Indian delicacies are famous throughout the world for their finesse and superior flavors. With its variety of herbs and spices, Indian dishes are becoming increasingly prevalent worldwide. People find Indian dishes to be spicy, delicious, tempting and aromatic.
Let’s know about the top 10 traditional Indian dishes to eat!
Punjab: Makki di Roti and Sarson da Saag
The most famous dish of Punjab is the worldwide popular Makki di roti and Sarso da saag. Makki di roti is flatbread, and Sarso da Saag is a curry of mustard and spinach greens. It starts with chopping and boiling greens until soft enough for a paste. Mix and fry it with herbs, onions, garlic-ginger, tomatoes, and spices (green, red chilli, turmeric powder, coriander seeds, etc.). Not to miss jaggery and maize flour in it to make it thick.
Jaggery helps in overcoming the bitter taste of mustard stems. Some people add fenugreek leaves and Bathua to it too! People knead maize flour in warm water and a pinch of salt to make Makki di roti. It is then cooked on a low flame on a tava until golden brown.
Finally, who can miss the extra butter on the top of this Indian dish?
West Bengal: Fish Fry
Some people believe West Bengal is a land of sweets and Rosogulla is their supremacy, but surprisingly people know it more for its fish fry. It’s crispy and spicy. They prepare this dish with fresh fish slices marinated in spices and herbs. The spices used here are turmeric, chili, cumin seeds, garlic-ginger paste, and a little lemon juice to make it tangy.
They cover the fish in gram flour paste and deep-fry it until it turns crispy and golden brown! If the taste doesn’t melt immediately when you take your first bite, you won’t be able to stop until you fill your mouth with the next one!
Gujarat: Dhokla
The most famous dish of Gujarat is dhokla, a fermented batter- steamed and served. The recipe for batter for dhokla is too simple. Combine gram flour, water, turmeric, green chillies, ginger paste, and yoghurt. You need to leave it to ferment for a few hours until it becomes soft while mixing a small amount of sugar and salt in the batter.
You need to pour the batter into a steamer and cook for about 20 minutes. Dice it into small pieces and garnish it with green chilies, grated coconut and mustard seeds. Commonly, people here serve it with green or tamarind chutney.
Mumbai: Vadapav
The well-known street food of Mumbai is Vadapav! It is an affordable snack popular among people across all age groups. Basically, it consists of two parts: fluffy bread stuffed with fried potato balls. Firstly, to make this dish, boil the potatoes & mash them with fried green chillies, garlic-ginger paste, salt, spices, and coriander leaves.
They use the batter of gram flour, turmeric, salt, and water to coat the potatoes. Secondly, roll the potatoes into balls, pour them into the batter, and deep-fry. They use butter to roast the pav until golden brown. Lastly, the potato fritters are put between the pav and served with chutneys and ketchup.
Delhi: Butter Chicken
Who doesn’t praise Delhi for its fantastic food? Undoubtedly, butter chicken comes out as the best of the lot. Marinate the chicken pieces in yoghurt, herbs, and spices to make this dish. Cook it in a spicy tomato sauce. Fry or grill the marinated chicken.
To make the sauce, you need butter, ginger-garlic paste, onions, and garam masala, cooked together to form a paste. Enhance the flavors by simmering the grilled chicken in the sauce. Additionally, garnish it with coriander leaves and serve it with naan or basmati rice.
Chennai: Dosa
Everyone knows Chennai for its distinctive way of making dosas. Dosa is a smooth batter, a mixture of rice and lentils (dal). Firstly, the grounded paste ferments overnight. Then they thinly spread it on a hot tawa until it turns crispy and golden brown outside.
Dosa can be consumed plain or with various ingredients, including masala, onion, potato, cheese, and paneer. However, people serve it with a vegetable soup called sambar and coconut chutney.
Telangana: Biryani
Telangana is famous for its “Biryani,” inspired by the Mughal Empire. The essential ingredients required are meat (usually mutton or chicken), basmati rice, and spices such as cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, green chilies, cloves, lemon juice, saffron, ginger-garlic paste, salt, and bay leaves.
Here you need to marinate the meat in a mixture of these spices and yoghurt and cook them with tomatoes, onions, and other veggies to create a flavorful taste. Meanwhile, cook and prepare the rice separately with saffron and some herbs.
After cooking the meat and rice, combine them by layering them in a pot and simmer them to create pressure. People serve it with boiled eggs and raita (a yoghurt-based dish). Surprisingly, the whole world has developed an intense taste bud for biryani.
Rajasthan: Dal Baati Churma
It is a wholesome dish in the state of Rajasthan. As the name states, you can find three components in it.
- Dal
- Baati
- Churma
People in Rajasthan make the baati by making dough balls from a mixture of wheat flour & urad dal. They bake them in a traditional oven and cook them until soft inside but crispy outside.
Dal is lentil soup prepared as a mixture of urad/moong/chana dal, herbs, and spices (chili, turmeric powder, salt, ginger, mustard, etc.).
Churma is a sweet wheat mixture; it can include nuts and seeds. They use ghee to deep fry the ball of kneaded flour. It is then broken into small pieces once it cools down. You need to churn it in the mixer by adding sugar crystals or powder.
People in Rajasthan make Churma by mixing crushed baati, jaggery, and ghee. Furthermore, people love it more when they pour ghee on the baati as the tongue experiences the best flavor!
Goa: Fish Curry
Goa is famous for its beaches and fish curry (Goan fish curry). It is a flavorful coconut-based curry served with fresh fish. They use fish, onions, ginger-garlic paste, some spices (turmeric, coriander, green chili, pepper, etc.) & of course, coconut as the base for this delicious dish.
Firstly, they marinate the fish in lemon or mango juice, salt, & turmeric to give it a tangy flavor. Secondly, for the curry masala, they mix all spices thoroughly with grated coconut, onions, and water to make a sauce-like texture. Later, they simmer the fish in the curry for some time & usually serve them with rice.
Kerala: Appam
Kerala is popular for its pancakes, called Appam. They make this dish with fermented rice batter and coconut milk, with a soft center and thin but crispy edges. To make this dish, they soak cooked rice, raw rice, and grated coconut in water for several hours & ground them into a smooth batter.
Thereafter, they leave the batter overnight for fermentation to give it a soft texture. Traditionally, people use a unique pan known as appachatti for making an appam. This pan has a curved base, which gives the appam the shape of a pancake. Further, they pour the batter into the pan in small amounts, swirl, and spread it evenly. Nowadays, people are making appam with new, innovative, trendy ingredients!
To conclude, I hope that you enjoyed reading about the Traditional Indian dishes and expect that you will relish your taste buds with the above mentioned Indian dishes on your next trip to India.
Also, read the famous Italian foods as well Korean foods worth trying!!
