One country, many kitchens
“Indian food” is really dozens of regional cuisines. The south cooks with rice, lentils, coconut, tamarind and curry leaves; the west has Gujarati sweet-sour snacks and Mumbai street food; the north is wheat, paneer, ghee and slow-cooked dals; the east is mustard oil, river fish and sweets made from fresh curds. We’ve organised our recipes so you can explore region by region.
Where to start
- South India: masala dosa, idli with sambar and coconut chutney, and Chettinad chicken.
- Mumbai and the west: pav bhaji, vada pav, dhokla and Goan fish curry.
- The north: paneer butter masala, palak paneer, dal makhani and rogan josh.
- The east: macher jhol, Kolkata kathi rolls, litti chokha and rasgulla.
Shared with Pakistan
Many famous dishes are cooked on both sides of the border: biryani, butter chicken, chana masala, rajma, samosas, gulab jamun and chai. Each recipe lives in one place on this site, and you’ll find them linked in the “Shared with the Pakistani kitchen” section above.
Ingredients
Most ingredients are easy to find in South Asian shops anywhere in the world. A few, like curry leaves, hing (asafoetida), kokum and paneer, may be new; each recipe explains them and suggests substitutes. Tap any ⓘ word for a quick explanation.
Drinks
India’s drinks range from South Indian filter coffee to cooling masala chaas, aam panna and Pune’s mango mastani. Find them all in our drinks section.