Comfort Food:

The cuisine of Himachal year-round is typically extremely rich and full of protein and fat to keep oneself warm during the cold nights. As such most of the comfort foods consist of lentils and meat. Availability of fresh produce is also hit-or-miss owing to the cold and thus a luxury compared to other forms of nourishment. 

Madra is a Himachali staple that is guaranteed to keep you warm during winters. Made from chickpea and spices, this simple yet sumptuous gravy goes well with just about anything and makes for the perfect winter food even by itself. Madra is usually part of the Himachali Dhaam but it is also a common dish in many households of Himachal, so this one should be easy to find on your Himachal trip. Chha Ghost is a dish for the meat lovers; this rich mutton based dish is a slow-cooked delight made with Himachali spices that are guaranteed to send your taste buds on a ride. Lamb is marinated in curd and then cooked in a rich gravy made with gram flour and oil.

Wondering what goes best with both these gravies? How about some ‘siddu’? The quintessential bread of Himachal, Siddu is a fermented dish that’s drenched in butter on top to give you an extra boost of warmth. You could also munch on some babru, another type of bread stuffed with lentils. For those tea-time munchies, we turn to a rather unique source of snacks. Lotus stems are a common evening snack in Himachal. Known as Himachali Bhey, the stems are chopped up and fried in gram flour and served with tea.

For more nourishing dishes that make use of fewer ingredients, we have classics like Aloo Palda and Bhang ki Chutney. The former is a rich potato stew that almost tastes like gnocchi. It has all the qualities of a simple kadhi, a basic stew to be eaten with rice. The bhaang ki chutney is a refreshing twist on chutneys, with the primary ingredient being hemp seeds. There’s also bhatt ki dal, a lentil stew with a local black bean as base.

Worried that we didn’t mention any sweet dishes? Gulgule and Gud ke Laddu save the day! Gulgule are round balls of wheat goodness fried in batter, while the gud ke laddu is a sugar bomb coated with ghee that fills your heart with goodness with one bite.