With innovations in food preservation technology, the world has become a smaller place. This is especially true for Indians living abroad, who often find themselves craving a taste of home. 

Thanks to a thriving expatriate community, cities worldwide have become more diverse. It now makes it easier than ever to find ingredients for Indian cooking, not to mention restaurants focusing on Indian cuisine.

From street food to the main course, here are some Indian foods that are almost impossible to encounter outside the country.

Idli Chilli Fry

Idli is a famous South Indian breakfast food. It’s made from steamed rice flour that’s formed into balls and is a popular dish in the state of Karnataka. 

While idli typically comes with sambar (a spicy broth), you can also get it with a side of idli chilli fry, which is a mixture of idli, chillies, ginger, and spices. Most restaurants will also serve a few side dishes like curd, onions, and spicy sambar.

Kathi Roll

A Kathi roll (or Kathi roll cutlet) is a popular street food dish. It’s similar to a burrito but is more commonly used for a non-vegetarian variety of the dish. 

It consists of a paratha filled with a choice of ingredients (from paneer to chicken), stuffed into a fried wrap, and served with a pickle and chutney. Chole Bhature (spicy chickpea curry with fried puri) is also served as a side dish.

The Kathi roll originated in Mumbai, but the recipe soon spread across the city and eventually evolved into a particularly popular food in Gujarat.

Paan

A paan is a combination of numerous ingredients. It includes betel leaves, spices, and nuts wrapped around a piece of areca nut dipped in a thick, red paste of crushed betel leaf, lime, slaked lime (chuna), cardamom seeds, sweet-smelling nutmeg, and clove. 

You chew and swallow it whole and consume it as a digestive aid. As a snack, you eat paan with your fingers, while you eat it with the paan-leaf in its traditional form.

While paan is found in the north, northeast, and parts of the south, it is most popular in the western state of Maharashtra. It’s sold at street stalls (panch phoron stands) everywhere, but especially in the city of Mumbai.

Pani Puri

Pani puri is an Indian snack commonly sold at fairs and festivals. In this dish, a hollow puri is filled with a spicy soup that includes boiled chickpeas, potatoes, onions, yoghurt, and tamarind. 

You eat it by biting the top off the puri, pouring in the soup, and drinking it with a straw. A popular street food snack, people across India enjoy pani puri, but it is especially popular in the northern states.

Sizzler

If you love your food served with a side of the fire, you’ll enjoy a sizzler, especially if you’re eating out at an Indian restaurant in the UK. Sizzlers are a platter of hot food served on an electric hot plate. The name is somewhat confusing, as the hot plate doesn’t actually sizzle—it just heats the food.

Typical sizzler fare includes chicken tikka, mutton kofta, veg kofta, cutlet, kebabs, bhindi (okra) and paneer tikka. This is usually accompanied by a bowl of diced onions, green peppers, and lemon wedges.

Conclusion

Indian cuisine is one of the most diverse in the world, due in no small part to its long history of colonisation by foreign powers. With so many various influences, it’s no surprise that Indians have developed such a wide range of tastes, textures, and ingredients. While these foods are discoverable abroad, they’re not as widely available as they are in India.

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