We all just love to travel. There's sight-seeing, camping, trekking, meeting new people, and let's not ignore the infinite number of Instagram posts. Yet food is the best part of everything.
Different parts of the world have so many new recipes and dishes that you will never dream about. Dining out is popular among tourists and "food is believed to be of value to tourists alongside environment, accommodation and scenery."
Although many towns, regions or countries are known for their food, Indian cuisines are popular all over the world for the unique blend of spices and mouth-watering flavours, and each state has its own cuisine.
The Indian state of Uttarakhand is one of those states whose cuisine is simple and made from locally grown ingredients. The kitchens don't have complicated spices. As you walk along the road up to your favourite hill station in Uttarakhand, you will be welcomed by a range of aromas coming from roadside vendors. Uttarakhand's cuisine is close to that of his people, basic but incredible. The two distinct areas, Kumaon and Garhwal, offer palates of tasty dishes that are also high in nutrients.
Let 's speak about the popular food of Uttarakhand, which remains as enchanting as the state itself.
1. BAADI
A fast fix for any meal of the day when you have little or less time to prepare, Baadi is a popular Uttarakhand dish. It is a blend of taste and nutrition and is considered to be the best traditional food in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. Used by adding Buckwheat Flour to the boiling water and served with ghee, this simple dish is delicious and full of nutrients.
2. KAFULI/KAPAA
Kafuli is the most popular Uttarakhand food in Pahari cuisine. It is provided to all visitors and is enjoyed by the Pahari people as much as it is by travellers wanting to taste something special. A delicious dish that is best enjoyed in the winter season, Kafuli or Kapaa, made with spinach, lai and fenugreek leaves. Vegetables are cooked in an iron kadhai and eaten with gravy made from rice or wheat paste and water. Kafuli is popularly recognised as State Food of Uttarakhand.
3. PHAANU
Phaanu emerged in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. It's a complicated preparation, but it's really tasteful. It is made by combining lentils of various kinds, which are soaked in water overnight. It's a kind of soupy stew, eaten mostly with wish rice. The special flavour of Phaanu will certainly be a treat for your taste buds!
4. Bhang Ki Chutney
Bhang Ki Chutney gives the tangy tamarind taste. It remains a popular Uttarakhand food to be tasted as recommended by locals to travellers. It is used as a sauce made from a combination of spices and condiments. It actually improves the flavour of each other's cuisine, and its fresh aroma and tangy flavour will stay in your mouth long after you've eaten it. It is primarily made with Hemp Seeds, which gives it a characteristic aroma.
5. Garhwal ka Fannah
This heavenly Uttarakhand food is a staple of Mussoorie and is healthy enough to please both your eyes and your stomach. Since it is so divine in its taste and aroma, Garhwal Ka Fannah has become a must food item on the food menu for every occasion that takes place in Uttarakhand. It's a popular Uttarakhand dish and it's going to leave you asking for more.
6. Kandalee Ka Saag
It's a green leafy vegetable that's prepared in an ordinary way like all other vegetables, but the leafy vegetable named "Bicchu Ghas" is what makes it unique. As all other Uttarakhand dishes, this one is also rich in nutrients. Kandalee Ka Saag offers the spicy aromatic spices and the proper vitamins that are important to your immune system. Major ingredients offer taste and flavour to almost all Uttarakhand food products, including leafy vegetables and local spices.
7. JHANGORE KI KHEER
A delicious dessert, Jhangore ki Kheer is popular in the Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. The dish is prepared using a form of millet called Jhangore, which is cooked with a number of dry fruits and milk, which is the main ingredient that makes it rich in texture and nutrition. Jhangor Ki Kheer has an unforgettable taste and is a must-try after a strong meal of Garhwali cuisine.
8. Chainsoo
It's a very popular Garhwali dish made of Urad or Kali Dal and therefore contains a lot of protein. It might take some time for some people to digest because of its high protein content, but this dish has a very earthy flavour that is definitely worth trying. Toasting the lentils first and then making a fine paste out of it is the first step in the preparation of this delicacy. You will enjoy the aromatic flavour of this popular Uttarakhandi food, particularly because of its unique cooking method of holding it on a slow flame in an iron kadai.
9. Aaloo Tamatar Ka Jhol
Aaloo Tamatar Ka Jhol is one of the highlights of all the palatable dishes of common Uttarakhand cuisine. A very enticing combination of exquisite aromas and mouth-watering flavours, it can be prepared in the least time, which is the unique speciality of this wonderful dish. It just needs some steamed potatoes and tomato curry, along with onions, to be cooked separately. This popular Uttarakhand food is sure to make you feel fresh after a hard day's excursion.
10. Kumaoni Raita
Like Bhang ki Chutney, Kumaoni Raita is yet another dish to complement any other Uttrakhand cuisine. The locals of this state can not do without Kumaoni Raita, which is made of curd, turmeric and cucumber. Though ingredients play their part in preserving health, the divine taste keeps the mouth watering.
11. Aloo Gutook
Aaloo Gutook is a very simple recipe for the popular Uttarakhand cuisine. It's specially made for all occasions. This famous uttarakhand food appeals to everyone just to taste it. Undoubtedly, it can be proclaimed as the regional food of Kumaon, but it becomes the food of the heart when served with the Bhang ki chutney, the Pooris and the popular Kumaon Raita. Every house in Uttarakhand has its own way to make all of them still have wonderful delicacy. Prepared with steamed potatoes and garnished with red chillies and coriander leaves, this dish is at least worth a try during a trip to this area.
12. Dubuk
Dubuk or Dubke is a Kumaoni preparation in which local pulses such as Gahat and Bhatt are soaked overnight and then made into a paste that is then cooked with some powdered spices in an iron pot. Dubke has a smooth texture and is a very popular winter dish in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. Dubuk is good to your stomach and can be quickly assimilated. It is best eaten with Bhang Ki Chutney and rice, making it mild in taste and bringing a Tang twist.
13. Thhatwani/Rus
A common dish in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Rus or Thhatwani is prepared with lentils and is therefore high in nutrients. It is a good soup with a mixture of rice paste, lentils and pulses that are cooked in an iron pot. The pulses are soaked overnight in water, which is then boiled and cooked with herbs and masala in an iron kadhai. This high protein dish is best eaten with fresh steamed rice.
14. Bhatt ki CHUDKAANI
This delicious dish is cooked in the kitchens of the Kumaon area of Uttarakhand. For the preparation of Chudkaani, the local Bhatt lentil is soaked overnight in the water and then cooked with powdered spices and prepared as a soup dish that is eaten with rice.
15. Arsa
Arsa is the most popular dessert in the region of Uttarakhand and has come to occupy a permanent position in every household in the state. This sweet Uttarakhand food dish is delicious and low in calories, making it popular with the diet-conscious generation as well. There is no occasion or festival that is full without the inclusion of Arsa on the food menu.
16. Singori
Locally also known as Singodi or Singauri, this is a popular Uttarakhand sweet dish made from Khoa, a milk product of thickened milk. It's a simple, cone-shaped taste. The special thing about this sweet dish is that it is wrapped and served in a leaf of Maalu. It can be found in Almora, located in the Kumaon area of Uttarakhand.
17. Gulgula
Another dish that is very popular with tourists and locals, Gulgula is a delicious sweet of Uttarakhand. It is a sweet-tasting local snack made of jaggery that traces its origin to the Garhwal region. The dish can be eaten as a snack or as a dessert. Gulgula is now popular as a delicious dessert in many parts of North India.
So when you're travelling to this land of stunning features, don't forget to try these incredible Uttarakhand cuisine dishes to make your travel experience more memorable, as it is said, "Time and food doesn't wait for anyone!"