Around India in 15 Dishes

It's hard to go wrong with potatoes, so it's no surprise that dum aloo (potato in gravy) is one of Kashmir’s most popular dishes. The recipe is simple, involving small, deep-fried potatoes served in a thick yogurt or milk base and spiced up with chilies, garlic, and a variety of fragrant spices.

Originating in Tibet, momos—dumplings stuffed with meat or vegetables and then steamed or fried—have grown to become one of the most beloved snacks available on the subcontinent. You'll find the best variety in the Dharmasala area in northern India, home to the Tibetan Government in Exile and a large Tibetan population (including the Dalai Lama himself).

Although aloo parathas (flatbread stuffed with spiced potatoes) are popular across India, they’re particularly loved in Punjab and New Delhi, where there’s a substantial Punjabi population. Parathas are most commonly eaten at breakfast and are usually slathered with butter and served with yogurt and aachar (pickle). Sample one on a street food tour in Old Delhi or learn how to make parathas at home with an online cooking class.

Rajasthan’s quintessential dish is a trio of treats: dal (lentils), bati (a hard wheat roll), and churma (a mix of wheat, ghee, and sugar or jaggery). While you’re most likely to find this dish in local homes, you can easily get your fill of this and other Rajasthani specialties by taking a dinner tour to Chokhi Dhani, a recreated village featuring entertainment and gargantuan spreads of quintessentially Rajasthani fare.

Although West Bengal is best known for its milk-based sweets and variety of fish-based dishes, one of the most delectable dishes from the region, mochar ghonto, is neither a dessert nor a fish dish. This vegetarian delicacy actually consists of banana flowers curried with potatoes and cooked with a huge range of fragrant spices. It’s usually eaten with rice and sometimes topped with grated coconut.

The northeastern state of Assam has a cuisine all its own, relying on ingredients and preparation methods more often found in Southeast Asia than elsewhere on the subcontinent. Perhaps the best-known regional dish is omita khar, a dish of green papaya prepared with khar, an astringent local preparation made of the charred peels of a local variety of banana.

Odia for "baked cheese," chhena poda is a popular, cheesecake-like dessert from the east Indian state of Odisha and is easy to find at roadside sweet shops. This sweet treat is made by mixing a local style of cheese curds with sugar or jaggery along with a bit of cardamom and semolina and then baking the concoction until it caramelizes and congeals.

Although there’s some debate as to whether poha is actually from Maharashtra, it’s most often associated with Madhya Pradesh, where it's a breakfast staple (though it is widely consumed across the country). Poha consists of flattened rice that's cooked with spices such as turmeric and curry leaves, oftentimes with peanuts and raisins for added flavor and texture.

Gandhi’s home state is known for having a culinary style unlike anywhere else in India and there’s certainly some truth to that reputation. Gujarati food is stereotypically sweet and while there are plenty of exceptions, dhokla is not one of them. This spongy treat is made of fermented rice and chickpea batter that's steamed and spiced, and often comes served drenched in lemon sugar water with fresh green chilis on the side to balance out the saccharine flavors.

One of the most popular street foods in Mumbai, pav bhaji was originally developed as a fast food treat for urban mill workers. This quick dish consists of a simple tomato and potato gravy garnished with chopped red onion and served with pav, butter dinner rolls that were originally introduced to India by the Portuguese. Pav bhaji is sold by vendors all over town and is a standard fixture on most Mumbai street food tours.

Goa has a cuisine all its own—largely owing to the state’s coastal location and long history as a Portuguese colony—and seafood features heavily in the dishes from this region. For a quintessentially Goan dish, try shrimp balchão, a dish of shrimps cooked in a sauce of tomatoes or tamarind in a heavy vinegar base, which creates an almost pickled effect.

While this fragrant rice dish can be found across India, the style originating from Hyderabad is by far the most lauded. This fragrant rice dish is characterized by basmati rice that’s slow-cooked with spices and goat meat, chicken, or vegetables. It’s available at restaurants across Hyderabad—join a street food crawl to try some.

While idlis and dosas are South India’s best-known bites in other parts of India, head down to the south and you’ll find idiyappam, sometimes called “string hoppers” in English, on menus across the region. These patties of thin noodles are made of rice flour and are often served with coconut-based gravy—sample some on a street food tour.

South India's take on mixed vegetable curry, aviyal is a hearty preparation of rough-cut veggies cooked with yogurt, coconut, and curry leaves that's traditionally served with rice on a plantain leaf. This dish generally relies on a large variety of vegetables, including different types of local gourds and marrows, along with carrots and, sometimes, beans. You can learn how to make aviyal yourself by signing up for a home cooking class.

Also known as gol gappa, gupchup, and phucka, this snack of many names is popular across India. It's made by filling deep-fried, thin crispy balls (puris) with a mixture of spiced potatoes and chickpeas. The puris are then dunked into a vat of water infused with mint, coriander, and green chilis—usually with a bit of tamarind chutney for good measure—and eaten immediately, in one bite.

Insider tip: Pani puri is sometimes made with questionable water, so it’s safest to enjoy this beloved snack on a street food tour to ensure you’re getting it from a place that uses filtered or bottled water.