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Manali, ‘India’s ‘Queen of the Hills’ has a cuisine that reflects local crops, such as ‘Paddy’, as rice is called locally; maize; ‘Kodra’, or millet, and ‘Salyara’, otherwise known as Amaranthus or ‘King’s grain’ as well as fruits and vegetables.
During celebrations and festivities Vada - the equivalent of the western donut but without the sugar – Bhatura (a kind of fried bread) and Patrodu are served and a large number of vegetables and fruits also dominate the cuisine of Manali in India’s Himachal Pradesh state.
Manali cuisine is rich. Manali cuisine is tasty. Manali cuisine is enjoyed equally by the tourists and the locals. |
The people of Manali, enjoy a cuisine that includes a great deal of dairy produce, including curd, butter, ghee (clarified butter), milky tea and hot milk are all popular as are curd drinks. Home made barley and red rice wines, known as Chakti and Lugri are consumed locally.
A traditional Manali cuisine includes rice; a curry or cooked, beaten curd; another curd-based dish: Madra; pulses; Raita, a mustard-based food made with dried fruits, and sweet rice. The only time when you'll see this meal is ceremonially, these days, at a wedding, for example. A Brahmin cook, or ‘Boti’, generally does the preparation and cooking of this meal and serves it on plates made from leaves, or ‘pattal’.
Manali cuisine offers tourists, from India and beyond, a fair selection of cuisine, both local and from further away. Vegetarian, even Vegan, non-vegetarian and even fast-food tastes are fully catered for in the many restaurants and other eateries of the town. The sweet tooth is pandered to with wonderful sweet concoctions and baked delights. What could be nicer than a crisp fresh red apple grown in Manali? Two crisp fresh red apples grown in Manali!
Tibetan food is available at more than one eatery and the Chinese restaurant opposite the bus station comes well-recommended for a meal out. Manali cuisine is popular here but food other than Manali cuisine is also available. There is a German bakery in Old Manali, with good baked goods and snacks and Il Ferno, on the road between the downtown and the bridge to Old Manali, is a good vegetarian Italian restaurant, run by Italians offering good pizzas and salads.
Gujarati Thalis at Sangam might make a nice change and Japanese food is also said to be available somewhere or other… Manali really is a food fan’s dream! It seems as though you could roll several vacations into one by sampling the cuisine of the rest of India in Manali at lunchtimes and then trying food from the rest of the world in the evenings: a Gourmet Special with clean air and stunning views thrown in. Manali cuisine is popular and delicious. The foods included in Manali cuisine are really tasty. |
