Chhattisgarh

Thin pancakes of rice-flour batter cooked on an iron pan, the everyday breakfast of Chhattisgarh, eaten with tomato or green chutney.

Finger-shaped dumplings of rice flour and cooked rice, steamed and then tossed in a tempering of mustard, sesame and curry leaves.

Cooked rice soaked in water, eaten fresh (bore) or overnight (baasi) with onion, green chilli, salt and a side of bhaji or chutney.

A thick rice-flour flatbread baked slowly on a pan and then over embers, crisp outside and soft inside.

Soft deep-fried puris made from rice flour, made for festivals and eaten with chutney or vegetable curry.

A thin, sour curry of Bastar made with seasonal vegetables, bamboo shoot and a little rice paste, cooked with very little oil.

Soft dumplings of urad dal paste dropped straight into a tangy curd kadhi and cooked until they puff.

Spiced chana dal paste shaped into small dumplings and steamed instead of fried, a light Chhattisgarhi snack.

Crunchy, savoury fried snacks of spiced besan dough, made in large batches for Teeja and Pola.

Crisp sweet fried snacks of wheat and rice flour with jaggery, sesame and coconut, made for Teeja and Pola.

Fritters of coarse rice paste and curd, fried in ghee and soaked in sugar syrup, a festive sweet of Chhattisgarh.

Fried cakes of soaked rice flour and jaggery, coated with sesame, made for festivals.

The devotional dance of the Satnami community of Chhattisgarh, sung and danced in praise of Guru Ghasidas with rising speed and acrobatic moves.

A vigorous folk dance of the Yadav (Raut) cattle-herding community, performed with sticks and dohas after Diwali.

A women’s folk dance in which a circle of dancers clap and sing around a clay parrot (sua) placed in a basket.

A Chhattisgarhi ballad tradition in which a single performer sings and acts stories of the Pandavas from the Mahabharata.

A dance of the Maria people of Bastar in which men wear headdresses of bison horns and feathers and imitate the movements of the gaur.

A festival of about 75 days in Jagdalpur, dedicated to Goddess Danteshwari rather than to Rama. Tribal communities of Bastar build and pull a huge wooden chariot.

A Shakti Peetha at Dantewada, where Sati's tooth is said to have fallen. The Goddess is worshipped here as Danteshwari.

A wide, horseshoe-shaped waterfall on the Indravati river in Bastar, often called the Niagara of India.

A forested valley near Jagdalpur with limestone caves, the Tirathgarh waterfall and rich birdlife.

An ancient town on the Mahanadi with the brick Laxman temple and remains of Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments.

A finely carved Shiva temple in the Maikal hills, often called the Khajuraho of Chhattisgarh.

The temple of goddess Danteshwari, the guardian deity of Bastar, at the meeting of the Shankini and Dankini rivers.

A cool, green plateau in Surguja, known for its Tibetan settlement, waterfalls and views, and called the Shimla of Chhattisgarh.

A temple town at the meeting of the Mahanadi, Pairi and Sondur rivers, known as the Prayag of Chhattisgarh.