A Food Lover's Guide to Himachal Pradesh: 15 Dishes You Must Try
The Mountain Kitchen You're Missing
Ask any Indian food lover about the country's best cuisines and they'll rattle off Punjab, Kerala, Bengal, Rajasthan. Rarely does Himachal Pradesh make the list. That's a mistake.
Himachali cuisine has evolved over centuries in some of the most extreme conditions on the subcontinent — where winter temperatures drop below freezing, where ingredients must be preserved for months, and where celebrations call for feasts that can feed an entire village. The result is a cuisine that's hearty, inventive, and unlike anything else in India.
Here are 15 dishes that define Himachali cooking.
The Royal Feast
1. Dham
Dham isn't a dish — it's a ceremony. This multi-course vegetarian feast is served at every major festival, wedding, and celebration in Himachal Pradesh, prepared by Botis — hereditary cooks who pass down recipes through generations. The meal is served on leaf plates and includes:
Where to try: Any village during a festival, or HPTDC restaurants in Shimla, Manali, and Dharamshala that serve a Dham thali. The most authentic Dham is in Chamba district.
2. Madra
The crown jewel of Himachali cooking. This slow-cooked gravy uses soaked chickpeas (or rajma) simmered in a yogurt-based sauce with cumin, cardamom, cloves, and turmeric. No onion, no garlic, no tomato — the richness comes entirely from yogurt, ghee, and patience.
Where to try: Every dhaba and restaurant in Himachal makes madra, but the best is in Chamba and Kullu.
Mountain Breads
3. Sidu
The iconic Himachali bread. A ball of wheat dough stuffed with a mixture of walnuts, poppy seeds, and sometimes dried fruit, then slow-steamed in a traditional brass sidu maker. Eat it dripping with ghee and dipped in dal or madra. Heavy, warming, and perfect for cold mountain evenings.
4. Aktori
A Spiti Valley specialty — a buckwheat pancake sweetened with jaggery and stuffed with dried fruits and nuts. It's the traditional festival bread of the Spitian people and tastes like a Himalayan version of a French crêpe.
5. Babru
Deep-fried bread stuffed with a spiced black gram (urad dal) filling. It's the Himachali answer to a kachori, served with tamarind chutney at roadside stalls across the state.
Meat & Protein
6. Chha Gosht
Himachal's signature non-vegetarian dish. Slow-cooked lamb in a tangy gravy made from yogurt (chha) and gram flour, flavored with cardamom and cinnamon. The meat falls apart at the touch, and the gravy has a velvety, tart richness that's addictive.
7. Kullu Trout
The cold rivers of Kullu Valley are home to brown and rainbow trout, introduced by the British over a century ago. Grilled fresh with nothing but salt, lemon, and a few herbs, it's one of the simplest and most delicious meals in the mountains. Several riverside restaurants between Manali and Kullu serve it.
8. Mash Dal with Ghee
Not exclusive to Himachal, but nowhere else does it taste quite like this. Black gram dal, slow-cooked overnight, finished with a generous pour of mountain ghee. Every dhaba on every mountain road serves this, and it's always good.
Soups & Warming Dishes
9. Thukpa
Borrowed from Tibetan cuisine and embraced wholeheartedly in the northern districts. A hearty noodle soup with vegetables, meat, and fiery chili paste. Essential in Spiti, Lahaul, and the Tibetan communities of Dharamshala.
10. Patande
Himachali-style crepes made from rice flour batter, cooked on a flat griddle and eaten with ghee and sugar. They're the traditional breakfast in parts of Shimla and Sirmour districts.
Preserves & Pickles
11. Lingri
A dish made from dried fiddlehead ferns (lingri), rehydrated and cooked with spices. Mountain communities harvest these ferns in spring and dry them for year-round use. The taste is earthy, slightly nutty, and unlike anything in lowland Indian cuisine.
12. Mittha / Meetha
A thick, sweet preparation of rice cooked with jaggery, raisins, dry fruits, and saffron. Served at the end of a Dham feast and at every celebration.
Drinks
13. Chulli / Lugri
Local rice beer brewed in nearly every village. Mildly alcoholic, slightly sour, and the social lubricant of mountain life. You won't find it in restaurants — it's shared in homes and at village gatherings.
14. Angoori
Kinnaur's grape wine, made from locally grown grapes in the Sangla and Kalpa valleys. Commercial production is growing, but the best bottles are still the ones made at home by Kinnauri families.
15. Chai with Namkeen
Not a dish per se, but the universal Himachali experience: salt tea (or regular chai) paired with namkeen (savory snacks) at a roadside dhaba, with mountains in every direction. It costs ₹20 and it's the best thing you'll eat all day.
Finding Authentic Himachali Food
The challenge with Himachali cuisine is that tourist restaurants tend to serve generic "North Indian" food. To find the real stuff:
