When it comes to experiencing the cultural diversity of India, there is nothing better than delving into its street food. It is a window to connect and immerse into its tradition, values, beliefs, lifestyle, and history.
The best street food in India that has conquered the global palate comes from different states of the country, and each cuisine reflects its own incredible cultural identity. We have put together this list of the street food names in India that you must try on your trip to India.
In every nook and corner of this country, you can spot the hawkers lining the street with their vibrant stalls outfitted with all the exotic spices and ingredients. The unique fusion of those spices and ingredients fills the entire street with aromas that are impossible to resist and will make you drool
Loved by millions of Indians, Samosa is a pyramidal-shaped fried pastry stuffed with a savoury mixture of potato, green peas, onions, and spices and deep fried in oil. This crispy and soft tea-time snack is served hot with coriander chutney, mint chutney, tamarind sauce, or tomato ketchup at roadside stalls. Samosa is an excellent choice to start your journey exploring the best street food in India! But don’t be surprised if you spot them on the menus of expensive restaurants and cafes.
This delicacy comes from the land of the Nawabs, and its lip-smacking taste is not only limited to Indian palates but also highly relished worldwide. Just one small bite of kebab is enough to experience an explosion of rich flavours in your mouth. The kebab is then skewered over a grill or shallow-fired on a Tava or metal hotplate, prepared with minced meat and highly seasoned with a melange of spices. It is accompanied by green chutney and salad. Kebabs are usually made with minced lamb meat, but there are also varieties of vegetarian and non-vegetarian kebabs made from paneer, spinach, potato, peas, beetroot, chicken, beef, fish, etc.
The heart of many Indians resides in these tiny bombs. The literal meaning of puri is a flatbread made from flour and semolina dough fried to make hollow balls. The puris are then perforated to fill with a spicy mix of potato, chaat masala, onions, boiled chickpeas, and dunked in tangy, sweet, spicy, and minty flavoured coriander and tamarind water to serve right away on the plate. These flavour bombs are called by unique names like phuchka, gol gappa, pani batasha, fulki, pakodi, patashi, and gup chup in different regions of the country.
Pani puri has a significant presence in the street food names in India, and one must try it on their delectable street food tour!
Hailing from Punjab, this soulful and tummy-filling dish has taken the level of street food in India to a different story. The centre of this dish is the Chole, which means chickpeas that are cooked in various traditional spices to make a tangy, spicy curry and are eaten with Bhaturey, a fried flatbread made of maida/wheat flour. Every bite of chole bhaturey turns wholesome when it’s topped with pickle and onion salad.
The streets of the country’s capital city are paved with Chole Bhaturey stalls, and you will see people gorging on it on the way to the metro, office, etc.
One of the traditional and popular cuisines of Southern India, Dosa has already won the heart of the entire nation and earned global recognition. Dosas are thin and crispy pancakes made from the fermented batter of rice and lentils. When cooked, these pancakes are rolled to serve plain or stuffed with a mildly spicy mix of mashed potatoes, onions, and masalas. This sumptuous dish is mainly served with a bowl of lentil-based vegetable stew called sambhar and fresh coconut chutney. Nutritious and yummy! So, are you ready to tantalise your taste buds?
This mouthwatering, sweet, and savoury cutlet originated from the streets of old Delhi and has taken the whole country by storm. The dome-shaped Tikki is made from mashed potatoes and spices and is pan-fried till crispy. The Tikki is then served hot with a topping of chole, yoghurt, tamarind chutney, mint chutney, onion, coriander leaves, and an array of spices. You will also find numerous varieties of fried pastry chaat with other flavorful alterations of sauces, chutneys, and topping ingredients.
One of the staple breakfasts and best street foods of India, Paratha is an excellent choice to fulfil your hunger pangs. This delectable and crispy dish is available at almost every street-food stall in the country. The paratha dough is prepared from atta/whole wheat flour and kneaded nicely to form layers. It is mainly served with pickle, curd, or coriander chutney. Ready to stuff with delicious ingredients, parathas are shallowly fried and topped with a dollop of butter. Aloo paratha and Methi paratha are immensely popular among Indians, but radish, cauliflower, onion, egg, paneer, etc., are some parathas enjoyed year-round.
If your places to visit in India include Mumbai, you will spot people holding bread buns stuffed with a patty of aloo and juggling to catch a train, cab, or metro throughout the day. Vada Pav is an Indian version of a burger in which a potato ball, vada, is sandwiched between the lightly butter-fried buns called pav that is spread with a dash of dry garlic chutney. This go-to breakfast is served with fried green chilli and coriander chutney and will surely fill your stomach and satisfy your taste buds.
The connection between Pakoda and the monsoons is a bond of eternal love here in India. This famous street food in India is best relished with chai, which is the primary reason to give birth to so-called Chai-Pakoda joints in the metropolitan cities of India. Also called bhajia, these fritters are prepared by dipping different ingredients like chilli, onion, potato, cabbage, spinach, eggplant, cauliflower, paneer, mutton, chicken, fish, etc. in a seasoned batter of gram flour and deep-fried to make them crispy and crunchy. Some street vendors even squeeze a bit of lemon juice and sprinkle chaat masala on the pakoda before serving it with chutney or sauce.
Poha, which means flattened or beaten rice, is one of the unique street food in India that is considered a healthy and fulfilling breakfast option. Easy to make, this flattened rice is lightly fried with various ingredients like onions, peanuts, chillies, and potatoes and garnished with coriander leaves.
Travelled from Tibet to the northern states of India, these dumplings are avidly famous all over India. The dumplings are stuffed with various ingredients like cabbage, chicken, paneer, etc., and served with red chilli sauce. This street food will undoubtedly make your foodie spirit lively! If you land in India’s food capital, you will discover the momo stalls lining the streets.
Your gastronomical tour of amazing Street Food In India is incomplete if you haven’t tasted Pav Bhaji yet. Flavourful and delicious, the history of Pav Bhaji traces back to 1850s Mumbai, when to meet the demand for Indian cotton, the textile mill workers of the city used to leave early and return late at night. With very little time left for the homemakers to cook for their husbands a full meal, the pav bhaji was invented as a quick lunchtime dish. The bhaji prepared for pav includes a wide variety of vegetables like carrots, cauliflower, green chilis, tomatoes, potatoes, cabbage, green peas, onions, etc. The pav that accompanies the bhaji is toasted in a generous amount of butter and served with a garnish of cilantro, lemon juice, and chopped onions. Once you taste it, you can’t resist eating it again and again.
With the plethora of street food options available in India, it can become hard to decide what to eat or what to skip. Make sure to follow our recommended street food list for India.
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