Litti Chokha To Rogan Josh, 10 Must-Try Winter Dishes From Different Parts Of India

Winter in India isn’t just about snow or fog; it’s a season that activates deep-rooted food traditions. In many parts of the country, the cold brings not just a drop in temperature but a surge in appetite, especially for foods that comfort, nourish, and connect you with local stories. Here are ten winter destinations and the one seasonal dish you absolutely should try in each, not as a tourist checklist, but as an invitation to feel the season through flavour.

10 Special Winter Dishes You Must Try At These Destinations

1. Harissa From Srinagar, Kashmir

Imagine stepping out into the pre-dawn chill of Downtown Srinagar, where the air smells of wood smoke and memories. Harissa is more than food here; it’s a ritual. This dish of minced mutton (or goat), rice, and warming spices like fennel, cardamom, and cinnamon is slow-cooked overnight in huge degs (earthen pots) over firewood. 

By morning, the meat is so tender it falls off the bone. It’s mashed into a porridge-like consistency, then topped with mustard oil, kebabs, or methi maaz. Locals wake up early, gather at “harissa-wans” (shops), grab a plate with flatbread, and warm themselves against Kashmir’s brutal Chillai Kalan. 

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2. Rogan Josh From Gulmarg, Jammu & Kashmir 

Gulmarg’s ski slopes and white-dusted pines are thrilling, but when your fingers are numb, what you want is a bowl that warms you from the inside. Rogan Josh, the red-lamb curry that’s a star of Kashmiri Wazwan, does exactly that. Its richness, the aromatic hit of Kashmiri chillies, and deep, luxurious texture make it feel like an edible embrace after a day in the cold.

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3. Siddu From Shimla / Kullu, Himachal Pradesh 

In the hills of Himachal, especially around Kullu and Shimla, siddu is the kind of steamed bun you’ll find in small homes or village kitchens. Made from fermented wheat dough, it’s often stuffed with walnuts, lentils, poppy seeds, herbs, and then steamed. 

What makes siddu especially “winter food”? It’s steamed to retain moisture, then typically served warm with ghee or mint chutney. When you bite into one, you don’t just taste dough, you taste hill traditions, slow mornings, the stubborn comfort of a home that knows how to fend off cold.

4. Thukpa, Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh 

Spiti Valley, perched way up in altitude, doesn’t mess around when it comes to survival, and its food reflects that. Locals rely on stored grains, preserved meat, and minimalist cooking. 

Thukpa, a simple noodle soup, sometimes with dried meat or mountain vegetables, is the heart of winter here. It’s Tibetan-influenced, warming, and deeply sustaining. A bowl of thukpa in Spiti isn’t just eating; it’s survival made delicious.

5. Chilghoza From Kalpa, Kinnaur, Himachal Pradesh 

Kalpa is remote, cold, and raw in winter, and its food is shaped by what the land offers. One iconic ingredient? Chilghoza (pine nuts), which are harvested locally. They don’t just sit idle in jars; they feature in seasonal breads, pilafs, and rich nut-filled dishes. In winter, they’re precious: energy-dense, warming, and deeply local.

6. Nihari From Delhi

Delhi in winter is not a mountain town, but its food game reflects the chill. Nihari, a slow-cooked meat stew (usually goat or beef), becomes particularly popular, and people love it as a morning or late-night comfort dish.

On the sweeter side, Gur Gajar Halwa (carrot halwa made with date palm jaggery) is a winter classic. The jaggery gives the dessert an earthy warmth that feels seasonal rather than sugary.

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7. Sarson Ka Saag And Makki Ki Roti From Amritsar, Punjab 

If you’re in Amritsar in winter, don’t just visit the Golden Temple, sit down to sarson ka saag (mustard greens) and makki ki roti (corn flatbread). Mustard greens harvested in cold weather are richer, slightly nutty, and when slow-cooked with spices, they become profoundly comforting. Pair them with a ghee-laced makki roti and maybe some jaggery on the side; it’s simple, but deeply satisfying.

8. Nolen Gur Sweets From Kolkata, West Bengal  

When winter comes to Bengal, it brings nolen gur, jaggery made from date palm sap.  This seasonal sweetener is like a winter-time talisman.

In Kolkata, you’ll find Nolen Gur Sandesh (chenna sweet flavoured with palm jaggery) and Jaynagarer Moa (puffed rice + nolen gur + cardamom + poppy seeds) only in this period.  Eating these treats feels like tasting the countryside, the slow flow of sap, winters in village homes, all wrapped in syrupy sweetness.

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9. Undhiyu From Gujarat 

If you end up in Gujarat in winter, friends might drag you to lunch with the phrase: “Undhiyu is on!” And for good reason, this dish is a celebration of the winter vegetable bounty. Undhiyu is a slow-cooked, earthy medley of Surti papdi (beans), baby eggplants, purple yam, raw banana, sweet potato, fenugreek-dumplings (muthiya), all cooked in an aromatic green masala. 

Traditionally, it’s cooked “upside-down” in earthen pots buried in coals, hence its name. It’s hearty, complex, and the kind of food that makes you stay around the table long after you have finished eating. 

10. Litti Chokha From Bihar / Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Litti Chokha is not just food, it’s a story. In the cold fields of Bihar or eastern UP, workers once carried littis (dough balls stuffed with sattu, or roasted gram flour) baked on charcoal or cow-dung fires. These were practical, portable, and filling.

The chokha that comes with it, smoky mashed brinjal (eggplant), potato or tomato, mixed with mustard oil and chillies, makes each bite deep, smoky, and rooted.  Today, in winter, this meal feels primal and grounding: hot litti soaked in ghee, chokha with raw onions, it’s food that built communities.

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If you travel to these places only for the landscapes, you’re missing half the story. Winter in India isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a season that summons ancient practices, preserved produce, and regional ingenuity. These ten foods reflect survival, celebration, and comfort, not in some sanitised “tourist-friendly” way, but as something locals have lived with for generations.

Eating harissa in Srinagar isn’t just about tasting meat; it’s about gathering in early morning harissa-wans, sharing warmth with strangers, and feeling part of a valley that defines itself by its chill. Sipping thukpa in Spiti or biting into a buttery siddu in Kullu isn’t just about filling your stomach; it’s absorbing the rhythm of mountain life. And having undhiyu in Gujarat or litti-chokha in Bihar is a way of tasting the season itself: what grows in winter, why people cook the way they do, how food becomes ritual.

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