India is a land of unity among diversity. While exploring the different states in this country, I have come across various delicacies unique to each state
Gur Gur Chai / Nun Chai : Gur Gur chai / Nun chai brew is unique to the Ladakh region and has an unimaginably different taste. It is made of tea, butter and salt and the taste is something that the rest of the country has definitely never tasted before! You must definitely try this out when you visit Ladakh. I tasted it at a small shop near the Panamik Hot spring, in Sumur Valley!
Apricot Juice & Apricot shakes & Apricot seeds:
Ladakh has apricot trees in abundance and Alchi Village near the Leh-Kargil highway is an apricot village. If you happen to visit the village during the month of July, you would get to watch trees loaded with ripe apricots. You can definitely taste a few of the sweet juicy fruits and if you want something refreshing, you must visit the restaurants there and taste the very refreshing apricot shakes and juice. Do not forget to buy a bottle of apricot jam and a packet of apricot seeds ( tastes like almonds)
Momos / Laphing / Thukpa :
Momos are one of the most popular local dishes in Ladakh and they are delicious as well! If you love trying different foods, you may also taste 'Laphing' and 'Thukpa'. You can try different Ladakhi cuisines at the Maryul Cafe & Restaurant at Leh Market. Do no forget to
Kashmir is the heaven on earth in true sense! There is not only mesmerizing natural beauty everywhere in this state and but also delicious foods at every restaurant. Starting from the food chat and fish tikka on Dal lake to elaborate wazwan platter at the Mughal Durbar restaurant, you would have enough options to make you tummy feel happy. Here, I am listing out some of my favorite foods from my Kashmir trip.
Wazwan: This is a multi course meal platter containing several dishes. This is primarily a meat based platter. There can be several items in one platter. Although, this is a huge platter which is usually shared by 3-4 people, in Srinagar you would find several restaurants serving mini platters which you can definitely try on.When you order a Wazwan platter, you would be typically served with Rice, seekh kabab, methi maaz, rogan josh, gustaba and rista etc. These dishes are also available separately at the restaurants which you may try out as you wish.
Kashmiri Zafrani Pulau and Waza Kokur:
This combination of Saffron flavoured Pulao and chicken curry was the most delicious thing that I ever tasted in my life! The taste, the texture and the aroma of Kashmiri kesar was really magical. If you visit Kashmir, do not forget to taste this Kashmiri delicacy.
Himachal Pradesh not only has breathtaking views of the mighty Himalayas and gushing rivers but also a long list of delicious dishes.
Trout Fish
The beautiful gushing streams of Beas and Tirthan is the home to the Himalayan trouts! Visit cafes in Manali Market of get a taste of the delicious roasted locally caught trout fishes served with potato fries.
Siddhu
Siddhu is a wheat and potato dumpling which is unique to Himachal. Siddhu is mostly served as a breakfast dish and is accompanied by 'Chutney'. Fermented wheat flour dough is filled with cooked potato and steamed. This is simply delicious and tastes even better when you are surrounded by the pristine Himalayas!
Dal Bati Churma
I came across the name of Dal bati churma when I was in School in a literature chapter based in Rajasthan. Ever since then, I had dreamt of trying this delicacy. This dream of mine came true when I visited the Dadhikar fort in Alwar. There, in the dinner buffet, one of the items on the menu was Dal bati and churma. The delicious wheat bati loaded with ghee tasted awesome with yellow dal. The churma was the perfect sweet dish accompanied with dal and bati. I loved every bit of it.
Daulat ki chat
The list of delicacies found in Delhi is endless but the most unique thing that I ever tasted here with Daulat ki chat on a wintry weekend in the streets of Chandni Chowk. This sweet dessert is made from the froth of milk and simply vanished when you put a spoonful in your mouth. Trust me, you have to have this to know what this is!
Alu Paranthe of Murthal
Well, when you come to Haryana, do not ever forget to visit Murthal and have lu parantha from there! The alu paranthas and also many other paranthas at the highway side humongous dhabas of Murthal are really delicious! Served with fresh locally made huge dollops of white butter, these paranthas would force you to abandon all your diet plans to lose weight. They even serve extra butter ,if you want some more of it. I do feel guilty of asking for some more butter, but its deliciousness renders me quite helpless!
Darjeeling Tea
Having a cup of Darjeeling tea while gazing at the surrounding lush tea gardens is an experience in itself! Visit Margaret's deck in Kurseong and order a cup of tea, which even comes with a timer to let you steep the tea for the exact time to bring out all its richness that Darjeeling tea is known for.
Fish platter
Is it even possible to come to West Bengal and not taste its signature 'machh Bhat' combination? When in West Bengal, do visit its beach destination Digha to explore the fish market where trawler loaded with fresh catch of the day come to dump their goods. You can choose your fish and ask any restaurant to cook them for you. You can savour pompret fry, fish in mustard gravy ( sorse mach), prawn in coconut milk gravy (malaikari) and so on!
Langcha
Bengal is known as the sweetest part of India and let me tell you that 'rosogolla' is not the only sweet that you can find here. There are just unlimited varieties of sweets that you can find in every small sweet shop at any corner of this state. However is one of the popular sweets is 'Langcha' and that too 'Shaktigarh er Langcha'. Langcha is a sweet made of cottage cheese and fried in ghee and then dipped in sugar syrup. They are long and golden brown in colour and delicious. The tastiest ones are found in shops in a place called Shaktigarh located on the Kolkata-Asansol highway.
Chhattisgarh is a beautiful state in India with unique culture and cuisine. This state with lush forests, ancient temples and numerous waterfalls has a unique array of mouth watering delicacies. On such unique dessert is 'dehrori' - which is cooked in almost every Chhattisgarhi home. crushed rice and curd is fermented overnight, friend in ghee and dipped in sugar syrup. The coarse and crunchy, with a slight tinge of sourness, these sweet balls are absolutely delicious!
Annavaram Prasadam
South India- we tend usually to generalize all the five states and give them credit for only Idli and dosa. However, during my long stays in the state of Andhra Pradesh, I came across many other Andhra dishes which are absolutely unique and delicious. At the temple of Annavaram dedicated to Lord Satyanarayana Swamy who is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, I had the opportunity to savor the delicious red wheat semolina halwa served as 'Annavaram Prasadam'. Served on a sal leaf plate, this halwa made of red wheat semolina, jaggery and dry fruits is very delicious. When you visit, Visakhapatnam, do keep aside a day to visit the temple to take Lord Satyanarayana Swamy's blessings and have a dollop of this blessed dessert.
Bamboo Chicken
We are slowly entering into an era of Healthy food choices. We are always experimenting on the methods of cooking with less oil. But, the reality is that this trend of healthy cooking is an age old thing and the tribal communities have already following these methods forever. One such delicacy is 'Bamboo Chicken'- a recipe of the tribals of Araku Valley in Andhra Pradesh. This dish is cooked with out the use of oil. Fresh Chicken marinated with spices is packed into the hollow of a green bamboo and sealed with sal leaves. This bundle is then roasted slowly in crackling fire.
Kadam battu
Coorg, the coffee cup of India, has the aroma of coffee in its air. But if you look around a bit carefully, you would also find the 'kadam battu' on the menu cards in the restaurants. These are round shaped rice balls with slight salty taste and infused with the aroma of fresh ghee. The people of Coorg generally savour 'Kadam battu' with Coorg style pork curry or chicken curry. When you visit Coorg, do try kadam battu with your choice of meat curry.
Sea Food & Poiee
Goa is known for its beautiful beaches, its parties, delicious cuisine, Feni and sea food. There are an infinite varieties of sea food and other delicacies. So, when on a trip to Goa how can one miss gorging on some spicy 'Masala Pomfret' and 'Spicy Prawn Curry' ? And what else should you eat in accompaniment with these? This might sound weird but why not try some seafood with some fresh Goan bread 'poiee'?
These is my small list of delicacies from the huge varieties that are found across our beautiful country India. Every part this country has something unique to offer and the search for experiences would continue forever.
Do let me know the unique foods that you have explored while travelling in India.
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