Here’s a list of Indian Dishes available in restaurants around the world to get you salivating for your next meal
Indians are foodies, and there’s no denying that. How can they not be when assortments of food items sprout from different parts of the diverse nation? The country is proud to flaunt its numerous lip-smacking dishes. With travel seeing a boom for the past many years, and also with Indian chefs like Sanjeev Kapoor, Ranveer Brar, and Vikas Khanna becoming international celebrities, many Indian dishes are now on the world’s food map.
Every region in India owns its unique blends of spices. The use of dry spices like cardamom, bay leaf, dried red chilly, cloves, ajwain (Bishop’s weed), star anise, and garam masala add unbeatable flavor to the many Indian dishes. Trust us when we say that you step into an Indian household during mealtime, and the aroma will blow your mind!
If that’s got you salivating, why not tour India with us with this list of Indian dishes famous worldwide. You won’t get the taste, but you’ll know what to ask for the next time you visit a restaurant that serves Indian food!
1. South Indian cuisine- Idli and Dosa
South India is a rich land of mouth- watering food. It has won hearts in the nation and internationally. Out of their many creations, Idli and Dosa are dishes that people love the most. Made of soaked rice, they’re deliciously healthy. A hint of fenugreek seeds in the soaked rice adds much flavor to these delicacies. Idli and Dosa taste best with its traditional accompaniments, Sambhar, cooked with lentils, and chutney mixed with an overpowering flavor of coconut.
Over time, chefs invented a variety of dosas, making the choices seem like a choosing life over life!
2. Jalebi
If you have a sweet tooth and not tasted Jalebi then you haven’t had the best dessert yet! Imagine this, all-purpose flour fried to perfection in spiral shapes, and then dunked in a sugar syrup, emitting a smell that will distract your sense miles away. Bet your mouth wants to taste this lip smacking, crunch bites which usually is enjoyed as it is and also with milk based sweet dish called Rabdi. Moreover, several Indian festivals like Dussehra and Sankranti are incomplete without savoring Jalebi.
3. Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala is the most popular non-vegetarian dish in almost all regions of India, especially the north. Served as a vegetable, it is inexplicably finger-licking and goes with any Indian bread, especially Naan (also a world- famous dish now!) Its vibrant red appearance and moist insides make one keep going for more servings than usual. An Indian non-vegetarian cannot hold themselves back from indulging in this rich, creamy gravy with well-cooked pieces of chicken, garnished with a dollop of butter.
4. Samosa
High-calorie alert! But then, when you have a dish like a Samosa in front of you, who cares about counting calories in those tranced moments? An Indian snack, Samosa is like a party in your mouth with its crispy layer and steaming potato filling inside. Although, the dish isn’t complete until you dip it in some sweet tamarind chutney or spicy coriander chutney. One Samosa is sufficient, but having at least two of these is like drifting to your happy place!
5. Biryani
What is an Indian platter without any rice? Travel to any part of India, and you’ll come across umpteen variants of Biryani. Vegetarian, non-vegetarian, spiced, plain, egg, dry fruit-rich, name it, and you have it. Chicken and Mutton Biryani are most famous where marinated pieces of meat blend with an aromatic gravy, which then transfuses with rice to evolve into a bowl of royalty! Raita is the best accompaniment for Biryani, made up of fresh curd and salad vegetables. The tastiest kind is the one cooked in a mud pot (mostly found in the city of Hyderabad) and steamed to the crème de la crème.
6. Kebabs
Walk into an Indian wedding, and you’ll find plates of Kebabs floating around the room. Both vegetarian and non- vegetarian versions of this flavorous specialty are palatable. The dish, a concoction of minced meat/steamed vegetables and spices, is slowly cooked on a grill, giving the Kebabs a delicious char. Travel around the world, and you might find Rashmi Kebab on the menu of a multi cuisine restaurant. If you find it, we urge you to try it!
7. Pani Puri
Smack! Smack! Smack! Curbing light hunger with Pani Puri, India’s most famous chaat is a treat in itself. Call it Pani Puri, Gup-Chup, Gol Gappa, Batashe, or Pucchka, or whatever else you like, it will still be an explosion of tang in the mouth. The Puri, made up of all-purpose flour or semolina, is a tasty fried ball. It first cracked in the middle, filled with either a mixture of boiled potatoes & sprouts or hot chickpeas gravy. Layers of sweet-sour tamarind chutney and mint-spiced water together make one Pani Puri. People line-up at streetside vendor carts to get their hands on this zesty dish.
8. Dal Makhani
Buttery lentils that go with rice, tandoori roti, and even naan, Dal Makhani is a chosen dish for those who eat out often. Hailing from North India, this delicacy is spice-mixed cooked with tomatoes. This Punjabi dish makes its presence felt in multi cuisine restaurants around the world as a replacement for Chicken Tikka Masala. Now you have a vegetarian option too!
