Cuisine

Aloo ke Gutke is a Garhwali potato side (everyday) made from boiled potatoes, mustard oil, jamboo/spices. Spiced dry potatoes tempered in mustard oil — a ubiquitous pahari side/snack.

Arsa is a Garhwali fried sweet (festival / wedding) made from rice flour, jaggery, ghee. Deep-fried rice-flour-and-jaggery sweet, essential at Garhwali weddings.

Baadi is a Garhwali millet staple (everyday) made from mandua (finger-millet) flour. Thick finger-millet dish eaten with ghee — a warming Garhwali staple.

Bal Mithai is a Kumaoni fudge sweet (everyday / gift) made from roasted khoya, cane sugar, white sugar balls (dana). Almora's iconic brown chocolate-like fudge of roasted khoya coated in tiny white sugar balls — the signature sweet of Kumaon.

Bhang ki Chutney is a Garhwali chutney (everyday) made from roasted hemp seeds (bhang), lemon, chilli. Tangy roasted-hemp-seed chutney (culinary seeds, not narcotic).

Bhatt ki Churkani is a Kumaoni dal (everyday (winter)) made from black soybean (bhatt), mustard oil, spices. Thick, earthy black-soybean curry slow-cooked and served with rice — a high-protein Kumaoni staple.

Chainsoo is a Garhwali dal (everyday (winter)) made from roasted & ground black gram (urad dal), ghee, spices. Protein-rich roasted-urad preparation, slow-cooked in an iron kadhai; eaten with rice.

Chudkani is a Kumaoni dal (everyday) made from roasted bhatt, rice flour, spices. Roasted black-soybean curry thickened with a little rice flour.

Dubuk is a Kumaoni lentil paste (everyday) made from ground bhatt or gahat, tempered. A soft, ground-pulse preparation of bhatt or gahat, soupier than churkani, eaten with rice.

Gaderi ki Sabzi is a Kumaoni vegetable (everyday) made from colocasia (gaderi/pinalu), spices. Hill colocasia cooked into a tangy dry or gravied vegetable — a Kumaoni favourite.

Gahat ki Dal is a Garhwali dal (winter) made from horse gram (gahat/kulath). Thick horse-gram lentil, prized as warming and medicinal in the hills.

Jhangora ki Kheer is a Garhwali pudding (festival) made from barnyard millet (jhangora), milk, sugar, cardamom. Creamy barnyard-millet pudding served at festivals and celebrations.

Jholi is a Garhwali kadhi (everyday) made from buttermilk/curd, mandua or gram flour. Pahari buttermilk kadhi thickened with millet/gram flour, served over rice.

Kafuli is a Garhwali green curry (everyday) made from spinach & fenugreek greens, rice/mandua paste. Slow-cooked leafy green dish, often called the signature/'national' dish of Uttarakhand.

Kandali ka Saag is a Garhwali green curry (seasonal) made from Himalayan nettle (kandali/bichhu ghas). Cooked stinging-nettle greens — a seasonal wild-foraged Garhwali dish.

Kappa is a Kumaoni green curry (everyday) made from green leaves (spinach/rai), rice paste. A Kumaoni leafy-green curry akin to Garhwal's kafuli, made for cold days.

Mandua ki Roti is a Garhwali flatbread (everyday) made from mandua (finger millet) flour. Dark finger-millet flatbread — the daily bread of the hills.

Phaanu is a Garhwali lentil soup (winter) made from mixed lentils incl. gahat, soaked overnight. Soupy overnight-soaked mixed-lentil dish served with white rice.

Ras is a Garhwali mixed dal (everyday) made from several lentils cooked together. A Jaunsar-Bawar speciality of many dals cooked into one silky preparation.

Roat is a Garhwali sweet bread (religious offering) made from wheat flour, jaggery, ghee. Sweet wheat bread offered at temples and made on religious occasions.

Singori is a Kumaoni leaf-wrapped sweet (festive) made from khoya, coconut, cardamom, wrapped in maalu leaf. A cone of sweetened khoya wrapped and set in a fragrant maalu (Bauhinia) leaf, another Almora speciality.

Swala is a Garhwali fried snack (festival) made from wheat flour, fried. Fried wheat-flour snack made on festivals and family occasions.

Tehri is a Garhwali one-pot rice (everyday) made from rice, potato, seasonal vegetables. Comforting one-pot rice-and-vegetable dish of the hills.

Til ki Chutney is a Garhwali chutney (winter) made from roasted sesame (til), chilli, coriander. Warming roasted-sesame chutney eaten through the cold months.