Banaras, or Varanasi, is not just a city known for its spiritual significance; it's also a food lover's paradise. Here's a list of 15 delectable foods that you absolutely can't miss during your visit to this ancient and bustling city.
Start your day with crispy kachoris filled with lentils and spices, paired with a mouth-watering sabzi made from boiled potatoes, black pepper, cloves, and chilies. This iconic breakfast treat is a favorite among locals and tourists alike.
Indulge in the two varieties of kachoris - badi and choti kachori. Choti kachoris are filled with a spicy potato mix and best enjoyed with sweet tamarind and coriander chutneys, making for a perfect anytime snack.
Resembling Rajasthan's dal baati, baati chokha consists of round baatis made from wheat flour dough, stuffed with sattu masala, and cooked over charcoal. The chokha, a spicy mixture of roasted eggplants, tomatoes, and other ingredients, completes this flavorful snack.
A unique twist to the traditional dahi vada, chena vadas are made with mashed potatoes, fresh cottage cheese, and spices, deep-fried and topped with sweet curd, tamarind chutney, and masalas.
This winter-special snack features flattened rice, milk, ghee, cashew nuts, fresh peas, and spices. Choora matar, Varanasi's take on poha, is best enjoyed in the evening with hot tea or coffee.
Similar to bhel puri, laaiya channa replaces puffed rice with soaked and boiled chickpeas. This tea-time snack includes onions, tomatoes, green chillies, peanuts, lemon juice, and masalas.
Golgappas stuffed with a mixture of mashed potatoes and chickpeas, topped with curd, chutneys, masalas, pomegranate seeds, and sev. A delightful and popular street food choice in Varanasi.
Unique and delicious, tamatar chaat consists of boiled and mashed potatoes and tomatoes, flavored with spices, and served in biodegradable bowls made from palash leaves.
A winter delicacy, malaiyyo is made from milk foam, left under the open sky for dew drops to initiate foaming. Churned with cardamom, saffron, and sugar, garnished with pistachios and almonds, and served in kulhads.
Rabri, made with condensed milk, combined with desi ghee jalebis, creates a drool-worthy dessert. Flavored with saffron, rose water, almonds, and pistachios, this sweet treat is a must-try.
A sweet delicacy enjoyed during Holi, launglata features a crispy covering made of all-purpose flour and a delicious filling of crumbled mawa, saffron strands, chopped nuts, sugar, and cardamom powder.
Banarasi paan, a city icon, is prepared by stuffing betel leaves with a mix of ingredients like betel nuts, fennel seeds, clove powder, cardamom, cinnamon, menthol, lime, or tobacco.
A flavored cold drink, thandai in Varanasi is unique with added seasonal fruit puree, topped with rabri, chopped nuts, and served in clay cups or kulhads. Perfect for hot summer days.
Beyond foods, try the popular drink kulhad chai in Banaras. Richer and creamier with buffalo milk and a special chai masala, it's served in earthen cups for an enhanced taste.
Banarasi Lassi stands out as a dessert drink, filling and sweet. Whisked fresh curd and sugar, topped with rabri, saffron strands, chopped pistachios, and almonds, make this a delightful treat.