Famous Flavours from India - A Bite of Diversity
A visit to India would be incomplete without a mention of its range of flavours from every side of the country. Food is art and India has the most exotic form of this art located in every state from all four directions. Each state takes pride in its original flavours and while no list of cuisines from India would ever be complete, a humble approach to take a food journey through the country would be a rejoicing experience!
Spices of North India
Some of the most popular food dishes around the country are the North Indian cuisines, which can be found in abundance in all parts of India. The North Indian dishes in the country are famous to such an extent that they have become synonymous with Indian food in many parts around the world.
Most famous dishes from North India include dishes from a few states located in the region and their original taste can only be found on a visit to India, as there is nothing that replaces the culinary skills of the people from the region.
Chole Bhature
With varied claims around the origin of this dish, the most popular dish in the Northern plains of India is a combination made with chickpeas and fried bread. However be the season, the dish is the all time favourite of street food lovers and if a combination of spices is your thing then this is the dish to savour anywhere in India, be it North or any other part of the country.
Pav Bhaji
For those who love tomatoes, pav bhaji is the best dish to awaken your taste buds with an explosion of flavours found in its vegetable curry. A favourite delicacy of street food lovers, pav bhaji can be found in famous or even not so famous places of India, with the best of those found in its origin state of Maharashtra in the west.
Potato Chaat
A storm of all the good things together is the best way to summarise this most popular Indian street food snack. Potato chaat, which is a savoury dish of fried potatoes tossed in chutneys of various flavours and topped with curd and pomegranate, is that one dish that could become your first introduction of India on your visit to the country!
Panipuri
A dish without an English name, Panipuri is the most well known street food dish of India native to the country. It’s simplicity and authentic taste might take you back to your childhood, where the dish itself comes with a fun way to eat.
Panipuri, the mini sized puris stuffed with mashed potatoes and consumed with flavoured sour and sweet water, is the foremost item that would remind you of India no matter where you are!
Jalebi
Jalebi, a sweet snack also popular in many Middle Eastern countries with the name of Zalabia, is a puzzle of sweetness. The circular sweet dipped in sugar syrup has an art involved in its making itself and it could be hard to not be able to identify this sweet Jalebi, be in India or anywhere else, given its one of a kind shape!
Buttermilk/Lassi
Lassi, also known as Buttermilk, is traditional yoghurt based drink popular in North India. This is the drink that could be used to calm the burning taste of some North Indian dishes and is mainly consumed alongside the spicy North Indian main course platter.
Simply from South India
South side of India is full of flavours filled with the simplicity of natural ingredients, most of which are consumed with very little variation from their raw form. Southern India, being surrounded by Indian ocean from the three sides, is a place where even the most simple looking shop could give you the taste of a lifetime.
Dosa
For the countries of the West this dish could seem like a pancake of South India, but dosa is an extremely light but satisfying dish from the region, so much so that the dish is consumed on a regular basis in the south side of the Indian continent. There is not one but many faces of this simple savoury food with flavours ranging from coconut to even paper dosa, which is a super thin version of the same.
Uttapam
Resembling more like a Dosa, with vegetable toppings, Uttapam is a famous dish from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. A vegetarian's delight, this is the dish that could be chosen to eat something without feeling the weight of calories! It is one of the best dishes to experience a range of flavours along with the good feeling of lightness.
Sambar
A lentil and vegetable soup full of flavours of every awesome tasting thing, Sambar, which can also be called a vegetable and tamarind stew, is immensely popular in South India and Sri Lanka alike. Sambar is popularly consumed with Dosa and Uttapam, as a soupy side dish.
Chutneys
South India is famous for its varied use of coconut in many ways and eating at an authentic South Indian place might make you wonder about the fabulous taste of natural coconut. Coconut chutney is famously consumed with majority South Indian dishes, most popularly with Dosa and Uttapam. A dipping sauce of every kind and colour, is the best way to summarise the long list of chutneys from South India.
Desert and Delicious
With one of the largest deserts located in the western part of the Indian continent, the Indian states located on this side of the country have a variety of flavours, so much so that you could be left to wonder if this really is an arid region at all!
Rajasthani Thali
A talk of Indian food is incomplete without the mention of the colourful plate from Rajasthan. Dipped in royal flavours of the state, a Rajasthani Thali is first a treat for the eyes and you could surely take a good long look at a rajasthani plate, appreciating the multiple dishes present before you. After eating a Rajathani Thali, there would be hardly any flavour left to imagine!
Dhokla
With its origin in the west side of the country, in the state of Gujarat, Dhokla is a culinary snack which can be found in any part of India. The spongy sweet-sour dish is mainly made with rice and is a favourite breakfast dish in the state of Gujarat.
Aromas from East
Most popular dishes from East India are the desserts which originated in this side of the country, with those famous all around the world for their good humble taste. Although there are many other dishes from East indian states, this part of India is most famous for its gift of sweetness to the rest of the country.
Mishti Doi
Although originated in the neighbouring country of Bangladesh, Mishti Doi is a caramelised yoghurt popular in East Indian states of West Bengal and Orissa, and can be found in different versions and flavours around the country. As sweet as its name, Mishti Doi although is sweet but would never be too sweet to handle, with just the right balance.
Rasmalai
The top delicacy from the eastern side of the country, Rasmalai literally means a juice of thick cream. The dessert is the most simple and sober in its appearance with the most authentic taste in its every bite.
Rasgulla
Another sweet gift from the eastern states of India, is this spongy dessert dipped in sugar syrup, which could be one of those sweets you might not be able to eat more than one, given to its loaded sweetness. Just a bit of this sweet from east India is enough to awaken the real sweetness within!
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