List of snack foods from the Indian subcontinent facts for kids

Indian snacks are a super important part of Indian cuisine. People often call them chaat, which means "to lick" and refers to tasty, savory snacks. India has so many different kinds of snacks, from crispy and spicy to sweet and soft. They are enjoyed all over the country, often sold by street vendors or made at home for festivals and special occasions.

Awesome A-Snacks

• Aam papad is a traditional fruit leather. It's made from mango pulp mixed with sugar and then dried in the sun. You can find many different kinds of aam papad all over North and South India.
• Aappam is a yummy pancake made from fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It's a popular food in South Indian states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Sri Lanka, it's often called a "hopper."
• Ada is a special treat from Kerala. It's made of rice flour dough with sweet fillings, steamed in a banana leaf. People enjoy it as an evening snack or for breakfast.
• Anarsa is a pastry-like snack. It's often eaten during the Diwali festival in Maharashtra and Makar Sankranti in Bihar. It's made with jaggery (unrefined sugar), rice, poppy seeds, and ghee (clarified butter).
• Ariselu/Adhirasam/Arisa pitha is a traditional sweet. It's made from rice flour, ghee, and jaggery. This snack is popular in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, especially during festivals.

Brilliant B-Snacks

• Banana chips are slices of banana that are deep-fried or dried. They can be sweet, covered with sugar or honey, or salty and spicy when fried with oil and spices.
• Basundi is a sweet Indian dessert. It's made by boiling milk and sugar on low heat until the milk becomes thick. This dessert is popular in Bihar, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Karnataka, often made for Hindu festivals.
• Batata vada means "potato fritters." It's a popular fast food in Maharashtra and Gujarat. It's a potato patty covered in chickpea flour, then deep-fried and served hot with tasty sauces called chutney.
• Bhaji is a fritter made from different vegetables. You can find them made with onion, potato, plantain, chili, or even bread.
• Bhajia is a spicy Indian snack. It's like potato fritters, often made with soaked potato or fried onions, and comes in many different types.
• Bakarwadi is a crispy, sweet, and spicy snack. It's popular in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan. It's made from gram flour dough rolled into spirals and filled with coconut, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds.
• Bhelpuri is a savory Indian snack. It's made with puffed rice, vegetables, and a tangy tamarind sauce. Bhelpuri is famous on the beaches of Mumbai.
• Bhoonja is a snack eaten in North India. It's made from specially roasted rice mixed with peanuts, spiced pulses, fried beans, dried coconut, and spices.
• Bikaneri bhujia is a famous crispy snack from Bikaner, Rajasthan. It's made from gram flour and spices, pressed through a sieve, and then deep-fried. It's light yellow and very well-known.
• Bonda is a South Indian snack. It has sweet and spicy versions. The spicy bonda is made by deep-frying potato or other vegetables dipped in gram flour batter.
• Boondi is a Rajasthani snack. It's made from sweetened, fried chickpea flour.
• Anda Bhurji is scrambled eggs made with Indian spices, onion, tomatoes, and green chili. It's often eaten with bread or parathas.
• Bhurji- Paneer is scrambled paneer (Indian cheese). It's made with spices, chopped onion, tomatoes, green chilies, and coriander. It can be a filling for sandwiches or eaten with bread.

Cool C-Snacks

• Chaat is a general term for many types of savory snacks. These are usually sold from street stalls or food carts.
• Cutlet in Indian cooking means mashed vegetables or cooked meat. This mixture is fried with a batter or coating. The meat is cooked with spices like onion, cardamom, and cinnamon.
• Chakli/chakodi is a crunchy Maharashtrian snack. It's usually served hot and contains rice flour and chili.
• Chana Jor Garam is a common street snack. It's made from roasted and spiced chickpeas.
• Chapati (also called roti) is an unleavened flatbread. It's a common food in South Asia and other parts of the world.
• Chivda is a popular Indian snack mix. It has lightly fried flattened rice (poha), spices, curry leaves, and nuts.
• Chole bhature is a combination of spicy chickpeas (chana masala) and fried bread called bhatura. Different types of bhature can be filled with potato or paneer.
• Chole Kulche is a North Indian snack. Chana is a chickpea dish cooked in a gravy with spices. Kulcha is a type of flatbread baked in an oven. Some kulchas are stuffed with potato filling.

Delicious D-Snacks

• Dabeli is a spicy snack from Gujarat. It's made by mixing boiled potatoes with a special spice mix, put inside a bun (ladi-pav), and served with chutneys and garnished with pomegranate and peanuts.
• Dal dhokli is a dish popular in Rajasthani and Gujarati cooking. It's made by boiling wheat flour pieces in a pigeon pea stew.
• Dahi puri is an Indian snack popular in Maharashtra. It's a type of chaat from Mumbai. It uses mini-puri shells filled with yogurt and other ingredients.
• Dahi vada is an Indian chaat. It's made by soaking fried lentil balls (vadas) in thick yogurt. It can be topped with coriander, mint, chilies, or other spices.
• Dahibara Aludam is a type of Dahi vada from Odisha. It's vadas soaked in light yogurt water, then mixed with potato curry (Aloo Dam) and pea curry (guguni).
• Dhokla is a vegetarian food from Gujarat. It's made from a fermented batter of rice and split chickpeas.
• Dosa is a fermented crepe or pancake. It's made from rice batter and black lentils. It's a main dish in South Indian states and also popular in Sri Lanka and Singapore.

Fantastic F-Snacks

• Flattened rice / Pohe is dehusked rice that's flattened into light flakes. These flakes swell when added to liquid. They come in different thicknesses.

Great G-Snacks

• Gajar ka halwa is a sweet dessert pudding. It's mainly from Punjab, India. It's made by cooking grated carrots with water, milk, and sugar, often garnished with almonds and pistachios.
• Gajar ki barfi is a sweet treat made from carrot and coconut.
• Ganthiya is a snack from Gujarat. It's deep-fried chickpea flour dough.
• Gavvalu is a snack from Andhra Pradesh. It's made with dough, water, milk, ghee, and jaggery.
• Ghever is a Rajasthani sweet, shaped like a disc. It's made from ghee, flour, and sugar syrup. It's traditionally eaten during the Teej Festival.
• Ghugni is an evening snack in Eastern India. Black gram or dried peas are cooked in a gravy. It's served with puffed rice (murmura) or onion fritters.
• Gujhia is a sweet, deep-fried pastry. It's a popular dessert in the Indian subcontinent. It's made with semolina or all-purpose flour, stuffed with sweetened milk solids and dried fruits.
• Gulab jamun is a popular cheese-based dessert. It's like a dumpling, made from milk solids (khoya), shaped into balls, deep-fried, and then soaked in a sweet sugar syrup.

Heavenly H-Snacks

• Halva comes in many types in India, depending on the region and ingredients. Some famous ones include sooji halva (semolina), aate ka halva (wheat), and gajar halva (carrot).

Incredible I-Snacks

• Idli is a traditional breakfast in South India. It's a savory cake made by steaming a fermented batter of black lentils and rice. The fermentation makes it easier to digest.
• Indian-mix (also known as Bombay mix) is a traditional Indian snack. It's a mix of spicy dried ingredients like fried lentils, peanuts, chickpea flour noodles, and flaked rice.
• Indian omelette is a version of the omelette with Indian spices. It usually includes chopped green chilies, onions, fresh coriander, and cumin.

Joyful J-Snacks

• Jalebi is a sweet snack popular in India and other countries. It's made by deep-frying wheat-flour batter in pretzel or circular shapes, then soaking them in sugar syrup.
• Jhalmuri is a very popular and iconic snack from Bengal. Jhal means 'spicy'. It's puffed rice mixed with spices, vegetables, and mustard oil.

Kicking K-Snacks

• Kachori is a round, flattened ball made of fine flour. It's filled with a baked mixture of yellow lentils or gram flour, black pepper, chili powder, and other spices. It's popular in many parts of India and Pakistan.
• Kalathappam is a delicacy from North Malabar. It's made of rice flour, jaggery sugar, fried onions, and coconut flakes. It can be cooked like a pancake or baked.
• Kati roll is a street food from Kolkata. Originally, it was a kati kabab wrapped in a paratha (Indian fried flatbread).
• Kebab refers to a wide variety of skewered meals. They originated in the Middle East and are now found worldwide. Lamb kebabs are a common type.
• Kesari is a sweet dish commonly made in South India. It's made with semolina, sugar, and ghee. A pinch of saffron (kesari) is added to give it an orange color.
• Khakhra is a popular vegetarian roasted thin cracker bread from Gujarat. It's made from mat bean, wheat flour, and oil.
• Khaman is a vegetarian food from Gujarat. It's made with a fermented batter of gram flour (chickpeas). It can be eaten for breakfast, as a main dish, or as a snack. It's often garnished with sesame seeds and coriander leaves.
• Khandvi / Suralichi Vadi is a type of snack from Gujarati cuisine. It's also found in Maharashtrian Cuisine. It's made mainly of gram flour and yogurt, cooked into a paste, then spread out, cut, and rolled into scroll shapes.
• Kinnathappam is a very popular traditional sweet cake from North Malabar. It takes a good amount of time to cook.
• Kosambari is a salad made from pulses (split legumes) and seasoned with mustard seeds. It's sometimes eaten as a snack or as part of a meal.

Lovely L-Snacks

• Laddoo is a ball-shaped sweet. It's popular in the Indian Subcontinent and other regions. It's made of flour and sugar with other ingredients that change based on the recipe. It's often served at festivals.
• Lukhmi is a savory snack from Hyderabad, India. It's often stuffed with mutton-mince. It's a flat, square patty, similar to a samosa.

Marvelous M-Snacks

• Maddur vada is unique to Karnataka, India. It's made with rice flour, semolina, and maida flour, mixed with onion, curry leaves, coconut, and asafoetida. The dough is deep-fried until golden-brown.
• Makka Poha is a significant part of Gujarati cuisine. It's usually fried in hot oil, which makes it puff up. It's an important ingredient in savory mixes called farsan or chevda.
• Malapua is a pancake served as a dessert or snack. The batter is made by crushing ripe bananas or coconut, adding flour, and water or milk. It's deep-fried and served hot.
• Mangalore bajji (or Golibaje in Karnataka) is a popular food. It's made from maida flour, curd, rice flour, chopped onion, coriander leaves, coconut, cumin, green chilies, and salt.
• Masala puri is a type of chaat from Karnataka. It's popular in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Crushed puris are soaked in a hot masala gravy made with green peas and spices.
• Mirchi Bajji is a spicy snack famous in Andhra Pradesh and northern Karnataka. It's made with chili (mirchi) and served hot with tomato sauce or chutney.
• Modak is a sweet delicacy shaped like a dumpling. It's from Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Southern India. The sweet filling is made of fresh grated coconut and jaggery. It's very important in the worship of the Hindu god Ganesh.
• Momo is a type of dumpling from Nepal, Tibet, and the Himalayan regions of India. It's similar to other dumplings from Asia, and different meat fillings are popular.
• Murukku is a South Indian snack of savory, crunchy twists. It's made from rice and urad dal flour. Murukku means "twisted" in Tamil. It's a traditional treat for festivals like Diwali.
• Mysore pak is a sweet dish from Karnataka, India. It's made with lots of ghee (clarified butter), sugar, and gram flour.
• Misal Pav is a popular dish from Pune, Maharashtra. It's a mix of beans curry served with Pav (bread).

Nice N-Snacks

• Namak para is a crunchy savory snack. These ribbon-like strips of pastry are seasoned with cumin, carom seeds, and caraway seeds, then deep-fried in ghee.
• Namkeen refers to savory or salty foods in Hindi. It's a general term for snacks like khaara, farsan, chevda, and sev. Namkeen from Indore and Ratlam is very famous.
• Neyyappam is a Kerala snack. It's made of rice flour, ghee, and jaggery.

Perfect P-Snacks

• Pakora is made by dipping ingredients like onion, potato, spinach, or paneer in a batter of gram flour, then deep-frying them. Popular types include palak pakora (spinach) and paneer pakora (cheese).
• Pakwan are crisp snacks.
• Palappam is a dish from Kerala, made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk. It's a staple food for the Nasranis (Saint Thomas Christians) of Kerala. It's prepared in a special mould and looks like a pancake.
• Paneer tikka is made from chunks of paneer (Indian cheese) marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor oven. It's a popular vegetarian alternative to chicken dishes.
• Panipuri is a popular street snack. It's a round, hollow puri filled with flavored water (pani), tamarind chutney, spices, potato, onion, and chickpeas. It's small enough to eat in one bite.
• Papadam or Papad is a thin, crisp Indian preparation, like a cracker. It's often served with meals or as an appetizer with toppings like chopped onions or chutney.
• Papri chaat is an Indian fast food. Papri are crisp fried dough wafers. In papri chaat, they are served with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, chilies, yogurt, and tamarind chutney, topped with chaat masala and sev.
• Paratha is a flatbread from the Indian subcontinent. The dough usually contains ghee or oil and is layered. Parathas are often stuffed with vegetables like potatoes, radishes, or paneer.
• Parotta is a popular unleavened flatbread in North and South Indian cuisine. It's made by pan-frying whole wheat dough on a tava.
• Pav Bhaji is a Maharashtrian fast food dish. Pav means a small loaf of bread, and bhaji means vegetable dish. It's a thick potato-based curry garnished with coriander and onion, served with lightly toasted, buttered pav.
• Piyaju are Bengali fritters made with different vegetables and besan (chickpea flour).
• Pohe (Maharashtrian) is an Indian fast food prepared in Maharashtra. It's made of flattened, processed rice, roasted with chilies, onions, mustard and cumin seeds, and curry leaves.
• Ponganalu is a snack from Andhra Pradesh.
• Poornalu is a traditional sweet in Telugu festivals. It's made of rice flour stuffed with jaggery mixed lentil paste and dry fruits. It's often served hot with ghee.
• Pootharekulu is a popular sweet from Atreyapuram, India. It's known as 'Paper sweets' because it looks like folded paper. It's made from a specific rice batter, powdered sugar, and ghee.
• Potato chips are thin slices of potato that are deep-fried or baked until crunchy.
• Puffed rice is a type of puffed grain made from rice. It's usually made by heating rice kernels under high pressure with steam. In Gujarat, it's called Mamra.
• Puffs are pastries with fillings. Vegetarian puffs are made with potatoes, carrots, and paneer. Egg and chicken puffs are also available in Indian bakeries.
• Punugulu is an Andhra snack and common street food. It's a deep-fried snack made with rice, urad dal, and spices. It's often served with peanut chutney.
• Puran Poli is a traditional sweet flatbread. It's made in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Goa, usually during festivals.
• Puri is eaten for breakfast or as a snack. It's prepared with wheat flour dough, rolled into circles, and deep-fried until it puffs up like a ball. It can be served hot or saved for later.
• Puri bhaji is an Indian dish made of puri and aloo bhaji (spiced potato dish). It's a traditional breakfast in North India.

Radiant R-Snacks

• Ros omelette is a famous snack in Goan cuisine. Ros means gravy in Konkani, and it's a spicy chicken or chickpea gravy. The omelette is fried separately, then the hot ros is poured over it and served with Goan bread.

Super S-Snacks

• Sabudana papad is a type of papad eaten in India and Pakistan, often as street food.
• Sabudana khichri is an Indian dish made from soaked tapioca pearls (sabudana). It's typically prepared in Maharashtra, Karnataka, and other states. It's a popular dish for people observing a fast.
• Sabudana vada is a traditional deep-fried snack from Maharashtra. It's often served with spicy green chutney and hot tea. The main ingredients are soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes, and roasted peanuts.
• Sakinalu is a special snack prepared in Telangana. It's made from rice flour with spices, sesame seeds, and carom seeds. It's prepared during the Makar Sankranti festival.
• Samosa is a fried or baked pastry with a savory filling. Common fillings include spiced potatoes, onions, peas, or ground meat. They are usually triangular and often served with chutney.
• Sandige are fried crisps. They are made from rice, sago, or wheat. They are also called vadam or vadiyalu.
• Sandwich is a food item with fillings between two or more slices of bread. They are popular for lunch and can contain vegetables, meat, cheese, and sauces.
• Sarva Pindi is made from rice flour, groundnuts, salt, and onion garlic paste. The mixture is made into a dough, stuck to a tawa (griddle) in a circle, and toasted until golden. It's a traditional dish in Telangana.
• Sev mamra is a mixture of spicy dry ingredients. It includes puffed rice, savory noodles (sev), and peanuts. It's available in most parts of India.
• Shankarpali (also known as Sakkarpara) is prepared from a dough of milk, sugar, ghee, maida flour, semolina, and salt. The dough is cut into diamond shapes and deep-fried. It's a traditional treat for the Diwali holiday.
• Shrikhand is a sweet dish made of strained yogurt. It's a main dessert in Gujarati and Maharashtrian cuisine. It's mixed with sugar, cardamom, saffron, and served chilled.

Tasty T-Snacks

• Tele-bhaja are Bengali fritters. They are made with different vegetables and besan (chickpea flour).
• Thali Peeth is a famous dish from Maharashtra. It's a flatbread made with a mix of different flours. It's usually served with curd, Thecha (spiced chili paste), and groundnut chutney.

Unique U-Snacks

• Upma (or Uppuma) is a common South Indian and Sri Lankan Tamil breakfast dish. It's a thick porridge made from dry roasted semolina or coarse rice flour. Vegetables or seasonings are often added.

Vibrant V-Snacks

• Vada pav is a popular fast food dish from Maharashtra. It's a batata vada (potato fritter) sandwiched between two slices of pav (unsweetened bread or bun).
• Vadai is a savory fritter-type snack from South India. Its main ingredients typically include lentils, potatoes, and onions, and there are many different types.

Images for kids

• Chana Jor Garam.jpg

  A common street snack in most Indian states.

See also