Top 10 Indian cuisines that you must not miss

Ask ten Indians to name their favourite dish and you may get ten different answers. Food here changes every few hundred kilometres. Each region has its own spices, its own oils and its own way of cooking. This list of the top 10 Indian cuisines picks one famous dish from ten different corners of the country.

A quick note on words. A “cuisine” is a whole style of cooking, like Kashmiri or Bengali food. The items below are really dishes, and each one is a star of its own regional cuisine. We first wrote this post in 2015. We have now checked every dish again and fixed some details.

Top 10 Indian Cuisines and Their Star Dishes

1. Rogan Josh (Kashmir)

Rogan josh is a red meat curry, usually made with mutton or goat. Its deep red colour comes from Kashmiri chillies and a flower called alkanet, known locally as ratanjot. Kashmiri chillies give colour without too much heat.

The name comes from Persian. “Roghan” means ghee or oil, and “josh” means to stew. So the name roughly means meat stewed in ghee. Rogan josh is one of the main dishes of the wazwan, the grand meal of many courses served at Kashmiri feasts. Read more about the region in our post on Jammu and Kashmir history and tourism.

2. Butter Chicken (Delhi)

Butter chicken, also called murgh makhani, is chicken cooked in a spiced tomato gravy rich with butter. Our old post said the recipe came from Punjab. The truth is a little different. The dish was made famous in the 1950s at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Daryaganj, Old Delhi.

Two Punjabi cooks, Kundan Lal Gujral and Kundan Lal Jaggi, ran that restaurant after they came to Delhi from Peshawar during Partition. Their families later went to court in 2024, each side claiming credit for inventing the dish. The English name “butter chicken” first appeared in print in 1975, on the menu of an Indian restaurant in New York. Today, butter chicken is the most popular curry in Indian restaurants around the world.

3. Banjari Gosht (Rajasthan)

This dish is also called Banjara gosht. “Gosht” means meat. The name links it to the Banjaras, a community of travelling traders who moved goods across India long before railways. Their roots are traced to Rajasthan.

It is a spicy mutton curry cooked with mustard oil, onions, red chillies, coriander, turmeric and curd. The curd makes the gravy thick and creamy. Unlike many meat dishes, it needs no long marination, so it is quick to make at home. It is a cousin of laal maas, Rajasthan’s famous fiery red mutton curry that was once cooked by Rajput royals after a hunt.

4. Kakori Kebab (Lucknow)

The Kakori kebab comes from Awadhi cuisine, the royal food of the Lucknow region. It is named after Kakori, a small town near Lucknow. The old post called it a city, but Kakori is a town.

The kebab is made of very finely ground mutton mixed with khoya and spices. It is so soft that it melts in the mouth. One legend says it was first made for old pilgrims who had lost their teeth. Awadhi kebabs are usually cooked on a chula, a traditional clay stove, rather than in a tandoor oven.

5. Bhapa Aloo (Bengal)

“Bhapa” means steamed in Bengali. Our old post translated it as “vaporized”, which sounds odd. Bhapa aloo simply means steamed potatoes.

Small potatoes are first boiled until half cooked. Then they are coated with a paste of mustard, grated coconut, green chillies and curd, along with a little mustard oil. The potatoes are then steamed, sometimes wrapped in banana leaves. The result is sharp, tangy and very Bengali. It goes well with plain rice.

6. Chicken Stew with Appam (Kerala)

Appam is a soft pancake shaped like a bowl. It is made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk. The edges are thin and crisp, while the centre is thick and spongy. Appams are very old. They are even mentioned in ancient Tamil Sangam poems.

The stew, often called ishtu, is a favourite among Kerala’s Christian families. Chicken, potatoes, carrots, green peas and onions are cooked slowly in coconut milk. It is flavoured with black pepper, cinnamon, cloves and green chillies. In parts of central Kerala, the stew is more often made with beef or lamb than with chicken. The mild, creamy stew is a perfect match for appam.

7. Hyderabadi Biryani (Telangana)

Hyderabadi biryani is so famous that it is almost a symbol of the city of Hyderabad. The old post called Hyderabad a town, but it is a large city. The biryani is made with fragrant basmati rice and meat, usually goat.

There are two main types. In kachchi biryani, raw marinated meat is layered with rice and cooked together. In pakki biryani, the meat is cooked first. Either way, the pot is sealed with dough and cooked slowly over low heat. This method is called “dum”. Legend says the dish was created by a cook of the first Nizam in the 18th century. Food historians note that biryani itself has Persian roots and grew out of pilaf, a rice dish brought to South Asia by traders.

The old post said it is served with raita, a cool mix of curd and vegetables such as cucumber. Many people do enjoy it that way. In Hyderabad, though, biryani usually comes with dahi chutney and mirchi ka salan, a tangy chilli curry.

8. Idli and Sambar (South India)

The old post called idlis rice pancakes. In fact, idlis are steamed cakes. The batter is made from rice and black lentils, also called urad dal. It is left overnight to ferment, which makes it rise. Then it is poured into special moulds and steamed.

Idlis are an old food. A king named Someshwara III included a recipe for them in his book Manasollasa in 1130 CE. They are served with coconut chutney and sambar, a lentil and vegetable stew made sour with tamarind. One popular story says sambar was first made in the Thanjavur Maratha kitchen, when a cook used tamarind in place of kokum. Idlis are light, which is why many people eat them for breakfast. Since 2015, some fans have even marked 30 March as World Idli Day, an idea started by a Chennai caterer. For tasty places to try them, see our list of street food joints in Bangalore.

9. Dhokla (Gujarat)

Dhokla is a soft and spongy snack from Gujarat. A fermented batter is steamed until it sets like a cake. It is then cut into squares and served with fried green chillies and coriander chutney. Some cooks top it with fresh coriander or grated coconut.

The word “dhokla” appears in a Gujarati text from 1520 CE, and a similar lentil dish is described in a Jain text from 1066 CE. Gujaratis love it so much that Ahmedabad was reported in 2018 to eat about 10,000 kg of dhokla a day. A close cousin called khaman is softer and lighter in colour. Many people mix up the two. Dhokla is a common part of the Gujarati thali, a full meal served on one large plate.

10. Sali Boti (Parsi)

The Parsis came to India from Persia centuries ago, and they brought their love of sweet and sour flavours. Sali boti shows this well. “Boti” means pieces of meat, and “sali” means crisp potato straws.

Mutton is cooked with onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic. Near the end, jaggery and vinegar are added for a sweet and sour taste. The dish is then topped with a heap of thin, crunchy fried potato straws. One version, jardaloo sali boti, also adds dried apricots.

How Indian Food Won the World

Dishes like these have travelled far beyond India. Butter chicken, biryani and idli are now found in cities across the globe. To learn how this happened, read how Indian cuisine became popular around the world. Every Indian city also has its own food story. For one example from the east coast, explore the food culture of Vizag.

If you are trying these dishes for the first time, start with the milder ones. Idli, appam with stew and dhokla are gentle on the tongue. Rogan josh and butter chicken have plenty of flavour but are not too hot. Banjari gosht and laal maas are for people who love strong spice.

What We Changed From the Old Post

• Butter chicken was made famous in Delhi, not simply “from Punjab”.
• “Bhapa” means steamed, not “vaporized”.
• Idlis are steamed rice and lentil cakes, not pancakes.
• Kakori is a town, and Hyderabad is a city.
• Sali boti is topped with potato straws, not served with plain fried potatoes.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is butter chicken from Punjab or Delhi?

It was made popular in the 1950s at Moti Mahal in Delhi, by cooks who had come from Peshawar.

What does “bhapa” mean?

It means steamed in Bengali. Bhapa aloo means steamed potatoes.

What are idlis made of?

Idlis are made from a fermented batter of rice and black lentils, steamed in moulds.

What is sali in sali boti?

Sali are thin, crisp fried potato straws placed on top of the mutton curry.