32 Special Gujarati Dishes and Food Culture

Undhiyu is a Gujarati veggie specialty, often enjoyed during the winter. This hearty salad is a traditional Gujarati cuisine baked upside-down in a clay pot (matla) and comprises various winter vegetables such as eggplants (brinjals) and broad beans (surti papdi).

The dish gets its name from the Gujarati word “Undhu”, which means upside-down or inverted. In Surat, you will find this seasonal meal everywhere during Uttarayan, the Gujarati kite festival.

People will pair undhiyu with rice, puri (fried pastry), shrikhand (strained yogurt), or similar sides. For a complete meal with undhiyu, you should enjoy it with pooris or bajra roti.

Patra is a dish designated by the Union Ministry of AYUSH as one of the most traditional food dishes from the AYUSH system of medicine.

Known as alu vadi, patrode, or patarveliya, this specialty is a vegetable dish with an excellent balance of flavor and health!

It is a vegetarian dish, well-known in different parts of India, especially Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Goa. Patra is cooked by steaming or frying and served with chutneys or yogurt.

Sev tamatar nu shaad, or sev tamatar ki sabzi, is a traditional tomato dish served by the Jain community during Paryushan, an annual 8-day festival of self-introspection.

During this festival, consuming roots and other vegetables is forbidden. Since the Shaak meal contains no root vegetables, onion, or garlic, it easily becomes the best choice among the Jain Gujarati people.

Gujaratis have elevated it to a new level by serving it as a main course vegetable. Usually, tomatoes are the main elements for combining with spices to create a brothy dish.

To enjoy it like a real local, a shaak meal is best with flatbreads such as theplas and rotis.

Chole masala is a culinary creation of chickpeas in Gujarat cooked in a spicy and tangy gravy. It is a popular dish from the Punjab region of India and is often served with flatbread, rice, or salad.

“Chole” is a Punjabi term referring to “chickpeas”, while “Masala” means “spices”. It’s often served on train station platforms, at work, in school canteens, in restaurants, and at other festive events.

This zesty dish pairs beautifully with rice or Indian flatbreads such as roti and naan. Additionally, chole (chana) masala pairs beautifully with rice and Indian flatbreads.

Khichdi is a dish of Gujarati porridge made with rice and lentils, cooked with ghee and spices. The dish’s name is directly translated into a mixture of rice and legumes in Sanskrit.

This thick mixture is a very popular and ancient dish in India, dating back to 300 BC. It is also a comforting dish that is easy to make and digest.

Furthermore, khichdi offers a range of different grains, vegetables, and flavors, according to regional preferences. Locals serve khichdi to someone who is ill or recovering, as it is easy on the stomach.

Dal dhokli is a Gujarati vegetarian dish created by boiling wheat flour noodles in pigeon pea stew. Besides pigeon peas, local Gujaratis use other dals as well, including moong (Mung bean) and masoor (red lentils).

This one-pot dish grew so popular that most merchants and travelers altered it to fit their preferences.

Apart from being simple to make and nutritious, this stew is a popular pick during the winter. Traditionally, people cook dal dhokli on Sundays from leftover dals.

Sev usal is a Gujarati curry with “sev” referring to deep-fried noodle-like strands of chickpea flour, while “usal” is an Indian gravy cooked with dried green peas, potatoes, and spices.

The famous street snack consists of a variety of chutneys, spices, peas, and potatoes. Therefore, it has a spicy, tangy flavor with touches of sweetness.

Surprisingly, sev usal is a fully vegan meal, ideal for lunch, supper, or a light evening snack.

Khandvi, sometimes referred to as patuli or dahivadi, is a Gujarati yellow steamed roll made with besan or gram flour, firmly wrapped, and cut into bite-size pieces.

The treat is soft, mushy, and light, often available at Ahmedabad’s confectionery stores and street food booths. This Gujarati dish is light on the stomach and delicious on the tongue, making it an excellent option for both morning treats and evening snacks.

Samosa is a crunchy pastry in India stuffed with fillings, with the Gujarati version boasting a mixture of vegetables. Normally, the filling mixture features green peas, coconut, jaggery, and spices.

It is a crispy and sweet snack that is popular in Gujarat, having a larger and spicier profile than regular ones. Furthermore, Gujarati samosa is also known as mava samosa or sannan.

Aside from frying, baking is a different approach to samosa to produce a crispy outer layer. Like regular samosa, the Gujarati adaptation suits with a wide range of chutney to enhance the flavor.

Dhokla is a Gujarati light and fluffy snack, created by steaming. The meal is protein-dense, comprising lentils, rice flour, chana dal, or semolina.

For serving, these spongy servings of dhokla are cut into cubes, boasting a cake-like consistency. To diversify the flavors, deep-fried chilies, coriander chutney, and grated coconut are fine additions to these cube cakes.

Handvo is a yellow lentil cake of Gujarati origin that possesses a sweet and savory flavor coming from the bottle gourd filling. This cake of Gujarati is traditionally baked over charcoal or in a pressure cooker, making it soft inside and crisp outside.

After applying a bit of oil, mustard seeds, and curry leaves, Gujaratis prepare the cake in a special type of pressure cooker. In Gujarati families, handvo is a trendy one-dish dinner, best served with a zesty green chutney and a hot cup of tea.

Alternatively, handvo has other versions employing ingredients like moong dal (split yellow gram) or chola dal (split cow peas).

Fafda is a type of crispy and savory snack from Gujarat, consisting of gram flour and spices. This traditional treat is often eaten during festivals like Dussehra, along with jalebi, a sweet and syrupy dessert.

Fafda is shaped like a rectangle and has a yellow color, resulting from the deep-frying process. Fafda is best served with chutney, fried green chilies, and sambharo, a spicy salad of shredded vegetables.

Kachori is a fried snack in India and has many regional variations, including in Gujarat. The Gujarati version of kachori is a round ball of dough stuffed with a spicy mixture of yellow moong dal, black pepper, red chili powder, and ginger paste.

These fried balls are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, perfect for serving as a breakfast item or a tea-time snack, especially with chutneys or yogurt.

Khichu, often known as “papdi no lot”, is a steamed snack in Gujarat that began as a dough consisting of rice flour.

In certain regions, it is popular with the name “Khichiyu”. Nowadays, this highly traditional dish is widely available in Ahmedabad, Baroda, and Surat.

Unlike the majority of deep-fried Gujarati foods, khichu comes with chili powder and oil to bring out more flavor.

Methi na gota is a deep-fried dumpling featuring fresh fenugreek leaves and besan (chickpea flour) in the filling. As a Gujarati variation of pakora, a popular deep-fried dish across India, the dish originates in the region of Dakor and is a typical treat during Holi.

Accompany this festive dish with a cold dish of curd and a few chopped green chilies. A sweet and sour tamarind chutney or pickle is also a great addition!

Chorafali is a crispy and savory snack in Gujarat, having a wide range of flour combinations of gram flour, urad flour, and matha flour. These crunchy snacks are often prepared during Diwali, the festival of lights.

It has a bean-like shape and a yellow color, sprinkled with red chili powder, black salt, and dried mango powder for a chatpata taste. Chorafali is usually served with a chutney made of gram flour and mint leaves.

Dabeli is a popular street food from Gujarat, India, created by mixing spicy and sweet boiled potatoes with special spices and stuffing this mix into a soft bun called ladi pav.

It’s served with tangy chutneys made from tamarind, garlic, and other ingredients. Created in the 1960s by Kesha Malam, the name “dabeli” means “pressed” in Gujarati.

Ganthiya is a deep-fried snack from Gujarat, India, made from chickpea flour mixed with spices such as chili powder, turmeric, ajwain (carom seeds), and salt.

Unlike many snacks that are crunchy, ganthiya can sometimes be soft, and there’s also a sweet version known as mitha ganthiya. Bhavnagar city in Gujarat is particularly renowned for its unique variety of ganthiya.

The crunchy treat is prepared by creating a stiff dough from the ingredients, which is then pressed through a sev-making machine into hot oil to fry until golden and delicious.

Muthiya, or muthia, is a Gujarati fried dish of chickpea flour mixed with methi (fenugreek), and spices. Often available in cylindrical shape, muthiya comes with a crunchy texture.

However, the snack also has a steamed version to savor the soft texture of this vegetarian snack. Plus, the steamed muthiya is even adored with mustard or sesame seeds.

Locho, aka surti locho, is a scrumptious snack hailing from the vibrant Gujarati cuisine, particularly from the city of Surat. You can find it easily from local street food stalls, restaurants, and even in households in the region.

Gram flour (besan), split chickpeas (chana dal), poha, urad dal, and a blend of spices are elements needed to form locho. This is a steamed dish, boasting a soft and spongy texture.

It is typically garnished with a generous amount of sev, chopped onions, locho masala, and served along with green chutney. Locho also has a softer, more crumbly texture along with a slightly sweeter taste.

Thepla is a soft flatbread from Gujarati cuisine, beloved especially within the Jain community. It’s crafted using wheat flour, chickpea flour (besan), fenugreek leaves (methi), and a blend of spices.

Typically served with yogurt, chutney, or pickle, thepla offers a great option as a breakfast, snack, or side dish. Ideally, thepla incorporates a multigrain approach and includes milk and oil in its dough.

Thanks to that, the bread remains soft and fresh longer. Available in various versions, it can feature different fillings like methi (fenugreek), mooli (radish), or dudhi (bottle gourd).

Khakhra is a thin and crispy flatbread from Gujarat, often featured in a breakfast meal. These round flatbreads contain wheat flour, oil, and spices, and are cooked on a griddle until they become crunchy.

It is a popular snack that can be eaten plain or with chutneys, pickles, or yogurt. Khakhra has many varieties, such as methi, jeera, masala, or garlic.

Bhakri is a flatbread from Gujarat, characterized by a circular bread made of jowar, bajra, or nachni flour. The most frequent bhakri variety is jowar bhakri.

These flatbreads are thicker but have a softer texture. Historically, it was a rural staple bread delivered to the farm at the crack of dawn and enjoyed by farmers on the fields as breakfast or lunch.

Thanks to its thick texture, bhakri is an ideal platter for serving with garlic chutney, yogurt, kharda, or thecha.

Shrikhand is the oldest curd-based yogurt from Gujarat and Maharashtra, boasting a sweet taste. This Gujarati treat incorporates cardamom, almonds, and other nuts.

Its well-balanced texture and sweet flavor explain why locals use it in puris and thali. After straining, the yogurt curd is chilled for a few hours before serving with almonds or pistachios on top.

Mohanthal is a soft fudge-like confection in Gujarat prepared with sweetened besan and flavored with saffron, cardamom, and a plethora of nuts.

This besan (gram flour)-based delicacy is a common offering in the bhog ritual of Pushtimarg temples, particularly prevalent in the Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Braj regions. Mohanthal is a staple during festive occasions like Diwali and Krishna Janmashtami.

Surti ghari, or ghari in short, is a Gujarat dish made by Devshankar Shukla for Tata Tope in 1857 on a full moon day (known as Chandi Padwa today). These sweets are a combination of milk, ghee, sugar, and puri batter.

Nowadays, Gujaratis enjoy ghari during Chandi Padwa as well as other less auspicious occasions. Local people love to consume copious amounts of Ghari with bhusu, a spicy and salty appetizer.

Besides being a delectable treat, ghari also enables many small and large vendors to earn a living during the festival period. On Chandni Padwa, the demand for surti ghari is exceptionally high!

Gulab jamun, also known as lal mohan or Gulab Jaman, is a popular dessert in the Indian subcontinent, made from milk solids kneaded with flour, formed into balls, deep-fried, and soaked in cardamom, saffron, and sugar syrup.

This dessert is beloved for its soft texture and rich taste, often served at the end of meals or during special occasions. It can be enjoyed warm, cold, or at room temperature, sometimes paired with vanilla ice cream or kulfi.

Basundi is a creamy dessert in Gujarati cuisine, created using full-fat milk, sugar, and several kinds of nuts, such as almonds, pistachios, and cashews. The dessert is flavored with cardamom, nutmeg, and saffron.

To prepare it, people will simmer milk until it reduces to about half its original volume before adding sugar and flavorings. When served, people like having basundi with puris, which is great both hot or chilled.

Sweet desserts are an offering during Hindu festivals like Kali Chaudas and Bhaubeej.

Gujarati kadhi is a yogurt-based soup in Gujarat featuring gram flour and spices. Alternatively, people also make kadhi using buttermilk, by simmering the broth over medium flame before adding a curd paste.

The dish often has a lighter curry, prepared with a curd and gram flour batter. Kadhi is enjoyed hot with khichdi, naan, chapati, or rice, and comes in variations like East Indian kadhi nadi or kathiyawadi kadhi.

Chikki is a crunchy and sweet snack made from nuts and jaggery (or sugar), with Bhuj being a town known for its chikkis in Gujarat. The sweet treat is named after the nuts used, such as peanut, cashew, almond, or sesame.

Chikki is made by cooking jaggery or sugar syrup and coating the nuts with it. Then the mixture is rolled, cooled, and cut into pieces for a crunchy serving.

Shakkarpara is the Gujarati adaptation of the diamond-shaped sugar-dusted biscuit.

Shakkparpara is made with unsweetened dough covered in sugar syrup later on. As a result, the flavor and texture of shakarpara is crispy and crunchy but not too hard or sugary.

People often enjoy this Gujarati sweet during the Ganesh Chaturthi, Diwali, and Christmas holidays.

Gujiya, or ghughara, is a sweet deep-fried crescent dough indigenous, available in many Gujarati households.

This sticky and tasty sweet is a brilliant addition to Holi’s food list, with the baked gujiya being another version. Local Gujaratis adore gujiya because it is crispy outside while remaining soft inside.