31 Signature Dishes From Cuisines Across India

India is a vast land with different landscapes, weather conditions, languages, mannerisms, attires, cultures and cuisines. This diversity promotes diverse cooking styles from all the corners of the country.

In the northern part of India, the climate is hot during the summers and cold during the winters. The eastern parts of India is hot, humid and receives a lot of rainfall. Southern India the weather gets hot and steamy in most parts of the year and the rainfall is heavy during the monsoons. Western India is dry and receives little rainfall and has a desert type of climate. The cuisines of India were also influenced by the weather and the availability of ingredients.

In the old days India was a land of Maharajas each estate was considered a Kingdom with its their own army, laws and currency. Even the cuisine differed from kingdom to kingdom. Each kingdom had some dishes that were unique to the place.

Diversity and Types of Indian Cuisine
India has a diverse food culture and each of these offbeat Indian cuisines has a special dish that is unique to the region. Food is an important part in our lives as it not only sustains us it also helps to come together as a family or community. The main cuisines are the north Indian cuisine and the south Indian cuisine. The food in India includes vegetarian and non-vegetarian, snacks, sweets, savouries and other comfort food.

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The ranges from Chole Batura from the north to Idli Dosa from the south. Some of the major cuisines in the country are :

• Punjabi Cuisine
• Rajasthani Cuisine
• Bengali Cuisine
• Tamilian Cuisine
• Kerala Cuisine
• Andhra Pradesh Cuisine
• Telangana Cuisine

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Mouth Watering Dishes From All Corners of India
India has a huge population of 1.3 billion and with the comes the cultural diversity and the various cuisines from each region, community and culture. Here are 31 dishes that are the “best sellers” of every cuisine.

#1. Rogan Ghosh
A dish made from lamb of Persian origin. It is an aromatic dish and is eaten with steaming hot white rice and is the signature dish of Jammu and Kashmir. The lamb dish has herbs and spices delicately mixed together and cooked till the meat is tender.

#2. Aloo ke Gutke
As the name suggests, this dish is made with baby potatoes which is stir fried with local spices. The dish is moderately spicy which the locals prefer. This is a favourite dish in Uttarakhand and is eaten over a cup of steaming hot chai.

#3. Litti Chokha
This dish comes from Bihar and is served as a tea time snack or for breakfast. Litti is stuffed with seasoned fried gram flour powder an baked in an oven. Chokha is mashed potatoes, tomatoes and eggplant.

#4. Rosogulla
Also known as Rasgulla which is a Bengali sweet that is popular all over India. These are cottage cheese round dumplings soaked in sugar syrup. Rasgullas are one of the fastest selling Indian sweets.

#5. Dum Biryani
Dum Biryani takes its inspiration from Mughlai and Irani cuisines. It is an aromatic rice preparation with pieces of bite sized lamb or chicken. It is served with a yoghurt chutney that is made with mint, chopped onions and tomatoes.

#6. Idli Sambhar
This is a simple rice cake made from a batter of rice and lentils. The batter is steamed in special “cups” and served with “sambhar”. Sambhar is lentil based vegetable stew as well as a coconut based chutney. This is a simple dish that has gone “viral” across the country.

#7. Pav Bhaji
This dish consists of the Bhaji which has mashed vegetables like potatoes, capsicum, tomatoes, cauliflower, green chillies, spices and fried in butter or cooking oil. It is eaten with soft bread rolls locally known as “Pao”. This is can be eaten a lunch, dinner or as a snack.

#8. Dhokla
Dhokla comes from the state of Gujarat. It can be eaten at meal time, as a snack or as a side dish. It is made of gram flour and is served with either a tamarind chutney, green coriander chutney or mint chutney. This dish is widely available in many parts of the country.

#9. Dal-Baati-Churma
This dish is from Rajasthan. it is served with a spicy dal and is popular among the locals.

#10. Chole Bature
Chole Bature is one of the most favoured dishes in Northern India. It is a curry made of spicy chickpeas (chole) and puffed white flour bread (bature) that is deep fried. It is an any time meal and can be eaten during regular meal times as well as a snack when hunger strikes.

Must Read: Top 15 Famous Food of Uttarakhand | Travellers of India

#11. Makki ki Roti-Sarson ka Saag
This is the staple dish of Punjab. It is served with white butter. This dish is made from mustard green leaves. It is eaten with a flat bread made of maize. This is regularly served for dinner or lunch.

#12. Meen Curry
Meen curry originates from the state of Kerala. It has many variations depending on the regions. It is prepared with or without coconut milk. Sometimes, these are fried. Meen curry is made in an open mouth earthenware pot.

#13. Akki Roti
This flat bread is very popular in Karnataka. It is spicy and is made from rice flour and served with coconut chutney.

#14. Prawn Vindaloo
Vindaloo is a spicy gravy made in Goa. It is generally served with rice, pao (bread) or rotis. There many variations depending on the region in Goa. Pork, prawns and fish are added to the Vindaloo.

#15. Chaat
This mouth watering savoury originates from Uttar Pradesh. It is generally sold at road side food stalls and food carts. The chats vary from region to region. some popular chaats include Pani puri, Aloo tikki, Dahi vada, sev puri etc.

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#16. Thekua
This dish comes from Bihar and Jharkhand. It is considered as a “prasad” during the Chath puja. This sweet snack is made with sugar or jaggery, wheat flour, and ghee and has been around since centuries.

#17. Pitha
Pitha is basically a rice pastry with variations like sesame seeds stuffed pitha or shredded coconut filled pitha. It originates in Orissa and Assam.

#18. Jadoh
This is a pork and rice based Khasi delicacy. It is served in every celebrations and ceremonies and originates from Meghalaya.

#19. Chikhvi
This rustic delicacy is made of bamboo shoots and pork. It is made without oil and is eaten with hot steamed rice. It is the staple dish of Tripura.

#20. Sanpiau
Sanpiau is made with rice porridge and is served with fresh coriander paste, spring onions, crushed black pepper, fish sauce and finely powdered rice. This dish is a staple and favourite dish in Mizoram.

#21. Iromba
Iromba is a special dish of Manipur. It is made of fermented fish, mashed potatoes, fresh green leaves and red chillies. It is served with steamed rice or Manipur millet bread.

#22. Phagshapa
This disk is a Nepali Pork dish. It is made of strips of pork stewed with radish and dried chillies. It is eaten with plain, hot rice.

#23. Anishi Lon
Nagaland is famous for its pork delicacies. This dish is very popular in and around Nagaland and is made by steaming in a bamboo shoot, smoked pork has fermented yam leaves and red hot chillies known locally as Raja chillies. The smoked pork curry goes well with steamed, hot rice.

#24. Zan
This delicacy comes from Arunachal Pradesh. It is made with millet flour and boiling water. This spicy porridge can be consumed with green vegetables or charred meat.

#25. Soya Dosa
Soya Dosa is a speciality from Pondicherry. It is made by combining soya milk, wheat flour and other dry spices. There are many variations to this heathy meal.

#26. Dalma
This dish comes from Odisha and is made from toor dal and vegetables like green papaya, unripe banana, pumpkin and gourd. This is part of the 56 Indian famous food items that form the Mahaprasad which is offered to Jaganath in the temple of Puri.

#27. Red Ant Chutney
This is the most bizzare dish among all the Indian dishes. As the name suggests, this dish is made from red ants along with their eggs. This is a popular dish from Chattisgarh and is not harmful to humans.

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#28. Sepu Badi
Sepu Badi comes from Himachal Pradesh. It is a spinach curry with lentil dumplings and is best served with cumin rice or roti.

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#29. Bhutte ki Kees
This dish is a speciality from Madhya Pradesh. It is made by grating corn off the cob and then roasting it in ghee and spices.

#30. Lassi
Lassi is the signature drink in Punjab. It is a “pick-me-up” drink that revitalises and rejuvenates you. yoghurt is churned by a electric blender or by a wooden device to form a frothy drink. Sometimes spices or crushed fruits are added.

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#31. Jalebi
The origins of this delectable sweet is unknown. However, some states in the north take credit for it. This sweet – locally known as Mithai, is made by deep frying a wheat flour batter in concentric circles and then soaked in sugar syrup. Jalebi is considered as one of the best Indian sweets.

Indian offers a humongous choice of traditional Indian dishes for every kind of palette. There are vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes that you probably never heard. Each region has its own speciality which makes all the more difficult to choose. Every region has its own cooking styles and the way they blend the spices together also varies. When you travel from one state to another its as if you are going to another country with each state having its own language, culture and cuisine. India is a land for foodies who are willing to try out the different cuisines.

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