# The best Indian dishes, region by region

India's most loved dishes from north, south, east and west, picked from regional food guides (Saveur, Tasting Table and Indian food writers). Street snacks included; sweets have their own list.

- 34 votes · 22 items
- Aug 6, 2025 · Ankit Desai
- https://even.best/en/l/90/the-best-indian-dishes-region-by-region

## Top 20

1. **Hyderabadi biryani** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Marinated meat and basmati rice layered and sealed in a pot to cook 'dum' style; Telangana's pride.
2. **Butter chicken (murgh makhani)** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Tandoori chicken in a buttery tomato gravy, created at Moti Mahal in Delhi.
3. **Masala dosa** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Crisp fermented rice and lentil crêpe with spiced potato, sambar and coconut chutney; from Karnataka.
4. **Chole bhature** (3 · ▲3 ▼0) — Spicy chickpea curry with puffed fried bread, a Punjabi and Delhi favourite.
5. **Pani puri** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Crisp hollow puris filled with spiced water, potato and chickpeas; called golgappa in the north.
6. **Dal makhani** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Black lentils and kidney beans slow-cooked overnight with butter and cream.
7. **Pav bhaji** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Mumbai street dish of mashed spiced vegetables with buttered bread rolls.
8. **Vada pav** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Spiced potato fritter in a bun with chutneys, 'Bombay's burger'.
9. **Nihari** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Slow-cooked beef or mutton shank stew from Old Delhi and Lucknow, eaten at dawn.
10. **Rogan josh** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Kashmiri lamb curry coloured red with Kashmiri chillies.
11. **Palak paneer** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Fresh cheese in a smooth spinach sauce, mild and earthy.
12. **Goan fish curry** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Fish cooked in coconut, kokum and red chilli, eaten with rice in Goa.
13. **Kerala fish moilee** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Mild coconut milk fish stew with turmeric and curry leaves.
14. **Chicken 65** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Spicy deep-fried chicken bites born in Chennai's Buhari Hotel.
15. **Rajma chawal** (1 · ▲1 ▼0) — Kidney bean curry with rice, North Indian Sunday comfort food.
16. **Vindaloo** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Goan pork curry with vinegar and garlic, of Portuguese origin.
17. **Tandoori chicken** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Chicken marinated in yoghurt and spices, roasted in a clay tandoor.
18. **Aloo paratha** (0 · ▲0 ▼0) — Flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, served with butter and pickle for a Punjabi breakfast.
19. **Idli sambar** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Steamed rice cakes with lentil and vegetable stew, the South Indian breakfast.
20. **Dhokla** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Steamed savoury gram flour cake from Gujarat.
21. **Macher jhol** (-1 · ▲0 ▼1) — Bengali fish curry with potatoes, light and spiced with mustard oil.
22. **Litti chokha** (-2 · ▲0 ▼2) — Baked wheat balls stuffed with sattu, with mashed smoked aubergine and potato; from Bihar.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.