29 Food Specialities Of 29

States Of India
AVJOT GHAI

TOPYAPS CONTRIBUTOR

Today we see more and more foreign food chains opening up in

every corner of India and what we have forgotten is that India,
being a diverse country, has so many cultures across different
states and each state expresses its tradition through its cuisine.
So we have come forward with the traditional dishes of each and
every state of India. Enjoy!

1. Kashmir Tabak Maaz

Kashmir has been divided since the British left India in 1947.
Lamb is heavily consumed on both sides of the Line of Control,
and forms a substantial part of Kashmiri cuisine. This dish is
typical of the region and is commonly enjoyed at wedding
banquets and major celebrations. Featuring typically Persian
spices, the ribs are marinated overnight to allow the meat to
soften and are then cooked until tender. A last-minute dip in the
frying pan guarantees all the flavours are sealed in.

2. Punjab Makki ki Roti, Sarson ka Saag

Sarson da saag (Sarson ka saag, in Hindi, Urdu) is a popular
vegetable dish in the Punjab region of India and Pakistan made
from mustard leaves (sarson) and spices. It is regarded as the
traditional way of making saag, and is traditionally served
with makki di roti, which literally means (unraised) corn bread. It
can be topped with either butter (unprocessed white or processed
yellow butter) or more traditionally with ghee.

3. Haryana Kadhi Pakoda (Snack)

Kadhi, a blend of yogurt and besan (gram flour) with besan
pakoras, is served with plain white rice. This dish is popular
throughout India.

4. Rajasthan Ker- Sangri

Dried berries and beans cooked with yogurt and Indian spices
specialty from Rajasthan. Lots of spices, oil and yogurt is used
in Rajasthani cuisine. Use of little extra oil helps to keep the food
fresh for a long time as Rajasthan is a hot and humid area.
This ker sangri ki subzi is also made with generous amount of oil
and spices and is very good to carry for traveling as it stays fresh
for 2-3 days without refrigeration.

5. Himachal Pradesh Sidu

Famous sidu is a kind of bread made from wheat flour. It is
kneaded with yeast and the dough is allowed to rise for 4-5
hours. Sidu dough is yeast-based, it has to be prepared a couple
of hours before you need it. It is normally eaten
with ghee (clarified butter), dal(lentil broth) or with hari chutney.
It might look boring in the picture, but its really going to charge
up your taste buds.

6. Uttarakhand Kaapa
Uttaranchal Home of so many holy places. Coming to food,
other than the regular North Indian food (dal-chawal-roti-sabzi),
the state has some really different recipes which I wanted to try.
There were many more recipes I wish I could have tried, but
finally zeroed down on phaanu (with toor
dal), kaapa and thechwani.

Kappa is a Kumani preparation of palak (spinach) which is in a

lovely green color with a great Kumauni taste. Kaapa is a very
nutritious dish as its main ingredient boiled and grinded spinach
retains all its nutrients. Palak (spinach) is a rich source of iron.

7. Uttar Pradesh Shami Kebab

Shami kebabs were apparently invented by a highly skilled chef
for a toothless Nawab of Lucknow. The Nawab was so fat from
overindulgence that he couldnt get on a horse, and his teeth
were all gone, presumably for the same reason. So a kebab was
made so fine that it required no teeth to eat it. When I hear

stories like that Im inclined to think, If you believe that, youll

believe anything. But then again, its a nice story, and so are
thekebabs silky smooth and stuffed with just a little finely
chopped onion, mint and green chilli.

8. Madhya Pradesh Bhutte (corn) Kheer

Known for high nutritional value, purity and longer shelf life, the
offered lapsi is widely demanded to make different kinds of
dishes. Processed as per the set food standards, lapsi is a rich
source of vitamins and proteins.

9. Chhattisgarh Red Ant Chutney

The favorite chutney of the tribe in Chhattisgarh is called
chaprah which is made from red ants along with their eggs.
The chutney has a pungent and spicy taste that gives you an out-

of-the-world experience. These red ants are also used as a

garnish for the dishes to make it spicier and hot.

10. Gujarat Rice panki

Panki is made by cooking a batter between banana leaves.
While pankis made with rice flour batter are the most common,
other varieties are prevalent, and youre welcome to try your
own! It is worth noting that the presentation of the panki with the
banana leaf adds a great deal of aroma as well as visual
appeal as it is the conventional way of cooking it right.

11. Maharashtra Thalipeeth

It is a special Maharashtrian dish. Also known as the Indian
version of multi grain pancakes. The dough is prepared from a
special flour made from roasted chana daal, urad
daal, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, wheat, and rice.
It is usually served with white water buffalo milk butter and is
very popular amongst Maharashtrians. Otherwise it is served with
thick ghee or toop (Marathi) or sometimes even with thick curd.

12. Goa Bibinca

The Goan ethos is one of living the good life. Food plays a big
part. Goan cuisine is rich with the flavour of produce found in
abundance locally, like kokum (sour fruit), coconut and
spices. Any celebratory Goan meal or for that matter, a reference
to Goan cuisine is incomplete without lingering awhile over Goas
best known dessert, Bebinca.
Bebinca is essentially a layered dessert that tastes of the tropics.
Theres a hint of coconut and a suggestion of ground nutmeg in
the wholesome sweet layers, not to forget some caramelization
and finally, rich clarified butter that harnesses all other flavors.
The texture is firm enough to retain the layers and soft enough to
melt in the mouth.

13. Karnataka Chiroti

Everything in the Kannada menu has been mordernized, you
know gobi manchuri taking the place of pakoda, fried rice
instead of bisibelebath. But chiroti has its place. Nothing says
indulgence like chiroti. It is the South Indian Emperor Pastry.
Chiroti in itself is just a pastry, it is not sweet but extremely rich.
So once the chiroti is placed on a plate, powdered sugar is
generously sprinkled followed by warm badammilk. Even as I
write these line, my mouth starts to water.

14. Kerela Aviyal

Aviyal (avial) is a delicious preparation made with mixed
vegetables, curd, coconut and seasoned with coconut oil and
curry leaves. It occupies an important place in Kerala cuisine and
is a must for Onam Sadya, the Keralite vegetarian feast.

15. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana Kodi Kura

Kodi kura (Chicken curry) is one of the most popular dishes in
Andhra. Garelu (A snack made with urad dal) and kodi kura is
considered to be a great combination in Andhra. This is a curry
which is prepared with cubes of chicken cooked with onions and
home-made masala
The origin of the kodi kura is from a small village in Andhra
Pradesh called Guntur, which is known for very spicy food. The
most important spices used in Andhra region are ginger, garlic,
cumin, fenugreek, cinanmom, cloves, cardamom, poppy seeds,
coriander seeds, star anise seed and bay leaves.

16. Tamil Nadu Kadungu Yerra

Kadugu means mustard in Tamil and yerra is shrimp/prawn. So,
this dish has originated from Puducherry and has the blend of
Tamil and French flavor in it. Shrimp is cooked with potatoes,
tomatoes and coconut milk with mustard and fenugreek paste. It
had a thick rich texture like the french sauces.

17. Bihar Khubi ka Lai

Bihar has a dessert associated with each of its city and Khubi ka
Lai is a specialty of the city of Barh made from khobi seeds,
sugar and mawa. Offered in shape of a ball or in a cake
shape, khubi ka lai is lightly sweet by taste and similar to
the laddo but does not contain solidified milk.

18. Jharkhand Marua (Raagi Flour) Roti

Raagi is well known as marua in Jharkhand region. The flour is of
black color and mainly eaten by labouring farmers in the villages
due to its higher nutritional contents and slow digestive qualities.

It has high levels of dietary fibres and is considered perfect for

cleansing the digestive system. This is mandatory to
prepare marua rotis on Jeetiya day in Mithila region and almost
all the parts in Jharkhand.

19. Sikkim Phagshapa

Phanghapa is a Nepali pork dish from Sikkim. Compared to other
curries, it is not very spicy as the only spice used is chillies. This
dish was perfect for those days, when we dont want to have
spicy hot curries especially during hot summers. It is lightly
flavored, the radish and the pork made a wonderful combination
and goes really well with just plain rice.

20. Arunanchal Pradesh Apong

The Mishing tribe belonging to the Mongoloid race, residing in
Assam of Northeast India, has certain unique customs. Some of
these are very intresting and perhaps very little known to the
people of the rest of the parts of the country and abroad. One
such custom is drinking of rice beer (country liquor) which is
popularly known among the Mishing tribe as apong. During AliAye Ligang, apong, along with chickens and pigs, is offered to the
spirits to placate them.

21. Assam Masor Tenga

Masor tenga (tangy fish curry) is a light and tangy dish, and is
one of Assams signature preparations. The key ingredient in
a tenga is the use of a souring agent which lends the dish a tart
tangy taste. There are wide variety of souring agents that can be
used to prepare this dish, ranging from the commonly available
lemon, tomatoes, sour spinach to more exotic elephant apple,
roselle leaves and garcinia.

22. Nagaland Momos

The state does not produce enough food, and depends on trade
of food from others states of India. But it has given us the very
delicious momos, which is something worth craving for.

23. Manipur Yongchak Iromba

U-Morok the hottest chilly in the world grow and is consumed in
abundance in Manipur. Iromba is a dish made of boiled vegetables
mashed together in a sauce of chilli paste and ngari (fermented
fish). It is then served with a combination of herbs as garnish
onion, spring onion, chameleon leaves, coriander, vietnamese
coriander, etc. The best garnish for the yongchak irombais with a
herb locally known as lomba.

24. Meghalaya Tungtap (Fish Chutney)

& Jadoh (Flavored Rice)
Tungtap is dry fish paste or chutney and jadoh is a rice and meat
delicacy. Fish is charred and mixed with onion, green chili and red

chilies to make this fish chutney.Jadoh is similar to pulao where

rice and meat is cooked together. Garam masala spices are not
used and only spice used is black pepper. The speciality of this
dish is that it does not taste that good individually, but the
combination together is what really changes your mind set and
your taste buds start loving it.

25. Tripura Berma

Traditional Tripuri cuisine is known as Mui Borok. Tripuri food has

a key ingredient called berma, which is dried and fermented fish.
The food is considered to be healthy as it is prepared without oil.
Flavor wise, berma is more on the sour side. Tripuri food such
as bangui rice and fish stews, bamboo shoots, fermented fish,
local herbs, and meat roasts are extremely popular within and
outside the state.

26. Mizoram Zu Tea

27. West Bengal Bhapa Ilish

The signature Bengali Ilish dish which has to be on all important
menus when Ilish is in season. Hilsa steeped in a pungent
mustard sauce steamed to perfection with a liberal dousing of
mustard oil is a sensuous experience.

28. Odisha Chena Poda (Cheese Cake from Odisha)

Chhena poda is a cheese dessert from the state of Odisha in
eastern India. Chhena poda literally means burnt
cheese in Oriya.It is made of well-kneaded homemade cottage

cheese or chhena, sugar, cashew nuts and raisins, and is baked

for several hours until it browns. Chhena poda is the only wellknown Indian dessert whose flavor is predominantly derived from
the caramelization of sugar. Not only the taste but also the
history behind this dish is fascinating.

29. Indias Capital Delhi (UT) Makhani Chicken

Not many know that the state which is very famous for
its paranthas and chaat items is the originator of Makhani
Chicken (Butter Chicken) and Tandoori Chicken by Moti Mahal in
Delhi.

So, next time you are on a trip to any of the states, you know
which dish to look out for instead of the KFCs, Dominos and
Americal burger chains.