This post will be super helpful for people in a particular state in India who wishes to travel and taste as many as Indian dishes possible. This will also serve as a guide to foreigners vising India. I will share the list of 10 foods to try before you die in India.
India is so huge and diverse and so are its people and its culture and its food. It is so diverse that each of the 28 states has its own form of culture and tradition. In fact, each state’s size is similar to a country’s size in Europe.
People in these states have not even tried all the foods in their own state itself and hence it is not possible for a single person in a particular state to taste other state dishes and what the country India has to offer.
If you like to know about 15 tasty and easy food recipes, check this link.
We will cover the southern dishes first.
Gongura Chicken
Gongura is a type of spinach that is extremely famous in Andhra Pradesh. This state is single-handedly responsible for popularizing the usage of gongura spinach in food dishes. Gongura is used for making pickles as well and the famous gongura pickle(also known as gongura pachadi) is an integral part of Andhra dishes.
Gongura chicken is one such famous dish that uses gongura as the main ingredient in this dish. Gongura is rich in vitamins, iron, and other nutrients(Source: Wikipedia). It is also known as “pulicha keerai” in Tamil Nadu(The southernmost state in India). This is number one on our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. When you visit Andhra Pradesh, Gongura chicken is one dish that you must absolutely try once in your lifetime.
Also, check out our websitefor more interesting helpful content and recipes.
Kari Dosa
Kari Dosa is an absolute specialty in Tamil Nadu. You might have heard about this dish but it is rare that you would have tasted this dish because even a lot of people from this state would not have tasted this dish. Kari means meat in Tamil.
Dosa is similar to a pancake made from a fermented batter of crushed rice and lentils. The batter is allowed to ferment for 1 to 2 days in order to get the perfect taste and aroma and crispiness. The Kari topping is made from delicious meat of chicken or mutton depending on the choice. This is second in our list of top 10 foods to try before you die in India.
Kumbakonam Degree Coffee
This is third on our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. This beverage is very special in the southernmost state of India, Tamil Nadu. You must be concerned that what is so special about this coffee that’s even worth mentioning?
The secret lies in the decoction itself and how is made. Normally decoction is made from a device predominantly found in south Indian homes called a filter where the coffee powder is added to the top and hot water. The bottom part drains out the decoction from the top.
But in the case of Kumbakonam degree coffee, the filter is heated to very high levels and enclosed tightly in order to extract the maximum aroma from the coffee powder. This beverage is a must-try when you visit Tamil Nadu.
Now that we have seen south Indian dishes, let us focus our attention on north Indian dishes that you must try once in your lifetime.
Check out this link on 15 recipes to cook in 2021.
Gatta Curry/ Gatta ki sabzi
This is third on our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. This curry is famous in Rajasthan. If you ever get a chance to go on a trip to Rajasthan, then you must try this dish or at least once in your lifetime.
Gatta curry is a go-to curry suited for all seasons and best served with chapatis and pickle. The curry’s main ingredient is a boiled dough made from gram flour, salt, and chili powder, which is made into a soft dough, then rolled over and made into thin slices. When taken a piece along with chapati, this would be enough for a lifetime’s worth of taste.
Litti Chokha
This is the fifth in our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. Litti Chokha is a dish that is almost synonymous with Bihar. It is a tasty dish made from wheat ball doughs topped with a good amount of ghee and served with vegetables. Also, this dish can be served with curd and pickle.
The dough is made from organic wheat mixed with equal quantities of water and kept aside for 2 hours. Then they are rolled into medium size balls as shown in the image and baked directly from the fire, which provides a unique taste. I suggest everyone try this dish at least once in their lifetime.
Daab Chingri
This one occupies the sixth position in our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. This dish is extremely popular in West Bengal. What makes this dish so special is that prawns are completely cooked in the coconut and the coconut adds a distinctive flavor to the prawn curry, making anyone fall in love with the dish.
I strongly suggest trying this dish once if you ever get a chance to visit West Bengal. The creamy texture of the curry makes the prawn melt in your mouth. It is indeed a treat for seafood lovers who wish to try out this recipe.
Khandvi
This savory snack occupies the seventh position in our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. Khandvi is a traditional dish originating from Gujarat which is a western state in India. It is a savory snack prepared for the evening alongside tea in Gujarat and Maharashtrian cuisines.
Khandvi’s flavourful mustard seeds are enough to send your taste buds tingling. It is a yellowish, tightly rolled bite-sized piece made from gram flour and yogurt. Most of the people in that region usually buy them from stores instead of preparing them at home.
Bhel Puri
This all-time favorite snack occupies the eighth position in our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India. This dish is made from puffed rice, finely chopped vegetables, tamarind sauce. A Bengali version of bhelpuri is also known as jhalmuri which is also known as spicy puffed rice.
This dish is popular and mostly tried by everyone residing in India. But this dish should be tried by people living in parts of the world other than India. This dish originated from Maharashtra and it’s absolutely worth trying.
Hyderabad Biriyani
If you wish to know how to make biryani, please do check it out.
This is the ninth in our list of 10 foods to try before you die in India and this is my absolute favorite on the whole list. This biryani belongs to Hyderabad and it is originated from that place.
What makes this biryani different from the rest of the biryanis out there is that the biryani is prepared from a different process called dum where the lid is closed with 4 to 5 bricks and the side is covered with the wheat dough after adding all the ingredients, in order to preserve the complete flavor of the meat and the spices.
It is an absolute delicacy and I highly recommend anyone traveling to Hyderabad to try out the city’s biryani in the first place after all food is important right?
If you are interested in the biryani recipe, click on this link to know more.
Idiyappam and curry
This is our final dish in our list of 10 foods to try before you die. This dish is related to Kerala and Tamil Nadu where the dish is extensively popular. It is made from rice flour, a form of a pressed and flattened version of rice noodles. Then they steamed and served with coconut milk or vegetable stew. I absolutely recommend everyone to taste this dish at least once in their lifetime.
Idiyappam is also a specialty in Karnataka and Srilanka and people living around these regions would be familiar with these dishes. Hence, people from other parts of India mainly, north and west, should try this dish once in their lifetime.
Conclusion
The main purpose of this life is to eat and live right. Hence I strongly suggest trying at least the dishes I have covered in this post, even though many dishes need to be covered, you can keep this as a guide to try various new dishes at least once in your lifetime.
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Check this link for more foods in India to try.
