We all have different tastes – so any list of favourite foods is purely subjective; and here are my 15 Best Gujarati Dishes to add to all the wonderful food from India!
Generally when people think of Gujarati cuisine; khakhra, fafda and dhokla come to their mind. But there are a lot of other delicious dishes which maybe you are not familiar with. Some of them are:
- Undhiyu
This really is one of the best 15 Gujarati dishes; Undhiyu is a mixed vegetable dish made with root vegetables, eggplant, fresh mixed beans, raw bananas, pigeon peas, green peas, fried chickpea flour & fenugreek leaves dumplings and spices. The name comes from Gujarati word ‘Undhu’ means inverted, traditionally it is cooked underground upside down in an earthen pot. It is generally served with puris (deep fried bread).
- Handvo
It is a savoury cake, oven baked or steamed in a pressure cooker. The lentil and rice flour batter is fermented overnight, filled with bottle gourd and other vegetables, tempered with mustard seeds, asafoetida and sesame seeds before baking.
- Surti Locho
This dish originated in Surat. It is made from gram flour, lentils, flattened rice along with spices. Steamed, served with chutneys, sev and raw onions.
- Khandvi
Khandvi is a popular evening snack, soft and mushy, just melts into your mouth. One of my favourite Gujarati dishes,, the main ingredients are gram flour and yogurt. Cooked, flattened on a surface, rolled and cut into bite size pieces then tempered over with mustard seeds and garnished with coriander and fresh coconut.
- Khichu
This dish started from the dough made for rice papads. It is a very healthy, soft and gooey snack. Rice flour is added in boiled water along with green chillies, sesame seeds and other spices. Then shaped like a donut and steamed. Usually it is topped with oil and chilli powder when served.
- Dabeli
This fast food originated from the Kutch region of Gujarat. Bread rolls are stuffed with mashed potato, chutneys and special masala, topped with spiced roasted peanuts, sev and pomegranate seeds.
- Dal Dhokli
It is a one pot meal made with lentil (pigeon pea) soup and rolled spiced wheat flour pieces boiled in it. It tastes spicy, sweet and tangy. One of the 15 best Gujarati dishes.
- Patra
This amazing snack is made from colocasia leaves stuffed with gram flour and spices, rolled, steamed and cut into pieces. It is either stir fried or deep fried and served with chutneys.
- Dhebra
It is also called Vada, and is one of the best Gujarati dishes; a flatbread snack made from millet flour, other flours, fenugreek leaves, yogurt and spices. Small flat vadas are made from the dough and deep fried. Served with plain yogurt and chutneys.
- Gota
These crispy fritters are quick and easy to make, main ingredients are gram flour and fenugreek leaves added with spices. Served with different chutneys.
- Chorafali
Chorafali is a crunchy snack which can be stored in a jar for a few days to munch when you feel peckish. It is made from black lentil flour and gram flour. The dough is being rolled, cut into strips and deep fried. Spices like black salt and dry mango powder are sprinkled on top when it’s hot.
The name Muthiya comes from Gujarati word ‘Muthi’ means fist, the way dough is shaped. One of the best Gujarati dishes, it is a combination of wheat flour and gram flour mixed with grated bottle gourd and spices. The dough is then fist shaped and steamed. Once steamed, cut into pieces and stir fried in oil with mustard seeds, sesame seeds and curry leaves. It is perfect to have it with hot Indian tea.
Apart from the delicious savouries, the people of Gujarat have a sweet taste palette too. Some of the popular Gujarati sweets are:
- Mohanthal
Mohanthal is the most popular sweet in every household. It is soft fudge-like sweet, made from gram flour and added with flavours like saffron, nuts and cardamom. It is mostly eaten with the meal.
- Shrikhand
This is a delicious and easy to make Gujarati sweet. It is a thick creamy texture made with strained yogurt and powdered sugar, flavoured with saffron, cardamom and nuts. Generally served as part of a meal, especially with puris.
- Ghari
Ghari is one of the best Gujarati dishes and comes from a city called Surat. It is made from milk; ghee and puri batter with sweet, powdered nuts filling and shaped round. It is specifically consumed during Chandani Padva festival in Surat.
These are my 15 best Gujarati dishes, but there are many more.. You will be drooling by now to try these spicy, delicious, delectable and aromatic dishes – what is your favourite Gujarati dish?
