Top Indian Foods For Your Palate: Must-try Items From Every State

MADHYA PRADESH: A spicy meat dish like the Bhopali sheek kebab is a perfect fusion of the state’s culinary cultures. Go for lean beef or minced lamb, marinated in a mix of chilli, curry paste, garlic, coriander (dhanya), onion flakes, mint (pudina) and garam masala, and grilled to suit your palate.

CHHATTISGARH: Scrumptious and sinful, jalebi is a lip-smacking sweet that you can’t let go. Bafauri is another popular snack for which gram or chick peas are soaked and ground with salt, coriander leaves and green chillies. Balls made out of this paste is steamed and then fried with methi seeds before serving. However, the adventurous at heart can give tribal food a serious try.

RAJASTHAN: Those with a sweet tooth can never resist a bite of ghewar, a honeycomb-shaped dessert mostly cooked for festive occasions. The batter is a smooth mix of milk, ghee and maida (finely milled wheat flour) which is later fried in ghee – shaping it the way one wants to. Each piece is then dipped in sugar syrup and dried for an hour or so till excess syrup is gone. A top-coating of kesar rabdi/fresh khoya (thickened milk) follows and it is then served immediately.

GUJARAT: Forget the popular snacks like dhokla and khandvi. Slurp a spoonful of the best fusion dal dhansak – a combine of Parsi and Gujarati cuisines. Here you have a spicy and thick mix of pulses, vegetables and chicken/mutton cubes as well, if you so wish. Goes nicely with white/brown rice or if you want to do it really local, try a thepla or two – the spiced paranthas kneaded with curd.

MAHARASHTRA: Vada pao has burnt out, in my opinion. So try thalipeeth – a simple but tasty multi-grain pancake made from a variety of flours while diced onions, tomatoes, dhanya and green chillies are also added to the batter for taste. Usually served with a dollop of home-made butter, but you can opt for a double delight and get a serving of the classic dessert shrikhand to go with it. Made from strained curd, this semi-soft, sweet-and-sour is an absolute delicacy, flavoured with saffron and cardamom.

GOA: A tongue roast from a coastal state is not exactly what you are expecting, but it’s certainly a local delicacy. For those looking for a more traditional local curry, Goan fish curry is the thing to try. A delicate blend of spices, coconut, chillies and nutmeg powder will never fail to tickle your taste buds. Follow it with a helping of bebinca, a layered dessert with a distinct coconut flavour.

WEST BENGAL: Try the lip-smacking smoked hilsa (bhapa ilish, in Bengali), if you are looking for a signature dish from Bengal. Steeped in tangy mustard paste, and generously coated with ginger paste, turmeric powder and sliced green chillies, the fish is steamed to perfection with a liberal dousing of mustard oil. A sensuous experience for those who love things spicy and don’t mind shedding a tear or two (well, the mustard is hot, that’s why).

BIHAR & JHARKHAND: Equally popular in Bihar and Jharkhand, you can’t miss this desi delicacy called litti – atta-besan (white flour and gram flour) balls deep fried to a crispy brown with some spicy sattu (a mix of ground pulses) filling inside. You also get a side dish of aloo chokha, finely sliced potatoes lightly fried in oil, along with onion flakes, ginger, chillies and jeera-dhanya. Forget the cheese dips – a bowl of pure desi ghee is what you get to dip your litti and eat with the aloo chokha.
For dessert, sink your teeth into parwal ki mithai where the vegetable is peeled, seeded, cooked in thin sugar syrup until it softens and then generously stuffed with roasted khoya (thickened whole milk, similar to ricotta cheese). A sprinkle of almonds, pistachios and saffron strands add more zing to this rich dessert.

ODISHA: Grilled fish/seafood is a pure delight, so why don’t you create a recipe of your own? Just bring home the catch (that way, you have fresh fish) and you can get it marinated with mixed herbs. It is later cooked in lemon butter sauce and served hot. You will also find grilled crab cooked with spices, herbs (like rosemary, thyme and oregano, among others) and red wine.

NORTH-EAST: WHAT THE SEVEN SISTERS HAVE IN STORE?
ASSAM: An incredible variety of pithas, both sweet and namkeen, lure people in. Sweet dishes like mulpuwa, mango pitha, pera, patisapta and coconut balls are a must-try.

ARUNACHAL PRADESH: Bring a bit of tribal cuisine in your life – try the traditional bamboo shoot fry. For this dish, tender bamboo shoots are cut into small pieces and cooked on a slow fire with a little baking soda. Fried fenugreek (methi) seeds and red chillies are also added for taste.

NAGALAND: You can go for a simple fish stew cooked with garlic, chilli, spinach and Assam skin (a tamarind -like ingredient). Served with white rice.

MANIPUR: If you are game for all things new, go for the traditional fish preparation called iromba, marked by the strong and pungent taste of the fermented fish.

MEGHALAYA: Jadoh, a rice-and-pork dish and a Khashi delicacy, is worth a try. You will also like a variety of snacks such as deep fried and jaggery-sweetened pukhiein and steamed pusla.

TRIPURA: Kosoi bwtwi is a tangy and spicy bean curry cooked with garlic, green chilli, turmeric and other traditional spices. Served with rice.

MIZORAM: While in Mizoram, try arsa buhchiar or chicken with sticky rice. Here, a whole chicken is roasted on open fire and then cooked with sticky rice and local herbs. We also recommend Zu, a kind of tea available there.

KARNATAKA: A luscious slice of chiroti will keep you longing for more. This rich pastry is deep-fried in ghee/refined oil and served with a generous sprinkle of powdered sugar, followed by warm badam milk.

ANDHRA PRADESH: Not very sure if the coastal Andhra is still fond of Hyderabadi biryani, but we believe political differences do not divide the gourmet palate. If you have already savoured the Awadhi style of dum pukht, go for the katchi biryani this time. For this exquisite preparation from the Nizams’ land, soft chunks of mutton are marinated with yoghurt; spices are fried in pure ghee and mutton pieces are added and half-cooked while the basmati rice is prepared separately. Rice and meat are then mixed well and cooked slowly in a covered handi. Saffron powder dissolved in a little milk is also added during cooking for that royal taste and hue.

KERALA: If you fancy some Malabar parathas, the side dish can be nothing less than avial. Here, the parathas are as thin and flaky as can be and the dough is made of maida (finely milled wheat flour) and dahi – an exotic combo, to say the least. Avial is a fine medley of ground pulses, vegetables and finely grated coconut cooked in ghee over a low flame for optimum flavours.

TAMIL NADU: This southern state offers much more than the traditional veg thaali or quick-cook dishes like idli, dosa, vada or upma. Instead, try Chettinad chicken (this line of recipes got their name from a small region in TN) – quite yummy, quite fiery and quite spicy with unmatched flavours. The secret lies in dry-roasting the spices and grinding them to super-fine masala powder before it is added to the meat and cooked to a perfect finish.