For a traveller who loves exploring new places just for the love of regional and local cuisines, these places are a must-visit. Go from Srinagar, which is a blend of different cuisines offering dishes such as rista, tujji, and more to Coorg that features spicy flavours of pandi curry, paipatte curry, among others.
Top Destinations You Must Visit To Explore Regional Cuisine
Explore these beautiful places on your next trip, offering an exceptional taste of regional cuisines such as Majuli in Assam, featuring purang apin and khorika, to the Kumaon region in the mountains sharing rich flavours such as bhaang ki chutney and chainsoo, and give your palate a much-deserved taste.
1. Coorg (Kodagu), Karnataka
Coorg is a travel destination mostly surrounded by coffee estates, beautiful green forests, and a cold mist. The cuisine of the local warrior Kodava community who live here is heavily focused on peppers, whole spices, and more.
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What Flavours To Expect:
The regional cooking in Coorg cuisine is done using roasted whole spices and fresh black peppers. It also uses ‘kachampuli’, a fermented vinegar which is extracted from the wild garcinia fruit (kudampuli) and gives a fruity, acidic taste.
Which Dishes To Try:
Pandi curry is a slow-cooked pork dish made using coriander spice, cumin, roasted spices, and dark ‘kachampuli’ until it gets tender.
Kadamputtu and akki roti are rice dumpling dish covered with coconut and a thin flatbread made of rice, which is served hot.
Baimbale Curry is made of tender bamboo shoots that are harvested during the monsoon season and stewed with mustard alongside coconut.
Paputtu is a steamed cake made of broken rice, milk, and coconut, frequently paired with mutton or country chicken curry.
2. Majuli, Assam
Majuli is an island in the Brahmaputra River and is home to a lot of different tribes such as the Mishing tribe. The regional cuisine here focuses on clean and seasonal cooking practices.
What Flavours To Expect:
Tribal food in Majuli relies on virtually zero commercial oils or heavy powdered spices. Instead, flavour comes from fresh river catches, wild leafy greens, bamboo hollows, open-flame charring, and fermented elements like namsing (fermented river fish).
Which Dishes To Try:
Ngatok is a fresh local fish marinated with wild herbs, and wrapped in local tora leaves, then it is slow roasted inside fresh bamboo shoots to serve hot.
Purang apin is an indigenous sticky rice dish wrapped in cone-shaped tora leaves and boiled till it starts getting fragrant.
Khorika is either skewered pork, chicken, or fish which is grilled directly over an open flame using crushed ginger, garlic, and coriander.
Complex taste of different cuisines (Image Credits: Pexels)
3. Kumaon Region, Uttarakhand
Kumaon region is surrounded by the Himalayas. The food here is designed to endure mountain chills and high-altitude farming life. It features a lot of local plants and herbs in the regional cuisine.
What Flavours To Expect:
Kumaoni cooking is simple; it uses herbs like jambu (wild mountain chives) and gandherani, cooked in mustard oil. Dishes typically look grey here due to slow cooking in thick cast-iron skillets.
Which Dishes To Try:
Bhatt ki churkani is a native small black soybean curry-based dish which is dry-roasted in an iron skillet and then mixed with rice paste.
Chainsoo is a savoury curry made from roasted and crushed black gram (urad dal).
Bhang ki chutney is a thick, nutty dip-like dish made from toasted hemp seeds ground with fresh mint, green chillies, garlic, and lemon juice.
Bal mithai and singori are traditional sweets of the Kumaoni region. Bal mithai is roasted brown khoya coated in white sugar balls, while singori is mawa wrapped in molu leaves.
Try the unique flavour of regional food (Image Credits: Pexels)
4. Malvan & The Sindhudurg Coast, Maharashtra
Malvan and the Sindhudurg coast lie on Maharashtra's southern edge. It features one of coastal India’s most authentic and robust culinary styles.
What Flavours To Expect:
The Malvani flavour uses a lot of fresh coconut, fiery red byadgi and sankeshwari chillies. It also features kokum and the peppery flavour of wild triphala.
Which Dishes To Try:
Kombdi vade is a combination of a spicy chicken curry with vade, a deep-fried bread made from a multi-grain flour made of rice, Bengal gram, and lentils.
Malvani surmai/bombil fry is a dish made of kingfish or Bombay duck, and coated in crushed garlic, red spice, and semolina (rava).
Tisrya masala is fresh sea clams cooked in a thick, dry-roasted coconut and onion-based curry.
Solkadhi is an essential addition to every meal in coastal India near the Goan region. It’s a chilled, pink drink made of freshly pressed coconut milk, kokum juice, garlic, and fresh coriander.
Spicy flavours of southern India (Image Credits: Pexels)
5. Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir
Srinagar lies between mountains in India and features a wide variety of food. It is a heaven for travellers who love to try new cuisines with different flavour profiles and rich culinary history.
What Flavours To Expect:
Dishes made in Srinagar use whole spices, crushed fennel powder (saunf), dried ginger powder (sonth), Kashmiri chillies, pure saffron, and whipped curd.
Which Dishes To Try:
Wazwan classics such as rogan josh, which is made with sweet marrow and cockscomb flower (maval), rista, featuring mutton meatballs pounded by hand with wooden mallets, and gushtaba, which are meatballs cooked gently in a yoghurt broth.
Noon chai and Kashmiri breads, a salty, pink tea that is paired with fresh breads from a kandur such as crisp girda, katlam, or telvor.
Haakh and nadru yakhni are simple Kashmiri dishes stewed in mustard oil with green chillies, and tender lotus stems made in yoghurt gravy.
Tujji is small cubes of marinated mutton or chicken grilled over long charcoal pits; it is served hot with fresh walnut and radish dips.
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Destination | Core Flavor Profile | Must-Try Dishes | Key Local Element |
Coorg, Karnataka | Tart, peppery, roasted whole spices | Pandi Curry, Akki Roti, Kadamputtu, Baimbale Curry | Kachampuli (wild garcinia vinegar) |
Majuli, Assam | Clean, herbaceous, zero oil, fermented | Ngatok, Purang Apin, Khorika | Bamboo-hollow cooking & tora leaves |
Kumaon, Uttarakhand | Nutty, rustic, iron-infused, warming | Bhatt ki Churkani, Chainsoo, Bhang ki Chutney, Bal Mithai | Cast-iron cookware & roasted hemp seeds |
Malvan, Maharashtra | Fiery, tangy, coconut-dense | Kombdi Vade, Surmai/Bombil Fry, Tisrya Masala, Solkadhi | Kokum, fresh coconut & wild triphala |
Srinagar, J&K | Aromatic, mild, saffron-laced, velvety | Wazwan (Rogan Josh, Rista, Gushtaba), Noon Chai, Haakh, Tujji | Fennel, dry ginger & kandur breads |
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FAQs
Which destination is best for vegetarian travellers who love exploring regional cuisines?
Kumaon region is the best choice for anyone wanting to explore vegetarian cuisine on their travels, as they heavily feature Indian lentils, herbs, and local vegetables in its food. You can also go for Kashmiri Pandit food in Srinagar, as they also feature a lot of tasty vegetarian dishes.
Is the hemp used in Kumaon’s Bhang ki Chutney intoxicating?
No, the bhang ki chutney dish uses seeds of the Cannabis sativa plant and does not contain active THC. It is dry-roasted and then ground with spices, making it nutritious and tasting nutty on the taste buds.
Are these regional dishes easy to find in standard hotels, or do I have to seek out local eateries?
Most standard hotels offer dishes that cater to the taste buds of the general public, so you may find the dishes there, but the taste might not be authentic. To try genuine regional cuisine, go to homestays, local eateries or a local restaurant that serves dishes for the local people of the region.