10 Indian Dishes You Won’t Find on Most Restaurant Menus

Ask someone to name Indian food and the answers are likely to include biryani, butter chicken, samosas, naan and dosa. All are deservedly popular, but they represent only a small part of India's extraordinary culinary map. Many Indian dishes remain firmly rooted in particular communities, villages and family kitchens, rarely appearing on mainstream restaurant menus. Some use ingredients that are highly seasonal, while others require preparation methods that are difficult to reproduce commercially. From Assam's eri polu and Karnataka's ragi mudde to Madhya Pradesh's bhutte ka kees, these lesser-known Indian dishes reveal just how much of the country's food culture remains undiscovered.