 min + chillingVegetarian - Lal bhaji (red amaranth)
लाल भाजी
Red amaranth leaves stir-fried with garlic and chilli, which colour the dish a deep pink-red.
Chhattisgarh20 minVegan - Luchi
लुची
Soft, puffed deep-fried breads of refined flour, Bengal’s festive bread, eaten with dal, potato curry or sweets.
West Bengal40 minVegetarian - Maanga pachadi
मांगा पचड़ी
A sweet, sour, bitter and hot relish of raw mango, jaggery and neem flowers, made for the Tamil New Year.
Puducherry and Tamil Nadu25 minVegan - Machha patra poda
माछ पत्र पोड़ा
Fish coated in mustard-coconut paste, wrapped in leaves and roasted or steamed so it cooks in its own juices.
Odisha45 minNon-vegetarian - Madua laddoo (finger millet sweets)
मड़ुआ के लड्डू
Nutty, wholesome balls of roasted finger millet flour, jaggery and ghee, made in Jharkhand homes as a healthy sweet.
Jharkhand40 minVegetarian