Main

Aab gosht

Lamb in a fennel and spice curry

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Anardana chutney

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Anchar

A south asian pickle, also known as avalehikā, pachchadi, achaar (sometimes spelled as aachaar), athaanu, loncha, oorugaai, or aavakaai is a pickled food, native to the indian subcontinent, made from a variety of vegetables and fruits, preserved in brine, vinegar, or edible oils along with various indian spices.

Main

Auriya kadoo

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Bakarkhani

Bakarkhani or baqarkhani, also known as bakar khani roti, is a thick, spiced flat-bread that is part of the mughlai cuisine. bakarkhani is prepared on certain muslim religious festivals and is now popular as sweet bread.bakorkhani 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 (clarified butter).

Breakfast

Bakarkhani

Bakarkhani or baqarkhani, also known as bakar khani roti, is a thick, spiced flat-bread that is part of the mughlai cuisine. bakarkhani is prepared on certain muslim religious festivals and is now popular as sweet bread.bakorkhani 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 (clarified butter).

Dessert, Sweet

Basrakh

Fried dough glazed with sugar

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Bottle gourd chutney

Calabash (; lagenaria siceraria), also known as bottle gourd, white-flowered gourd, long melon, birdhouse gourd, new guinea bean and tasmania bean, 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. because bottle gourds are also called "calabashes", they are sometimes confused with the hard, hollow fruits of the unrelated calabash tree (crescentia cujete), whose fruits are also used to make utensils, containers, and musical instruments.

Main

Chamani qaliya

Paneer curry

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Chawal

Rice is the seed of the grass species oryza sativa (asian rice) or less commonly oryza glaberrima (african rice). the name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera zizania and porteresia, both wild and domesticated, although the term may also be used for primitive or uncultivated varieties of oryza. as a cereal grain, domesticated rice is the most widely consumed staple food for over half of the world's human population, especially in asia and africa. it is the agricultural commodity with the third-highest worldwide production, after sugarcane and maize. since sizable portions of sugarcane and maize crops are used for purposes other than human consumption, rice is the most important food crop with regard to human nutrition and caloric intake, providing more than one-fifth of the calories consumed worldwide by humans. there are many varieties of rice and culinary preferences tend to vary regionally. the traditional method for cultivating rice is flooding the fields while, or after, setting the young seedlings. this simple method requires sound irrigation planning but reduces the growth of less robust weed and pest plants that have no submerged growth state, and deters vermin. while flooding is not mandatory for the cultivation of rice, all other methods of irrigation require higher effort in weed and pest control during growth periods and a different approach for fertilizing the soil. rice, a monocot, is normally grown as an annual plant, although in tropical areas it can survive as a perennial and can produce a ratoon crop for up to 30 years. rice cultivation is well-suited to countries and regions with low labor costs and high rainfall, as it is labor-intensive to cultivate and requires ample water. however, rice can be grown practically anywhere, even on a steep hill or mountain area with the use of water-controlling terrace systems. although its parent species are native to asia and certain parts of africa, centuries of trade and exportation have made it commonplace in many cultures worldwide. production and consumption of rice is estimated to have been responsible for 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions in 2010.

Main

Chicken kanti

Spicy chicken curry with tomatoes, onions, curd and spices

Main

Chutagi

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Czhot

Flatbread made with fermented dough, serve with buter and jam

Breakfast

Czhot

Flatbread made with fermented dough, serve with buter and jam

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Czochwoar

Sesame-topped roll, serve with lassi

Main

Daeni phoul

Stewed lamb shanks

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Dahi

Curd is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from the indian subcontinent, usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk, or goat milk. it is popular throughout the indian subcontinent. the word curd is used in indian english to refer to (naturally probiotic) homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as heat treated fermented milk.

Main

Dahi

Curd is a traditional yogurt or fermented milk product, originating from the indian subcontinent, usually prepared from cow's milk, and sometimes buffalo milk, or goat milk. it is popular throughout the indian subcontinent. the word curd is used in indian english to refer to (naturally probiotic) homemade yogurt, while the term yogurt refers to the pasteurized commercial variety known as heat treated fermented milk.

Main

Dahi baingan

Eggplant and yogurt curry

Main

Dhaniwal korma

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

Main

Doodh ras

Mutton in a sweet milk curry

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Doon chetin

Walnut chutney

Main

Dum aloo

Dum aloo (also spelled as dam aloo, hindi: दम आलू, romanized: dam ālū) or aloor dum (bengali: আলুর দম, romanized: ālūr dam) is a potato-based curry dish. dum means slow-cooked, and aloo is potato. it is a part of the traditional kashmiri pandit cuisine, from the kashmir valley, in the indian state of jammu and kashmir. there are also banarasi and bengali variations.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Dum aloo

Dum aloo (also spelled as dam aloo, hindi: दम आलू, romanized: dam ālū) or aloor dum (bengali: আলুর দম, romanized: ālūr dam) is a potato-based curry dish. dum means slow-cooked, and aloo is potato. it is a part of the traditional kashmiri pandit cuisine, from the kashmir valley, in the indian state of jammu and kashmir. there are also banarasi and bengali variations.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Fried pumpkin flowers

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Gande chetin

Spicy onion chutney

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Ghyev czhot

Flatbread with ghee, cooked in a tandoor oven

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Gogji aar

Dried turnips

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Gucchi

Morchella, the true morels, is a genus of edible sac fungi closely related to anatomically simpler cup fungi in the order pezizales (division ascomycota). 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. 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. the genus is currently the focus of extensive phylogenetic, biogeographical, taxonomical and nomenclatural studies, and several new species have been described from australia, canada, cyprus, israel, spain, and turkey.

Drink

Gur gur chai

Butter tea, also known as po cha (tibetan: བོད་ཇ་, wylie: bod ja, "tibetan tea"), cha süma (tibetan: ཇ་སྲུབ་མ་, wylie: ja srub ma, "churned tea"), mandarin chinese: sūyóu chá (酥油茶) or gur gur cha in the ladakhi language, is a drink of the people in the himalayan regions of nepal, bhutan, india (particularly in ladakh, sikkim, and arunachal pradesh), pakistan especially in gilgit-baltistan, tibet and western regions of modern-day china and the caribbean. 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. butter tea likely originated in the himalayan region between greater tibet and the indian subcontinent.

Main

Gushtaba

Spiced mutton meatballs in a yogurt curry

Main

Haak

Cooked greens with mustard oil, chili peppers, spices

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Haak

Cooked greens with mustard oil, chili peppers, spices

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Halwa paratha

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Handh

Wild spinach greens

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Hannd

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 and north america, but the two most commonplace species worldwide, t. officinale (the common dandelion) and t. erythrospermum (the red-seeded dandelion), were introduced into north america from europe and now propagate as wildflowers. both species are edible in their entirety. the common name dandelion ( dan-di-ly-ən, from french dent-de-lion, meaning 'lion's tooth') 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.in general, the leaves are 50–250 millimetres (2–10 in) long or longer, simple, lobed-to-pinnatisect, and form a basal rosette above the central taproot. the flower heads are yellow to orange coloured, and are open in the daytime, but closed at night. the heads are borne singly on a hollow stem (scape) that is usually leafless and rises 10–100 millimetres (3⁄8–3+7⁄8 in) or more above the leaves. stems and leaves exude a white, milky latex when broken. a rosette may produce several flowering stems at a time. the flower heads are 20–50 millimetres (3⁄4–2 in) in diameter and consist entirely of ray florets. the flower heads mature into spherical seed heads sometimes called blowballs or clocks (in both british and american english) containing many single-seeded fruits called achenes. each achene is attached to a pappus of fine hair-like material which enables wind-aided dispersal over long distances.the flower head is surrounded by bracts (sometimes mistakenly called sepals) in two series. the inner bracts are erect until the seeds mature, then flex downward to allow the seeds to disperse. the outer bracts are often reflexed downward, but remain appressed in plants of the sections palustria and spectabilia. between the pappus and the achene is a stalk called a beak, which elongates as the fruit matures. the beak breaks off from the achene quite easily, separating the seed from the parachute.

Breakfast

Harissa

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Hokhegad

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 (air drying, sun drying, smoking or wind drying) 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.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Hokh syun

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

Main

Kabargah

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kachalu chaat

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

Drink

Kahwah

Kahwah (also transliterated as qehwa, kehwa or kahwa) is a traditional preparation of green tea (camellia sinensis) widely consumed in india, pakistan, afghanistan, iran, some regions of central asia.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kaladi kulcha

Kalari cheese and vegetables in kulcha flatbread

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kalari

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)

Main

Karela aloo

Bitter gourd and potatoes

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kashmiri chutney

Main

Kashmiri pulao

Rice pilaf made in the style of kashmir

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kasrod

Fiddleheads or fiddlehead greens are the furled fronds of a young fern, harvested for use as a vegetable. left on the plant, each fiddlehead would unroll into a new frond (circinate vernation). 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 contain a compound associated with bracken toxicity. the fiddlehead resembles the curled ornamentation (called a scroll) on the end of a stringed instrument, such as a fiddle. it is also called a crozier, after the curved staff used by bishops, which has its origins in the shepherd's crook.

Main

Kebab

Kebab is a cooked meat dish, with its origins in middle eastern cuisines. many variants are popular around the world. kebabs consist of cut up or ground meat, sometimes with vegetables, and various other accompaniments according to the specific recipe. although kebabs are typically cooked on a skewer over a fire, some kebab dishes are baked in a pan in an oven or prepared as a stew such as tas kebab. the traditional meat for kebabs is most often mutton or lamb, but regional recipes may include beef, goat, chicken, fish, and sometimes pork depending on whether or not there are specific religious prohibitions.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kenn'k masala

Split wheat germ, mixed with black masala spices

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Khambir

Wheat flatbread, serve with butter tea

Dessert, Sweet

Khandde gazir

Sugary treats

Main

Khatta meat

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Kulcha

Kulcha is a type of mildly leavened flatbread that originated in the indian subcontinent.

Main

Lahabi kebab

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Lisse

Main

Lyodur tschaman

Paneer curry with turmeric

Main

Marchwangan korma

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Masala tcotte

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

Main

Matschgand

Meatballs in a spicy red curry

Main

Methi chaman

Fenugreek and paneer curry

Main

Modhur pulao

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

Main

Momo

Momo are bite-size dumplings made with a spoonful of stuffing wrapped in dough. momo are usually steamed, though they are sometimes fried or steam-fried. meat or vegetables fillings becomes succulent as it produces an intensively flavored broth sealed inside the wrappers. variants of the dish developed later in nepal after it became popular among asians. eating dumplings on the first day of the new year was a widely spread custom in northern china. written records show that dumplings became popular during the southern and northern dynasties (420–589 ad)., the earliest unearthed real dumplings were found in astana cemetery dated between 499 ad and 640 ad.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Monje gaad

Spicy deep-fried fish

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Monje haaq

Kohlrabi, turnips

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Muji chetin

Radish chutney

Main

Mutton kanti

Spicy mutton curry with tomatoes, onions, curd and spices

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Nadur monji

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

Drink

Noon chai

Sheer chai, also called noon chai, gulabi chai, kashmiri tea or pink tea, 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.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Obuj

Sorrel (rumex acetosa), 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' is a common name for the genus rumex).sorrel is a common plant in grassland habitats and is often cultivated as a leaf vegetable or herb.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Onion pakoda

Onion fritters

Main

Palak nadir

Spinach and lotus stem curry

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Patoli

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

Breakfast

Patoli

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

Dessert, Sweet

Phirni

Kheer (kheeri, payesh, payasam or phirni) is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur wheat, millet, tapioca, vermicelli, or sweet corn. it is typically flavoured with desiccated coconut, cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios, almonds, or other dry fruits and nuts, and recently pseudograins are also gaining popularity. it is typically served as a dessert.

Main

Phirni

Kheer (kheeri, payesh, payasam or phirni) is a sweet dish and a type of wet pudding popular in the indian subcontinent, usually made by boiling milk, sugar or jaggery, and rice, although rice may be substituted with one of the following: daals, bulgur wheat, millet, tapioca, vermicelli, or sweet corn. it is typically flavoured with desiccated coconut, cardamom, raisins, saffron, cashews, pistachios, almonds, or other dry fruits and nuts, and recently pseudograins are also gaining popularity. it is typically served as a dessert.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Pulao

Pilaf (us spelling) or pilau (uk spelling) 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, and employing some technique for achieving cooked grains that do not adhere.at the time of the abbasid caliphate, such methods of cooking rice at first spread through a vast territory from india to spain, and eventually to a wider world. the spanish paella, and the south asian pilau or pulao, and biryani, evolved from such dishes. pilaf and similar dishes are common to balkan, caribbean, south caucasian, central asian, east african, eastern european, latin american, middle eastern, and south asian cuisines. it is a staple food and a popular dish in afghanistan, albania, armenia, azerbaijan, bangladesh, bulgaria, china (notably in xinjiang), cyprus, georgia, greece (notably in crete), india, iraq (notably in kurdistan), iran, israel, kazakhstan, kenya, kyrgyzstan, mongolia, nepal, (pakistani cuisine) pakistan, romania, russia, serbia, sri lanka, tanzania (notably in zanzibar), tajikistan, turkey, turkmenistan, uganda, and uzbekistan.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Qudam

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

Main

Rajma chawal

Kidney bean curry and rice

Main

Rajma madra

Kidney bean and curd curry

Main

Rista

Mutton meatballs in spicy red curry

Main

Rista palak

Mutton meatballs in spinach curry

Main

Rogan josh

Rogan josh (ipa: [/ˌrəʊɡən ˈdʒəʊʃ/]; kashmiri: روغَن جوش, pronounced [/roːɡan joːʃ/]) also spelled roghan josh or roghan ghosht, is an aromatic curried meat dish of kashmiri origin. 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.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Roth

Fried sweet bread or cookies, made with cardamom, sugar, nuts, coconut, poppy seeds

Main

Ruwangan chaman

Paneer in tomato curry

Main

Seekh kabab

The seekh kebab (pashto: سیخ کباب, urdu: سیخ کباب, hindi: सीख कबाब) is a type of kebab, popular in south asia, originating in india pakistan and afghanistan. it is made with 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.

Dessert, Sweet

Sewai

Vermicelli (rice noodles) cooked in milk and dry fruits

Main

Shab deg

Shab deg or shab daig (kashmiri : شَب دیگ [ʃab deːg]) is cooked with turnip and the meat version includes lamb, beef or chicken. this dish is believed to have originated from kashmir. "shab" means night and "daig" means cooking pot in persian language. this dish was left to simmer during the night.

Main

Shami kabab

Shami kabab or shaami kabab, is a local variety of kebab, originating from the indian subcontinent. it is part of the a popular dish in modern-day indian, pakistani and bangladeshi cuisines. it is composed of a small patty of minced meat, generally beef, but occasionally lamb or mutton (a chicken version exists as well), with ground chickpeas, egg to hold it together, and spices. shami kebab is eaten as a snack or an appetizer, and is served to guests especially in the regions of dhaka, 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 eid celebrations.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Shangram

Sweet semolina fritters

Drink

Sheer chai

Sweet tea

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Shirmal

Sheermal or shirmal (persian-urdu: شیرمال, hindi: शीरमाल), is a saffron-flavored traditional flatbread from greater iran. the word sheermal is derived from the persian words شیر (translit. sheer) meaning milk, and مالیدن (translit. malidan) meaning to rub. in a literal translation, sheermal means milk rubbed. after being introduced to north india by the mughal emperors. it became a delicacy of lucknow, hyderabad and aurangabad. it is also part of the awadhi cuisine and is enjoyed in old bhopal and pakistan.

Breakfast

Shirmal

Sheermal or shirmal (persian-urdu: شیرمال, hindi: शीरमाल), is a saffron-flavored traditional flatbread from greater iran. the word sheermal is derived from the persian words شیر (translit. sheer) meaning milk, and مالیدن (translit. malidan) meaning to rub. in a literal translation, sheermal means milk rubbed. after being introduced to north india by the mughal emperors. it became a delicacy of lucknow, hyderabad and aurangabad. it is also part of the awadhi cuisine and is enjoyed in old bhopal and pakistan.

Dessert, Sweet

Shufta

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

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Sidu

Stuffed flatbread or steamed rolls, filled with a mixture of paneer, peas, nuts, chili peppers, spices

Main

Skyu

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

Dessert, Sweet

Soan papdi

Soan papdi (also known as san papri, shompapri,sohan papdi, shonpapdi or patisa) is a popular dessert in the indian subcontinent. the term sohan is of persian origin. it bears some resemblance to the persian sohan pashmaki, which gave rise to the turkish pişmaniye. 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 it to being sold in the form of tightly-formed cubes.

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Sotsal

Side, Snack, Appetizer

Spring onion

Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus allium. scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chive, and chinese onions.although the bulbs of many allium species are used as food, the defining characteristic of scallion species is that they lack a fully developed bulb. instead the allium species referred to as scallions make use of the hollow, tubular green leaves growing directly from the bulb. these leaves are used as a vegetable and can be eaten either raw or cooked. often the leaves are chopped into other dishes and used as garnishes.