Samosas form the most favourite evening snack of Indians. It is also the most commonly served snack to guests in India.

By Reya Mehrotra

Samosa
Samosas form the most favourite evening snack of Indians. It is also the most commonly served snack to guests in India. It is a fried or baked pastry with spicy potato and peas filling usually. Newer variations in filling include Chinese samosa, beef samosa, cheese samosa, paneer samosa. It can also be easily cooked at home. Usually triangular in shape in India, it is found in different shapes in other countries. Patti samosas in Gujarat, onion samosas in Karnataka, and keema, khoya or moong dal samosas in Delhi are quite popular.

Gulab jamun
The brownish milk solid-based sweet is popular in India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Myanmar. It is made by kneading khoya and maida and deep-frying it. It is said that Shah Jahan’s royal chef made it, inspired by Turkish traditional chefs. Ledikeni, Kolkata’s cylindrical red-brown dessert, is quite similar to gulab jamun. It was named after Lady Canning, the wife of governor general Lord Charles Canning, who loved the sweet prepared especially for her on her arrival in Calcutta back then. It is best served hot and in small earthen cups.

Kebabs
Kebab is a Middle Eastern dish popular around the world. Usually, kebabs are prepared with mutton or lamb meat, but regional recipes may include beef, goat, chicken and fish. Peter Cat in Kolkata, Karim’s near Jama Masjid in Old Delhi, Siddique Kebab Center in Hyderabad, Tunday Kababi in Lucknow, Gulati Spice Market in Delhi, Ayub’s in Mumbai and Kebab Corner in Chennai are some of the most popular kebab places in India.

Vada pav
Vada pav is a dish native to Maharashtra. It consists of deep-fried potato dumplings placed inside a bread bun, served with fried green chilli and chutney.

Momo
Steamed dumplings filled with vegetables are popular in the Himalayan regions of the east-south Asia border. They are native to the south-west China, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, etc.

Jalebi
This mouth-watering orange delight is also called zulbia, jilapi, mushabak or zalabia. Not only in India, jalebi finds fans in parts of south Asia, Egypt and Middle East as well. It is prepared by deep-frying maida in circular shapes and then soaking it in sugar syrup. Though it is found in every part of the country easily, Varanasi, Amritsar and Ahmedabad are some places to find the most delicious jalebis. The recipe is said to have been brought to medieval India by Turkish invaders.

Pav bhaji
An Indian fast food dish, pav bhaji consists of thick tomato-potato curry served with bread, a generous amount of butter and chopped onion and lemon to garnish. The dish originated in the 1850s as a lunchtime dish for mill workers in Mumbai and gradually gained popularity. It is now sold widely all over India and at some places abroad as well. It can be easily cooked at home.

Paan
Paan is something most love to eat after a wholesome meal to digest food. It has a history of 5,000 years. Meetha or sweet pan is prepared by adding gulkand, a sweet preserve of rose petals and fennel seeds as key ingredients. Paan can also be found in Ayurveda and Indian mythology. Popular paans include fire paan, chocolate paan, pineapple paan, elaichi paan, almond cherry paan, etc. Varanasi is famous for its paans. One can find a vendor at every street corner.