Jammu and Kashmir

Bakarkhani or Baqarkhani or Bakorkhoni also known as bakarkhani roti, is a thick, spiced flat-bread that is part of the Mughlai cuisine. Bakarkhani is prepared on certain Muslim religious festivals in South Asia and is now popular as sweet bread. Bakarkhani is almost biscuit-like in texture, with a hard crust. The chief ingredients are flour, semolina, sugar, molasses soaked in saffron, poppy or nigella seeds, salt, and ghee .

Flatbread made with fermented dough, serve with buter and jam

Slow-cooked meat, for example, mutton, lamb, beef, chicken, in a thick rice and/or wheat porridge with spices, Note: this is different from the northern African spicy condiment also called harissa

Flattened rice dumplings, made with rice flour paste, jaggery and coconut that is steamed inside turmeric leaves, Note: this is different from Andhra patoli, which is ground chana dal with chili peppers and spices

Sheermal , also spelled shirmal, is a saffron-flavored traditional flatbread eaten in Iran and the Indian subcontinent. The word sheermal is derived from the Persian words شیر (translit. sheer, Sanskrit Kshir) meaning milk, and مالیدن (translit. malidan) meaning to rub or to knead. In a literal translation, sheermal means milk-rubbed. It was introduced to North India by the Mughal emperors during the medieval period. It became a delicacy of Lucknow, Hyderabad and Aurangabad. It is also part of the Awadhi cuisine and is enjoyed in Bhopal and Pakistan. Shirmal is a mildly sweet naan made out of maida, leavened with yeast and baked in a tandoor or oven. Shirmal was traditionally made like roti. Today, shirmal is prepared like naan. The warm water in the recipe for naan roti was replaced with warm milk sweetened with sugar and flavored with saffron and cardamom. In Iran, there are slight regional variations in the preparation of sheermal. As such, it is sometimes sold as a souvenir when travelling between the regions.

Fried dough glazed with sugar

Sugary treats

Kheer, also known as payasam or payesh, is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, it may contain cracked wheat, vermicelli , sago or tapioca (sabudana). In Southern India, it is known as payasam and it is made in various ways. The most popular versions are the ones made with rice and vermicelli (semiya).

Vermicelli (rice noodles) cooked in milk and dry fruits

Sweetened mix of fruit, sultanas, dates, nuts, coconut, paneer, cinnamon, cardamom, saffron

Soan papdi , also known as san papri, shompapri, sohan papdi, shonpapdi is a popular dessert in the Indian subcontinent. It is made of gram flour (besan), all-purpose flour, ghee, sugar and milk. It is usually cube-shaped or served as flakes, and has a crisp and flaky texture. Traditionally sold loose in rolled paper cones, modern industrial production has led to it being sold in the form of tightly formed cubes. Soan papdi has no confirmed origin, but one hypothesis is that it originated in the western state of Maharashtra, India. According to culinary anthropologist Kurush F Dalal, Soan papdi is a Persian dish, the word "soan" has a Persian origin and the name comes from the term sohan pashmaki. San Papdi as is it's called in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, "san" means fibres that the sweet contains. Other speculation about it's origin ranges from Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab to West Bengal. It bears some resemblance to the Dragon's beard candy in China, Kkul-tarae in Korea, and Persian pashmaki, which gave rise to the Turkish pişmaniye. Its main ingredients are sugar, gram flour, flour, ghee, almond, milk, and cardamom.

Butter tea, also known as Bho jha , cha süma (Tibetan: ཇ་སྲུབ་མ་, Wylie: ja srub ma, "churned tea", Mandarin Chinese: sūyóu chá (酥油茶), su ja (Tibetan: སུ་ཇ, Wylie: Suja, "churned tea") in Dzongkha, Cha Su-kan or "gur gur cha" in the Ladakhi language and Su Chya or Phe Chya in the Sherpa language, is a drink of the people in the Himalayan regions of Nepal, Bhutan, India, Pakistan especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, East Turkestan, Tibet and western regions of modern-day China and Central Asia. Traditionally, it is made from tea leaves, yak butter, water, and salt, although butter made from cow's milk is increasingly used, given its wider availability and lower cost. The history of tea in Tibet dates back to the 7th century during the Tang dynasty. However, butter tea did not become popular in Tibet until about the 13th century, the time of the Phagmodrupa dynasty. According to legend, a Chinese princess married a king of Tibet which later helped establish trade routes between China and Tibet. These trade routes brought tea into Tibet from China. Later, butter was added to the tea that was brought from China as butter is and was a staple in Tibetan cuisine.

Kahwah is the traditional preparation of green tea (Camellia sinensis) widely consumed in India, Kashmir, Pakistan, Afghanistan, ,Iran, and some regions of Central Asia. Kashmiri kahwah is made by boiling green tea leaves with local saffron, cinnamon, cardamom and occasionally Kashmiri roses. It is generally served with sugar or honey and crushed nuts, usually almonds or walnuts. Some varieties are made as a herbal infusion only—without the green tea leaves. Traditionally, kahwah is prepared in a copper kettle known as a samovar. A samovar, which originates from Russia, consists of a fire container running as a central cavity, in which live coals are placed to keep the tea warm. Around the fire container there is a space for water to boil and the tea leaves and other ingredients are mixed with the water. Kahwah may also be made in normal pots and kettles, as modern day urban living may not always permit the use of elaborate samovars. Sometimes milk is added to the Kahwah, but this is generally given to the elderly or the sick. Although sometimes milk is added, kahwah is commonly served without milk.

Noon chai , also called Kashmiri tea, pink tea, gulabi chai, Namkeen chai ( pronounced [namkiːn t͡ʃaːj]),[better source needed] and Sheer chai ([ʃiːrʲ t͡ʃaːj]) is a traditional tea beverage originating in Kashmir. It is made with gunpowder tea (green tea leaves rolled into small balls), milk and baking soda. It has become popular in Pakistan, India and the Caribbean. The word noon means 'salt' in several Indo-Aryan languages, such as Kashmiri, Bengali and Nepali. Kashmiri Hindus refer to this Kashmiri tea as "Sheer chai". "Shir", the term from which "Sheer chai" is derived from, means "milk" in Persian.

Sweet cardamom tea with milk

Lamb in a fennel and spice curry

Stir fried pumpkin or squash with mustard seeds, chili peppers and spices

Paneer curry

Spicy chicken curry with tomatoes, onions, curd and spices

Thick soup with bowtie-shaped pasta, vegetables, greens and meat

Stewed lamb shanks

Dahi or curd, also mosaru, dahi, thayir and perugu, is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product originating from and popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is usually prepared from cows' milk, and sometimes buffalo milk or goat milk. The word curd is used in Indian English to refer to homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as "heat-treated fermented milk". Curd is made by bacterial fermentation of milk. In this process, lactose in milk is converted into lactic acid by several probiotic microorganisms. The species involved in the fermentation depends on the temperature and humidity of the environment and may include Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Streptococcus cremoris, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Curd starter is sometimes made with dried red chillies in hot milk. Milk is boiled and then allowed to cool for a while. When lukewarm, dried chili peppers or their stems are added. The reason for this tradition is that dried chillies are rich in a type of lactobacilli, the bacteria that help ferment milk to form curd. The bowl is then kept undisturbed in a warm place for 5 to 10 hours.

Eggplant and yogurt curry

Lamb or mutton in a coriander and yogurt curry, can also be made with chicken

Mutton in a sweet milk curry

Dum aloo , aaloo dam (Awadhi or Bhojpuri: 𑂄𑂪𑂳 𑂠𑂧, romanized: ālō dam) aloo dum (Bengali: আলুর দম, romanized: ālūr dam) or aloo dum (Odia: ଆଳୁ ଦମ, romanized: ālū dam) is an Indian fried potato-based curry dish. The word dum translates to as steam-cooked or slow-cooked, while aloo means potato. It is a part of the traditional Kashmiri Pandit cuisine, from the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Dum aloo is now cooked widely throughout India. There are also Banarasi and Bengali variations. The potatoes, usually smaller ones, are first skinned and deep fried. Kashmiri dum aloo sauce is made with yogurt or khoya, and often includes a cashew nut paste. The Banarasi variation sauce is typically more aromatic and is made from tomatoes and onions. Spices such as red chilies, garlic, ginger, cardamom, and fennel along with other herbs, are added to the sauce. The potatoes are cooked slowly at low flame in the sauce, and can be garnished with coriander. Dum aloo is often paired and served with naan.

Spiced mutton meatballs in a yogurt curry

Cooked greens with mustard oil, chili peppers, spices

Fried lamb ribs, lamb ribs are cooked in milk and spices, then fried

Bitter gourd and potatoes

Rice pilaf made in the style of Kashmir

Kebab , kebap, (North American) kabob, kebob, or (Kashmiri) kabab,[a] is a variety of roasted meat dishes that originated in the Middle East.

Sour mutton curry made with amchoor (mango powder) or anardana (dried pomegranate seeds), may be used with other meats, for example, goat

Minced lamb or mutton patties cooked in a yogurt and tomato curry

Paneer curry with turmeric

A spicy red curry made with mutton, lamb, goat, chicken

Meatballs in a spicy red curry

Fenugreek and paneer curry

Sweetened spiced rice with saffron, cinnamon, cardamom, bay leaves, cloves, milk, dates, almonds, cashews

Momos[a] are a type of steamed filled dumpling in Tibetan and Nepali cuisine that is also popular in neighbouring Bhutan, Bangladesh, and India. The majority of Tibetan momos are half-moon in shape like jiaozi, while Nepali momos are normally round like baozi. Momos are usually served with a sauce known as achar influenced by the spices and herbs used within many South Asian cuisines. It can also be used in soup, as in jhol momo and mokthuk. "Momo", as written, is a phonetic transcription of the Tibetan word མོག་མོག . It is possible that this Tibetan word is borrowed from the Chinese term momo (馍馍), a name traditionally used in northwestern Chinese dialects for wheat steamed buns and bread. The word mo (馍) itself means wheat flour food products or mantou (馒头), steamed buns. Historically, Chinese names for steamed buns did not distinguish between those with or without fillings until the term baozi (包子) emerged during the Song Dynasty between the tenth and thirteenth century. However, in eastern regions of China such as Jiangsu and Shanghai, mantou continues to carry both meanings in modern day. The history of dumplings in China shows that dumplings were popular during the Southern and Northern dynasties (420–589 AD). Dumplings dated between 499 AD and 640 AD were found in the Astana Cemetery in northwestern modern-day China.

Spicy mutton curry with tomatoes, onions, curd and spices

Spinach and lotus stem curry

Kheer, also known as payasam or payesh, is a pudding or porridge popular in the Indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice. It can be additionally flavoured with dried fruits, nuts, cardamom and saffron. Instead of rice, it may contain cracked wheat, vermicelli , sago or tapioca (sabudana). In Southern India, it is known as payasam and it is made in various ways. The most popular versions are the ones made with rice and vermicelli (semiya).

Kidney bean curry and rice

Kidney bean and curd curry

Mutton meatballs in spicy red curry

Mutton meatballs in spinach curry

Rogan josh ; Kashmiri: [roːɡan dʒoːʃ]), also spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an aromatic curried meat dish originating from Kashmir. It is made with red meat—traditionally lamb, mutton, or goat—and coloured and flavoured primarily by alkanet flower (or root) and Kashmiri chilies. It is one of the signature recipes of Kashmiri cuisine. A number of origins of the name have been suggested. Rawghan means "clarified butter" or "oil" in Persian, while jōš means to "stew" or "braise" and ultimately derives from the verb jōšīdan meaning "to boil". Rogan josh, by this definition, may mean "stewed in ghee". An alternative etymology is that the name derives from either the word roghan (Hindi: रोगन, Urdu: روغن), "brown" or "red", or the Koshur roghan, "red", along with the word either for "meat", (gošt) often romanized as "rogan ghosht" or "gosht", or a word meaning "juice", giving possible meanings of "red meat" or "red juice". The exact etymology remains uncertain as both "rogan josh" and "rogan ghosht" are used to refer to the dish and it is unclear which of the names is the original.

Paneer in tomato curry

Seekh kebab is a type of kebab, native to the Indian subcontinent, made with Indian subcontinent spices, spiced minced or ground meat, usually lamb, beef, or chicken, formed into cylinders on skewers and grilled. It is typically cooked on a mangal or barbecue, or in a tandoor. Seekh kebabs are prepared in homes and restaurants throughout South Asia. It is a signature dish in Indian metro cities like Kolkata, Bhopal, Delhi, Hyderabad, Lucknow and in Pakistan and Bangladesh. Seekh kebabs are soft and succulent, seasoned with various spices such as ginger, garlic, green chilli pepper, powdered chilli and garam masala, as well as lemon juice, coriander/cilantro and mint leaves. Sometimes extra fats are added to further enhance the flavor. Seekh kebabs are typically served with raita, salad, onion slices, lemon wedges or green chutney and eaten with naan breads or parathas. Some popular seekh kebabs variants are gola kabab, tunde ke kabab, kakori kebab and gilafi seekh kebab. Vegetarian seekh kebabs popular in India are made with beans, carrots, potatoes, cauliflowers and green peas.

Shab deg or shab daig is slow cooked turnip and mutton stew, traditionally left to simmer overnight. "Shab" means 'night' and "daig" means 'cooking pot' in the Persian language. The dish has been described as Mughlai origin from the Kashmir Valley.

Shami kabab or shaami kabab is a South Asian variety of kebab, composed of a shallow fried small patty of minced meat, generally beef, but occasionally lamb or mutton , with ground chickpeas, egg as binder, and spices. It originates from the Lucknow region of the Indian subcontinent developed during the Mughal rule. It is a popular dish in modern-day Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi cuisines. Shami kebab is eaten as a snack or an appetizer, and is served to guests especially in the regions of Bengal, Deccan, Punjab, Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Sindh. They are often garnished with lemon juice and served with sliced raw onions as a side salad, and may be eaten with chutney made from mint or coriander. They are also served along with sheer khurma during the celebrations of the Islamic festival of Eid.

Stew with small, thumb-pressed dumplings, vegetables and meat

Thenthuk or hand-pulled noodle soup (thukpa), is a very common noodle soup in Tibetan cuisine, especially in Amdo, Tibet where it is served as dinner and sometimes lunch. The main ingredients are wheat flour dough, mixed vegetables and some pieces of mutton or yak meat. Vegetable thenthuk is a common modern-day option too. Making the soup consists of mixing the flour, kneading the dough, chopping the vegetables and meat and boiling the soup. The cook starts working with the dough when everything boiling in the soup is well cooked. They shape the dough, flatten it, pull it and cut it off, right into the boiling soup. As soon as this is finished, the noodle soup is ready to cool down and be served.

Minced mutton or beef kebabs

Two halves or two whole chickens with coriander and melon seeds

Wazwan is a multi-course meal in Kashmiri cuisine, originating from Kashmir. Almost all the dishes are meat-based using lamb, beef or mutton with few vegetarian dishes. It is popular throughout the larger Kashmir region. Moreover, Wazwan is also served internationally at Kashmiri food festivals and reunions. all dishes are prepared according to halal standards. For vegetarians, there are distinctive delicacies such as Dum Alve, Nadur (lotus stem), Haakh (collard greens), Kashmiri vegetarian pulao is a flavorful dish prepared with aromatic Kashmiri spices, vegetables, and a mix of dried fruits, creating a rich and delightful culinary experience. In the Kashmiri language, waz means 'cook' or 'cooking' and wan means 'shop'. The ultimate formal banquet in Kashmir is the royal wazwan. Of its thirty-six courses, between fifteen and thirty can be preparations of meat, cooked overnight under the supervision of a master chef called a wouste waze. Guests are seated in groups of four and share the meal out of a large copper plate called the traem. A ritual washing of hands in a portable basin called the Tash-t-naer, which is taken around by attendants. Then the traem arrives, heaped with rice, quartered by two seekh kababs and contains four pieces of methi maaz, (mutton intestines flavored with a spice mixture containing dried fenugreek (methi) leaves), two tabakh maaz (twice-cooked lamb ribs, initially braised with ground spices, then browned in ghee), one safed kokur (chicken with white sauce), one zafran kokur (chicken with saffron sauce), and the first few courses. Yogurt and chutney are served separately in small earthen pots. Up to about 20 items are served thereafter by waza (the junior cook). Seven dishes are a must for these occasions — tabakh maaz, rista (meatballs in a red, paprika-saffron-fennel spice gravy colored with dyer's alkanet), rogan josh, daniwal korma (lamb roasted with yoghurt, spices and onion puree, topped with coriander leaves), aab gosh (lamb chunks cooked with a fennel-based spice mixture, cardamom and partially evaporated milk), marchhwangan korma (chicken legs/thighs cooked in a spicy browned-onion sauce) and gushtaba (meatballs cooked in a spicy yoghurt gravy). The main course usually ends with gushtaba. The gushtaba is a large meatball which signals the end of the main course. After that, desserts are served. In winters, the dessert can be a hot sweet dish and in summers, it is usually something cold.[citation needed]

Yakhni , yahni (Turkish), or yahniya (Bulgarian: яхния, Serbian, Macedonian: јанија), jahni (Albanian) is a class of dishes traditionally prepared in a vast area encompassing South Asia, the Middle East and the Balkans. A meat stew named yakhni originated as a Medieval Iranian cuisine. The name derives from the covered clay pot in which it was originally cooked. The meaning of the Persian word is "store of food". Different varieties of this dish later spread eastwards to Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and much later to South Asia and westwards to the Ottoman Empire reaching the Levant and the Balkans. In Iranian cuisine, yakhni is a meat stew akin to khoresh, while yakhni-polow is a pilaf cooked in a stew.

Made with fresh or dry pomegranate seeds, usually served with sliced onions

South Asian pickle is a pickled food made from a variety of vegetables, meats and fruits preserved in brine, vinegar, edible oils, and various South Asian spices. The pickles are popular across South Asia, with many regional variants, natively known as lonache, avalehikā, uppinakaayi, khatai, pachadi or noncha, achaar , athāṇu or athāṇo or athāna, khaṭāī or khaṭāin, sandhan or sendhan or sāṇdhāṇo, kasundi, or urugaai. Terms used for pickles in South Asia vary regionally. They are known as ūrugāi in Tamil, pachchadi, avakaya, achaar, tokku, or ūragāya in Telugu, uppinakaayi in Kannada, uppillittuthu in Malayalam, loncha in Marathi, lonchem in Konkani, athāṇu in Gujarati, athāṇo in Rajasthani and Braj, sendhān or sandhān in Awadhi, Bagheli and Bhojpuri,khaṭāiṇ or sāndhaṇo in Sindhi, kasundi in Bangla and Odia. In Hindi, native words for pickle which are rooted in Sanskrit include athāna, noncha, sendhān, and khaṭaī. Another term, achaar, is also used in Hindi, Nepali, Urdu, and Bengali. Early Sanskrit and Tamil literature uses the terms Avalehika, Upadamzam, Sandhita, and Avaleha for pickles. In Hindustani, an additional word, āchār (अचार or आचार), is used for pickles, along with other native Hindi words. Āchār is a loanword of Persian origin, entered popular use as the Hindustani term for pickles under Islamic rule. However, pickles in India are totally different from vinegar-based pickles in the Middle East. In Persian, the word āchār is defined as "powdered or salted meats, pickles, or fruits, preserved in salt, vinegar, honey, or syrup".

Bakarkhani or Baqarkhani or Bakorkhoni also known as bakarkhani roti, is a thick, spiced flat-bread that is part of the Mughlai cuisine. Bakarkhani is prepared on certain Muslim religious festivals in South Asia and is now popular as sweet bread. Bakarkhani is almost biscuit-like in texture, with a hard crust. The chief ingredients are flour, semolina, sugar, molasses soaked in saffron, poppy or nigella seeds, salt, and ghee .

Calabash , also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, New Guinea bean, New Guinea butter bean, Tasmania bean, and opo squash, is a vine grown for its fruit. It can be either harvested young to be consumed as a vegetable, or harvested mature to be dried and used as a utensil, container, or a musical instrument. When it is fresh, the fruit has a light green smooth skin and white flesh. Calabash fruits have a variety of shapes: they can be huge and rounded, small and bottle-shaped, or slim and serpentine, and they can grow to be over a metre long. Rounder varieties are typically called calabash gourds. The gourd was one of the world's first cultivated plants grown not primarily for food, but for use as containers. The bottle gourd may have been carried from Asia to Africa, Europe, and the Americas in the course of human migration, or by seeds floating across the oceans inside the gourd. It has been proven to have been globally domesticated (and existed in the New World) during the Pre-Columbian era.

Rice is a cereal grain and in its domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species Oryza sativa —or, much less commonly, Oryza glaberrima (African rice). Asian rice was domesticated in China some 13,500 to 8,200 years ago; African rice was domesticated in Africa about 3,000 years ago. Rice has become commonplace in many cultures worldwide; in 2021, 787 million tons were produced, placing it fourth after sugarcane, maize, and wheat. Only some 8% of rice is traded internationally. China, India, and Indonesia are the largest consumers of rice. A substantial amount of the rice produced in developing nations is lost after harvest through factors such as poor transport and storage. Rice yields can be reduced by pests including insects, rodents, and birds, as well as by weeds, and by diseases such as rice blast. Traditional rice polycultures such as rice-duck farming, and modern integrated pest management seek to control damage from pests in a sustainable way. Many varieties of rice have been bred to improve crop quality and productivity. Biotechnology has created Green Revolution rice able to produce high yields when supplied with nitrogen fertiliser and managed intensively. Other products are rice able to express human proteins for medicinal use; flood-tolerant or deepwater rice; and drought-tolerant and salt-tolerant varieties. Rice is used as a model organism in biology.

Flatbread made with fermented dough, serve with buter and jam

Sesame-topped roll, serve with lassi

Dahi or curd, also mosaru, dahi, thayir and perugu, is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product originating from and popular throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is usually prepared from cows' milk, and sometimes buffalo milk or goat milk. The word curd is used in Indian English to refer to homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as "heat-treated fermented milk". Curd is made by bacterial fermentation of milk. In this process, lactose in milk is converted into lactic acid by several probiotic microorganisms. The species involved in the fermentation depends on the temperature and humidity of the environment and may include Lactococcus lactis, Streptococcus diacetylactis, Streptococcus cremoris, Lactobacillus delbrueckii subsp. bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. Curd starter is sometimes made with dried red chillies in hot milk. Milk is boiled and then allowed to cool for a while. When lukewarm, dried chili peppers or their stems are added. The reason for this tradition is that dried chillies are rich in a type of lactobacilli, the bacteria that help ferment milk to form curd. The bowl is then kept undisturbed in a warm place for 5 to 10 hours.

Walnut chutney

Dum aloo , aaloo dam (Awadhi or Bhojpuri: 𑂄𑂪𑂳 𑂠𑂧, romanized: ālō dam) aloo dum (Bengali: আলুর দম, romanized: ālūr dam) or aloo dum (Odia: ଆଳୁ ଦମ, romanized: ālū dam) is an Indian fried potato-based curry dish. The word dum translates to as steam-cooked or slow-cooked, while aloo means potato. It is a part of the traditional Kashmiri Pandit cuisine, from the Kashmir Valley of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Dum aloo is now cooked widely throughout India. There are also Banarasi and Bengali variations. The potatoes, usually smaller ones, are first skinned and deep fried. Kashmiri dum aloo sauce is made with yogurt or khoya, and often includes a cashew nut paste. The Banarasi variation sauce is typically more aromatic and is made from tomatoes and onions. Spices such as red chilies, garlic, ginger, cardamom, and fennel along with other herbs, are added to the sauce. The potatoes are cooked slowly at low flame in the sauce, and can be garnished with coriander. Dum aloo is often paired and served with naan.

Fried pumpkin flowers, also known as squash blossoms, are a popular dish in India, often prepared by coating the flowers in a spiced batter and deep-frying them until crispy. They can be enjoyed as a snack or appetizer, and are commonly served with various dips or as a side dish.

Spicy onion chutney

Flatbread with ghee, cooked in a tandoor oven

Dried turnips

Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order Pezizales . These distinctive fungi have a honeycomb appearance due to the network of ridges with pits composing their caps. Morels are prized by gourmet cooks, particularly in Catalan and French cuisine, but can be toxic if consumed raw or undercooked. Due to difficulties in cultivation, commercial harvesting of wild morels has become a multimillion-dollar industry in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, in particular North America, Turkey, China, the Himalayas, India, and Pakistan where these highly prized fungi are found in abundance. Typified by Morchella esculenta in 1794, the genus has been the source of considerable taxonomical controversy throughout the years, mostly with regard to the number of species involved, with some mycologists recognising as few as three species and others over thirty. Current molecular phylogenetics suggest there might be over seventy species of Morchella worldwide, most of them exhibiting high continental endemism and provincialism.

Cooked greens with mustard oil, chili peppers, spices

Flatbread and sweet halwa (e.g., suji ka halwa paste), nun chai (noon chai, salty tea) or sheer chai (sweet tea)

Wild spinach greens

Taraxacum is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae, which consists of species commonly known as dandelions. The scientific and hobby study of the genus is known as taraxacology. The genus is native to Eurasia but the two most commonplace species worldwide, T. officinale (the common dandelion) and T. erythrospermum (the red-seeded dandelion), were introduced from Europe into North America, where they are an invasive species. Dandelions thrive in temperate regions and can be found in yards, gardens, sides of roads, among crops, and in many other habitats. Both species are edible in their entirety[a] and have a long history of consumption. The common name dandelion (/ˈdændəlaɪ.ən/ DAN-də-ly-ən; from French dent-de-lion 'lion's tooth', referring to the jagged leaves) is also given to specific members of the genus. Like other members of the family Asteraceae, they have very small flowers collected together into a composite flower head. Each single flower in a head is called a floret. In part due to their abundance, along with being a generalist species, dandelions are one of the most vital early spring nectar sources for a wide host of pollinators. Many Taraxacum species produce seeds asexually by apomixis, where the seeds are produced without pollination, resulting in offspring that are genetically identical to the parent plant.

Dried vegetables that are stored for winter months, for example, aaleh (gourd), tamater (tomato), wangun (eggplant)

Fresh fish rapidly deteriorates unless some way can be found to preserve it. Drying is a method of food preservation that works by removing water from the food, which inhibits the growth of microorganisms. Open air drying using sun and wind has been practiced since ancient times to preserve food. Water is usually removed by evaporation but, in the case of freeze-drying, food is first frozen and then the water is removed by sublimation. Bacteria, yeasts and molds need the water in the food to grow, and drying effectively prevents them from surviving in the food. Fish are preserved through such traditional methods as drying, smoking and salting. The oldest traditional way of preserving fish was to let the wind and sun dry it. Drying food is the world's oldest known preservation method, and dried fish has a storage life of several years. The method is cheap and effective in suitable climates; the work can be done by the fisherman and family, and the resulting product is easily transported to market. Stockfish is unsalted fish, especially cod, dried by cold air and wind on wooden racks on the foreshore. The drying racks are known as fish flakes. Cod is the most common fish used in stockfish production, though other whitefish, such as pollock, haddock, ling and tusk, are also used.

Spicy taro root snack, may also be made with potatoes, also refers to a fruit salad

Kalari cheese and vegetables in kulcha flatbread

Ripened cow, buffalo or goat milk cheese with a flavor similar to mozzarella, kalari is fried in oil and seasoned with salt and chili powder, rolled with vegetables inside kulcha flatbread (kaladi kulcha)

Kashmiri chutney refers to a variety of chutneys from the Kashmir region, often made with ingredients like walnuts, radishes, and spices. These chutneys are popular as side dishes and can enhance the flavors of various Indian meals.

Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds from a fledgling fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. Left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond . As fiddleheads are harvested early in the season, before the frond has opened and reached its full height, they are cut fairly close to the ground. Fiddleheads from brackens contain ptaquiloside, a compound associated with bracken toxicity, and thiaminase. Not all species contain ptaquiloside, such as Diplazium esculentum, a fern with fiddleheads regularly consumed in parts of East Asia, which differs from bracken (Pteridium aquilinum).

Split wheat germ, mixed with black masala spices

Wheat flatbread, serve with butter tea

Kulcha is a Persian term for a disc-shaped loaf of leavened bread. In India, this term is commonly used for regular English bread . The term kulcha is Persian and describes a disc-shaped loaf of bread, bun or even biscuit. However, in India this term came to be associated with round breads popularized during the British colonial period. In some parts of India, naan or tandoori parantha is often confused with kulcha.

Flatbread topped with chickpea masala and spicy mujj chetin (radish chutney)

Spicy deep-fried fish

Kohlrabi, turnips

Radish chutney

Battered and fried lotus stem or root, serve with gande chetin (spicy onion chutney)

Sorrel , also called common sorrel or garden sorrel, is a perennial herbaceous plant in the family Polygonaceae. Other names for sorrel include spinach dock and narrow-leaved dock ("dock" being a common name for the genus Rumex). Sorrel is native to Eurasia and a common plant in grassland habitats. It is often cultivated as a leaf vegetable or herb.

Onion fritters

Flattened rice dumplings, made with rice flour paste, jaggery and coconut that is steamed inside turmeric leaves, Note: this is different from Andhra patoli, which is ground chana dal with chili peppers and spices

Pilaf , pilav or pilau ( UK: /ˈpiːlaʊ, piːˈlaʊ/) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat,[note 1][note 2] and employing some technique for achieving cooked grains that do not adhere.[note 3][note 4] At the time of the Abbasid Caliphate, such methods of cooking rice at first spread through a vast territory from South Asia to Spain, and eventually to a wider world. The Spanish paella,[note 5] and the South Asian pilau or pulao,[note 6] and biryani,[note 7] evolved from such dishes.

A chewy cheese with the texture of paneer, qudam is made with the leftover whey from kalari cheese production