6 mouthwatering dishes you need to try in India (2024)

When you think of the best cuisine in the world, what comes to mind? For me, it’s a hands-down no-brainer: Indian.

How can you not want to grab a piece of golden, garlicky naan and dig into a freshly-made, richly-spiced, mind-blowingly tasty curry? Prepare for a smell and taste overload– but hey, that’s what it’s all about. Eating Indian food is like a high for your taste buds, one that will take you drooling across the subcontinent wanting more and more.

After all, India is home to a wealth of food diversity, delicacies, and innovations. This list is only like an ice cube on the tip of a very, very large food iceberg. But it’s a good place to start. Here are seven dishes you’ll want to dive straight into. Because behold, some of the best food in India is here:

1. Pani Puri

Chaats are sweet or savory snacks typically served at roadside stalls in India. Chaats are the best. Pani Puri is one of the most famous street snacks found throughout India. The one pictured above can be slurped up from food vendors on Marina beach, Chennai.

Pani means water, which is mint and/or tamarind flavored, which is poured into the puri, which are thin, crispy puff balls– voila: pani puri. The filling is made from mashed chickpeas, potatoes, a variety of spices, onion, and more depending on the region. Sweet, sour, spicy, tangy, irresistible, the whole shebang. The tanginess comes from the oh-so-flavorful tamarind. For only a few rupees each, it’s not so hard to chow down on a quite a few of these.

READ MORE: 5 GREAT DESTINATIONS FOR SOLO TRAVEL IN INDIA

2. Kati Roll

Originating in Kolkata, this street-food miracle is found all over the city. It’s kind of like the Indian version of a donair, wrap, or the like. A typical kati involves frying an egg, setting the paratha (flatbread) on top, then adding marinated skewered meat, often chicken, and topping it off with onions, chilies, a squirt of lime, and a couple of sauces.

The one pictured above uses paneer, a common filling instead of meat, which was marinated in a variety of vegetables and spices. This saucy spice-fest of a dish just might blow your mind.

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3. Masala Dosa

No trip to India is complete without eating a masala dosa. Found more commonly throughout South India, masala dosas are a great way to start off your day. Try it in Kerala or Tamil Nadu. Like many Indian dishes, the experience isn’t just about eating the delicious concoction, it’s about watching it be made – and the making of dosas are no exception.

Dosa is a very thin pancake or crepe made from fermented rice and black lentils (so much better than it sounds!). A filling, the masala, of fried potato, mustard seeds, and other spices is added to the middle of the dosa, which is then rolled up into perfection. The masterpiece is commonly served with two, sometimes more, sauces and chutneys. Sambar is like a spicy vegetable and lentil stew that pairs perfectly with the dosa. Coconut chutney, which will rock your world, is a must when eating dosas. Have fun and use your hands.

READ MORE: A FOODIE’S GUIDE TO SOUTH INDIA

4. Thali

Not one dish, but a spread of many. A thaili, or set meal, is a platter of different Indian dishes, ranging from as few as six, to as many as 20, often indulging rice, papadum, curd, chapati, dal, other veg curries, sambar, pickle, dessert, and a lot of brilliance in between. Dal, bread, rice, and some other dishes are often refillable, so thalis are a good bet when you’re hungry. Plus, they’re amazing. Plus, they’re often only $1.00.

Each and every restaurant serves up a different thali– some are only fair, but, surely, you’ll come across a thali that, just by looking at it, will basically be life-changing. Apparently, the idea behind a thali is that it should encompass six different flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, astringent, spicy.

Remember to eat with your hands, but with only your right hand. Make sure to try thalis in both the north and south so you can see and taste the diversity, which varies. Choose from meat-based or veg. Both are otherworldly.

5. Gulab Jamun

Let’s sweeten things up a bit. India is a country known for its sweets. Around every corner, almost literally in some cities, is a sweet shop. Many of India’s sweets are made from milk but Gulab Jamun is ubiquitous, and tops the list for being one of the most popular sweets in India.

Made from milk solids, these solids are kneaded into a dough, which is then rolled up into balls and deep fried. These brown, spongy milk-dough balls are then covered and soaked in a sugary syrup, which is often flavored with saffron, cardamom, or rose water.

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6. Chole Bhature

Similar to chana masala (spiced chickpea curry), but chole bhature makes you wonder what life was like prior to eating this melt-in-your-mouth dish. The dish, most popular in the Punjab region, but found throughout India, can be eaten as a snack, or, if you’re like me, as a meal– just double down. Chole is the richly spiced chickpea curry, and bhature is the deep fried bread. Bhature, when fried, fills with hot air and becomes a balloon-like ball of bread. The two are a combo made in foodie heaven. And the dish is often served with lime wedges, onion slices, and green chilies.

One of the best places in India to have chole is at Sita Ram Diwan Chand in New Delhi– they only serve chole, and have been doing so for a long time.

Are your taste buds tantalized? Check out Intrepid Travel’s delicious 15-day India Real Food Adventure.

(Hero image c/o Mirae Campbell for Intrepid Travel. All other images c/o Evan Ceretti.)

6 mouthwatering dishes you need to try in India (2024)

FAQs

What are the top 5 most popular foods in India? ›

The most popular and best dishes you should try in India
  • Famous curry. It is considered the national soul of Indian cuisine, the popularity of the famous curry is similar to that of Korean kimchi or Japanese sushi. ...
  • Pani Puri. ...
  • Dosa Spring Roll. ...
  • Chaat - India's most famous street dish. ...
  • Indian Street Dish - Naan Flour Bread.

What are the top 3 foods in India? ›

The Most Popular Indian Dishes
  • Samosa. This delicious option is a food that even those new to Indian cooking may have tried. ...
  • Dal Soup. If you are a fan of soups, especially vegetarian ones, then you must try a bowl of dal. ...
  • Curry. ...
  • Tandoori Chicken. ...
  • Tandoori Fish. ...
  • Biryani. ...
  • Masala. ...
  • Naan.
Feb 2, 2021

What is the No 1 famous food in India? ›

Tandoori

An iconic food from India, dishes labeled tandoori are typically breads or meats that have been seasoned and cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor oven. Tandoori chicken is probably the most well-known dish of this style.

What is India's most eaten food? ›

Rice is the staple food (as is with all South Indian states) eaten with lentil preparations such as pappu (lentils) and pulusu (stew) and spicy vegetables or curries. In Andhra, leafy greens or vegetables such as bottle-gourd and eggplant are usually added to dal.

What is India's national dish? ›

India: While India has no official national dish, khichdi is often considered one.

What is a basic Indian meal? ›

Essential to a harmonious Indian meal is rice, or a flatbread and dal, a lentil stew. There may also be meat, chicken, seafood, or vegetable curries, a pickle (achar), pappad (a thin round “chip” made from chickpea flour and spices) and chutney.

What is the most ordered dish in India? ›

Biryani continued its reign as India's favourite dish. It was the most-ordered dish on Swiggy for the eighth year in a row. India ordered 2.5 biryanis per second in 2023 with Hyderabad, surpassing other cities when it came to ordering biryanis — every sixth order for the dish came from the city.

Is Indian food spicy? ›

While some recipes are very spicy and hot, others are more subtle and savory in flavor. Furthermore, is it necessary to make food spicy to enjoy its flavors? Many Indians may tell you that is not the case – that good Indian cooking is about a balance of aroma, taste, texture, herbs, and spices.

What are five traditional foods in India? ›

Source Chaat is considered to be one of the primary street foods in India, and one will surely find many chaat vendors on every street of the country. These snacks include kachori, pani puri, bhel puri, dahi chaat, masala puri, and many more distinct variations in the same.

What to eat in lunch in India? ›

Popular Recipes
  • Samosa.
  • Paneer Butter Masala.
  • Chana Masala.
  • Palak Paneer.
  • Dal Makhani.
  • Matar Paneer.

What is special in India? ›

Top 25 Popular Places & Things. India is one of the world's most attractive countries, and multiple factors have increased its popularity among tourists. Its natural wonders, artificial marvels, national parks, theme parks, etc., have made it a popular name for tourism.

What is the most popular Indian dish? ›

Chicken Tikka Masala is often considered one of the most popular Indian dishes in America. However, lesser-known dishes like Baingan Bharta (smoked eggplant curry) or Masoor Dal (red lentil curry) offer unique flavors and should be explored more for a diverse culinary experience.

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