Menusmriti

Agra
petha, pale, whitish and translucent as the Taj

Ajmer
ambrosial kheer at the Dargah of Sheikh Moinuddin Chishti

Alwar
milk cake—khoya with attitude

Belgaum 
kunda and karadant, to sweeten the bitter taste of linguistic politics

Biharsharif
khaja, flakier than Laloo’s one-liners 

Bhopal
mutton rezala, redolent of begums who weren’t sanyasis 

Kozhikode

porotta or pattiri with meat, banana chips, Mithai Street and, of course, Moplah biriyani 

Dharwar 
Line Bazaar peda—adding sweetness to melodies of maestros

Indore
Chhappan Bazaar, 56 kinds of calorie-laden temptations

Jejuri
bhakri (jowar bread), buttermilk and garlic chutney for Kolatkar’s god-on-the-hill 

Khurja
rabri—not the Bihari variety

Kakori 
they say it’s the dust of the town that makes the kabab special

Lonavla
crunchy chikki, more brittle than Maharashtra’s political alliances

Mathura
peda, what the milkmaids might have offered Lord Krishna 

Madikeri
pork pandi curry and fabulous Coorg coffee to wash it down

Meerut
great gajak and seekh kababs in the western UP badlands

Maner
laddoos, with the blessings of Bihar’s revered Sufi Pir

Navsari
original home of the dhansak and giant peanuts

Nellore
chepala pulusu (fish stew) abbottulu pancakes, and the best cooks in Andhra Pradesh

Pondicherry
Tamil-French fusion

Puri
the thali served as prasad at the Jagannath Temple, food fit for the gods

Sandila
laddoos that gourmet dreams are made of

Satara
aam barfi, the irresistible combo of mango and milk

Sopore
saffron fields forever