What to Eat in Dehradun Today?

Food from the hills

Uttarakhand's home cooking is simple and built on greens, pulses and millets. Kafuli is a thick green curry of spinach and fenugreek leaves, thickened with a little rice paste. It is often called the state dish. Aloo ke gutke are boiled potatoes fried with cumin, red chilli and toasted hemp seed, which gives a nutty taste. It is a Kumaoni favourite now eaten across the state. A Garhwali thali brings these together with mandua (finger millet) roti, a hill dal such as chainsoo or phaanu, rice and raita.

Sweets

Bal mithai looks like a brown fudge rolled in white sugar balls. It is made from roasted khoya and comes from Almora in Kumaon, but sweet shops across Dehradun sell it and it travels well as a gift. Jhangora ki kheer is a milk pudding made with barnyard millet instead of rice, lighter than the usual kheer.

Bakeries and rusks

Dehradun has an old baking tradition. Rusks, cream rolls, buns and plain cakes from the older bakeries on Rajpur Road and in the Paltan Bazaar area are what people from the city miss. Buy a box of rusks for the train.

Tibetan food

The Tibetan community around Clement Town and elsewhere in the city runs small restaurants for momos, thukpa and fried noodles. A bowl of thukpa is a good end to a cold winter day.

Where to find Pahari food

The hill dishes are cooked at home far more than in restaurants. Few menus in the city carry kafuli or jhangora, so ask for them by name, and look for places that describe themselves as serving Garhwali or Pahari food. Hotel restaurants sometimes run a Pahari thali on request. See where to eat in Dehradun for the listed places, and the photo spots to plan meals around the sights.