Waquar Habib
Garhwali raita is a traditional dish made from curd, cucumber, carrots, coriander leaves, and spices. To potion is prepared by mixing all the ingredients and served chilled.
Aloo ke gutke is a well-known street food made using boiled potatoes seasoned with local spices like cumin, coriander and red chilli powder. To prepare, one has to boil the potatoes first, chop them into small pieces and then sauté them with spices until crispy.
Urad dal pakodi is a crispy snack made from ground black gram dal mixed with spices and deep-fried until golden brown. It is prepared by soaking urad dal overnight, grinding it into a coarse paste, mixing it with cumin, green chillies and salt, followed by a deep-fry until it turns crispy.
Singori is a traditional sweet delicacy made by spreading a thin layer of khoya, reduced milk, on malu leaves and folding them. The layers are then steamed for a few minutes. Once cooled, it is served as a dessert.
Kappa is a local dish made from boiled colocasia leaves mixed with spices and mustard oil. It is prepared by boiling colocasia leaves until tender, draining excess water, and sautéing with mustard oil, garlic, green chillies and salt.
Bhat ki churdkani is a traditional dish made from black soybeans cooked with local spices. To prepare, one has to first soak black soybeans overnight, pressure cook with spices like turmeric, cumin and ginger-garlic paste until it turns soft. It is then served with rice or roti.
Kafuli is a nutritious green curry made from spinach and fenugreek leaves with local spices and buttermilk. The preparation follows a blanching of the leaves grinded into a paste, cooking with spices and buttermilk and then simmering until thickness.
Bal Mithai is a popular traditional sweet made by roasting khoya (milk solids) until it turns golden brown. The khoya is moulded into small balls and coated with caramelised sugar syrup. The sugar syrup hardens and forms sugar balls around the khoya balls.
Gulgula is a sweet fritter made from wheat flour, jaggery, and fennel seeds. Bakers only have mix wheat flour, jaggery, fennel seeds and water into a thick batter, then deep frying spoonfuls until golden brown and crispy.
Phaanu is a lentil stew made with mixed lentils and spices. The lentils are soaked overnight, pressure cooked with spices and left to simmer until it thickens. Then, it is served hot with rice.