Uttarakhand, adding a sense of life! Have you planned to visit Uttarakhand lately, or have you visited recently? Besides natural beauty, herbal medicines, a healthy environment, friendly people, and that unmatchable traditional food all around. Imagine enjoying everything so mesmerising while sipping your favourite masala chai. Don't just stop here, Uttarakhand food choice is something you should not miss exploring.
Uttarakhand Cuisines That You Should Never Miss
Flavourful, nutritious, and simple, defines Uttarakhand food. In every recipe, you can find the mountainous region's flavour, and the more you try, the better the traditional cuisine tastes! Uttarakhand depicts the beautiful, breathtaking, and magnificent landscapes. The spiritual sanctuaries make it appear purer. Most of the Uttarakhand cuisine is derived from unique locally grown ingredients. Every serving of Uttarakhand cuisine is specially prepared for those who cherish Pahadi food.
Unique Agricultural Practices: The Biggest Trait of Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand is known for its unique agricultural practices and mountainous terrain. You will get so many locally grown grains and lentils, which are beneficial and healthy at the same time. Finger millet or mandua, bhatt or black soybeans, jhangora or barnyard millet, gahat or kulath, and several other ingredients are commonly available there. Uttarakhand traditional food consists of most of these grains and lentils. The best part of Uttarakhand food is the different kinds of green, leafy vegetables grown here. This Uttarakhand traditional food is made by using these ingredients and cooking them slowly on wood-burning stoves. Remember how your great-grandmother mentioned the duration they took to cook their special recipes and how tasty they used to be. In a fast-paced life, that taste is missing in most places, but guess what? The food cooked in Uttarakhand is also cooked with the same care, and the best part is that it is cooked with less oil, hence making it healthier. That's not over. The food that is cooked here has that additional natural flavour besides being overall healthy.
Uttarakhand Popular Dishes- The More You Try, The More You Crave
Uttarakhand food is often a combination of different traditional thalis. You will be amazed to know what kind of varieties these thalis can have for you. Open the surprise box and let's see:
A Typical Traditional Uttarakhand Thali- Beginning To Taste Of Mouthwatering Uttarakhand Cuisine
Before diving into the food hub and the varieties of thali, let us learn what the common cuisine they love is, not just the ingredients, but the greatness of every preparation.
1. Kafuli- A sabji cooked especially in an iron kadhai
Preparation for this sabji is very simple but requires patience and extra alertness while cooking. You need to chop spinach and fenugreek leaves. Minutely chopping the leaves will add value to the final results. Some people prefer adding Aijwain to it besides other common spices just before it is done to restrict any gastric issues. It is cooked slowly in an iron kadhai. Some prefer to cook on the wood stove as it tastes better that way. People prefer eating it with rice and rotis.
2. Bhaang Ki Chutney- An Aroma To Cherish
Hemp seeds can bring such aroma and flavour, and this chutney can be a live demonstration. Just take the seeds and make a paste of them. Try it with anything, and you are good to go. The aroma of this chutney is the biggest attraction.
3. Aloo ke Gutke- Tasty, Magic Potatoes
This potato dish is simple to cook. Boiled potatoes are peeled and chopped into different sizes, and in less oil, they are cooked. Common dry spices are put on it after it is cooked. The simple but tasty delicacy is all awaited. You can try it with Bhang ki Chutney, Kamaoni Raita, and Pooris.
4. Phaanu- A Basic Food in Garhwali Cuisine
Ever tasted a lentil curry before? Besides wonderful taste and healthy ingredients, it is a top food in Garhwali cuisine. Try it hot with rot or rice and you will never forget the flavour.
5. Chainsoo- Bring Health To Your Plate
This dish uses lentils as well and serves the right portion of protein on your plate, and occupies a major role in the Garhwali thali. This Garhwali recipe is something to cherish.
6. Jhangora ki Kheer- Pahadi Sweet
You would never have thought that barnyard millet could make such a wonderful sweet. Desserts are a must in any meal plan, and this is a complete, tasty, and nutritional delicacy that no one would like to miss. Try this to get surprised! For sure, you cannot stop to only one bowl.
7. Arsa- A Traditional Sweet Food
This food is made by mixing jaggery and rice, and turns out tasty. It is a compulsory dish for every festival. The best part of arsa is the fact that it tastes the best, but it ranks low in calories. People simply love it as it never brings the trouble of adding too many calories to their diet. If you are here, try it for sure, and for sure you will plan to prepare it at home.
8. Gahat or Kulath Soup- A Soup To Remember
This soup is especially prepared in the winter, and horsegram or laal chana is used for its preparation. It has immense therapeutic qualities. It is a popular soup in Kumaon and Garhwal. Full of fibres, vitamins, minerals, and low calories, this soup can be categorised as a Superfood. In this, gahat dal is put to boil first, and later it is tempered to bring out the taste. Cooked slowly, this soup is prepared with much patience and care. Some people like to garnish it with cream and coriander, but that's an exception. Try this bowl of nutrition to cherish the taste from the hills of Uttarakhand.
9. Bhatt Ki Churkani
This dish is made with the help of black soybeans. It is also called Bhatt ki Chudkani. It is the most common vegetarian option chosen by the masses in Kumaon. In the northern hills, different black soybeans are used to prepare it. It is prepared in an iron kadhai to increase the black colour and taste. It is prepared in multiple ways. Though it is a winter dish, people are trying it in other weather too!
10. Garhwal Ka Fannah
This lentil curry is a special delicacy of the Garhwal region. Horse gram is used to prepare it. As mentioned earlier, Uttarakhand is a place where cooking food is taken as an art, and preparing any delicacy takes time. But if someone wants to make it quickly, they can prepare it in a cooker. Iron kadhai is used here, where a small amount of oil is poured, followed by a paste of onion, garlic, and red chillies. Some dry red chillies and cumin seeds have been added, too! A puree of tomato and onion is added and mixed with basic spices. Horsegram is added, and after cooking it for some more time, it is finally ready.
11. Bal Mithai- Traditional But Modern Sweet
This sweet is made with the help of khoya and special sugar balls. This sweet looks like a chocolate fudge. The poppy seed on top of it makes it look attractive and adds more taste. It is a special sweet from Kumaon, India. Mixing pure ghee, khoya, and sugar together, this sweet is made with great tenderness. One can simply label it as desi-chocolate fudge.
12. Thechwani
Using potatoes and radishes, this traditional dish serves best all traditional pahadi food lovers. In this dish, vegetables are crushed, and spices are added to it. This is done on the sil batta.
13. Kandalee Ka Saag
Nettle leaves, all stuffed with goodness, are used in the preparation of this dish with less oil and basic spices. Jealth is served first when you try this dish. It is highly popular in every part of Uttarakhand due to the health benefits hidden in it and the tastes it holds. Tourists willingly try this dish as these leaves are available here only. People like to try something so unique always. Paneer is also added to it, and this dish is also served in restaurants with a high sales record. Try it with Paratha and enjoy every bit of it.
14. Dubuk- Pahadi Dal
This name sounds interesting, and so is its taste. This traditional dish is made with the help of dal. You must be wondering why we are discussing a dal so much; you need to try it once. Though it is a winter dish, people eat it throughout the year. Indeed, it is one of the all-time delicacies.
15. Kumaoni Raita- A Complimentary Tasty Dish
This dish consists of yoghurt, spices, and vegetables. Remember to blend the yoghurt well. Mostly, people use cucumber in it, and people of Uttarakhand use it as a mandatory dish to be served.
16. Gulgula
This sweet snack uses jaggery to make it. Tourists have simply given a heads up to this dish, a delectable sweet, gulgula, which has its origin in the Garhwal region. You are sure to get it at every stoppage if you are enjoying your trip in Uttarakhand. It is not tough to prepare it, but it is still tough to gain the taste that Uttarakhand serves. Maybe it is the love and the environmental beauty that complement the taste of gulgula. You can find them in North India too, but indeed the taste differs.
17. Jhwai or Jhoi
This pahadi kadhi is simple to prepare. You need buttermilk or whey. Thicken it by adding wheat or rice flour paste. It is the commonly eaten cuisine, Kadhi, prepared in a different way. Jhoi is a popular millet, used in the preparation of several traditional Pahadi dishes, and Jhwai is one of them. Try Jhoi Kappa bhaat once, and you will never forget it.
18. Thhatwani or The Delicious Ras
To your surprise, this soup is simply prepared by mixing some common ingredients. It is a combination of lentil stock, rice paste, and pulses. Do you know they are cooked in an iron kadhai? The pulses here need extra soaking and need to be soaked for 10 hours or more. Try it with rice and check for yourself how wonderful it tastes!
19. Mandua Ki Roti
Trying hard to decide what to eat for breakfast in Uttarakhand! Try mendua ki roti, which is made especially with finger millet. The usefulness of millet will keep you full and serve the nutritional value, too.
20. Singori
This sweetmeat wrapped especially in a particular leaf, called the Maalu leaf, is something you will commonly find in the Kumaon region. Don't miss it for sure! Local people also address it as Singauri or Singodi. This sweet is a cone-shaped one, which you might find in Almora, a popular place in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.
21. Aloo ka Jhol- Gravy Charisma
Jhol, for those who are not aware, must learn that it refers to the thin gravy complementing some sabji. It is a Hindi term. In aloo ka jhol, a potato recipe is made, and people prefer having it with roti or pooris. Local people call it Aloo rasedar, poori masala, poori bhaji, and Mathura ke dubki waale aloo. Indeed, to try this, you will definitely plan to visit this place. You must have never thought that a simple aloo bhaji preparation could be so wonderful! Stomach can take you anywhere, you must land here to taste this delicacy.
Til ladoo is also a dessert that is now cherished worldwide, but it is one of the oldest sweets in Uttarakhand.
Enough of the food, but do you know Uttarakhand food often comes in two cuisines- Kumaoni cuisine and Garhwali cuisine. It is based on the two main regions of Uttarakhand. All the dishes made here are cooked using simple ingredients and simple spices. Mostly, they use slowfire, lentils, and less oil, and hence, they are too healthy.
Key Points of Uttarakhand Food
Uttarakhand food is simple and uses local ingredients to cook it. A few things commonly will be seen in all the recipes of Uttarakhand:
- Most of the recipes have local pulses, grains, and powerful herbs.
- The Uttarakhand cuisine includes Jakhiya or wild mustard, Kandali or nettles, Bhatt or black soybean, and many more.
- Most of the preparation demands less oil and are hence healthy.
- They prefer using jaggery instead of refined sugar.
- Chai, herbal tea, and milk tea are the common beverages all around in Uttarakhand.
Health Benefits of Consuming Pahadi Ingredients
The traditional thali served in Uttarakhand is completely planned by adding natural ingredients that are full of protein and other beneficial nutrients.
Most of the cereals, millet, pulses, and other ingredients used are rich in antioxidants and micronutrients.
The ingredients used in the preparation of Uttarakhand food are rich in fibre.
Ragi brings calcium, stinging nettle is good for body pain, and Dubuk makes gut health better. There are more; just keep exploring.
You will find more green leafy vegetables in traditional winter thali than summer thali.
Aloo is loved all over Uttarakhand, with some claiming it to be the king of vegetables.
Uttarakhand Ka Khana- A Thali To Cherish Forever
Uttarakhand, the land of gods, seems to serve food from the gods' house in every thali it serves. In every serving of Uttarakhand cuisine, you can experience the locally sourced ingredients. They follow a simple cooking style and prefer health over anything else. Planning to travel to Uttarakhand, do not forget to explore every delicacy of the region. Be ready to witness delicacy and an authentic pahadi food experience together.
Uttarakhand is waiting for you to enjoy the food that might serve your taste buds and health well! When are you planning to visit there?
