North Indian Food: Typical and Traditional Dishes

The Indian subcontinent is vast and home to a diverse range of cuisine. North Indian cuisines are far different from Northeastern Indian food or South Indian cuisines.

And if you get even more specific, each region is famous for individual dishes.

After visiting a few of the major cities in the north of India and dining on lots of local food, I'll try to cover a few of the general things that I noticed distinctly about North Indian cuisine.

Northern Indian cuisines are often what many people would think of as just Indian food.

It's the North Indian curries that are often found outside of India in Western restaurants (but don't forget about South Indian food either – it's equally as delicious, but different).

Within North India, you'll find everything from street stalls to high-end Indian restaurants like Bukhara, all serving classic North Indian fare, just as you would find it in Indian households.

Conventional cooking methods include deep frying snacks, grilling or roasting for meat, and slow simmer stewing for all sorts of curries.

As soon as you arrive in India and start eating, you'll notice that there's a lot of vegetarian food and restaurants available.

If you are vegetarian, you'll enjoy the variety of tasty pure-veg dishes, and if you're a meat-eater, you'll never be far from outstanding meat either!

While rice is the ultimate staple food in much of South India, in the North, while rice is often available, a meal is never complete without Indian breads.

Tandoori roti, chapati, naan bread, and many other flatbreads, like aloo paratha, are extremely popular and vital for all North Indian meals, both as a snack and as part of a main course.

Bread is used as the main filler and as a great way to scoop up sauces.

Dal, or lentils, is one of the essential foods in all of India.

North Indian styles of dal curry are usually a little thicker and richer than South Indian variations. It's not uncommon for someone to eat dal and bread for a meal.

For more substantial main dishes, a diversity of curries and barbecue meats are always available.

Chicken, beef, mutton, and eggs are stewed in black pepper and lots of aromatic spices, like coriander leaves, and ghee (clarified butter).

The thick, rich sauces are genuinely marvelous. A particularly rich favorite is butter chicken.

North Indian regions like Uttar Pradesh is also highly famous for its barbecued meats.

Tandoori chicken, chicken that's been marinated in spices and yogurt and then roasted in a clay oven known as a tandoor, is one of the most famous.

Common vegetables include potatoes, peas, okra, onions, carrots, and all sorts of beans.

Green leafy vegetables are not all that common, but some vegetables go well in curries.

Dairy products play a massive role in North Indian food.

Paneer, a hearty cheese, is one of the most popular main ingredients, especially for vegetarians and those who need protein.

Try a rich dish like paneer makhani, palak paneer, paneer tikka and mutter paneer to sample this part of the country's cuisine at its finest.

Thick full-fat yogurt is heavily used in snacks known as chaats and is often served along with any typical thali (a fixed meal including a variety of dishes and starch).

Milk and products of milk, like fresh cream, form the foundation of many of the North Indian desserts as well, along with dry fruits and coconut milk.

Related: Top 9 Malaysian Foods to Die For

One comfort food that I especially enjoyed eating while in Delhi is a dish known as chole bhature.

Chickpeas are curried in plenty of spices and dished up with chilies and onions and garnished with cilantro. You can find them in Indian dishes like dal makhani, urad dal, dal baati and moong dal.

It's also available in fast food all over the streets of Delhi and east India. It's usually eaten along with a few freshly grilled chapatis.

North Indian food is a joy to eat; it's rich cuisine that is extremely satisfying and packed full of spicy flavor!

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