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
