Every PSG Himachal tour includes breakfast and dinner at the hotel. Lunch is yours — which is the point. These are the authentic Pahadi dishes we tell travellers not to miss, with a rough idea of where on the route each one is best.

The dhaam

A festive vegetarian meal served on leaf plates, cooked by botis (traditional cooks) in brass vessels — madra (chickpeas or kidney beans in a yoghurt gravy), rajma, kadhi, rice and a sweet mittha to finish. You find it at weddings and temple fairs; several restaurants in Mandi and Kangra serve a dhaam thali to order.

Siddu and babru

Siddu is a steamed wheat bun stuffed with poppy seeds or walnuts, eaten with ghee — the Kullu–Manali winter staple, and the thing to order on a cold evening on the Mall Road. Babru is Himachal’s answer to the kachori, a stuffed fried bread served with tamarind chutney at breakfast.

Kullu trout

Farmed and river trout from the Beas and Tirthan, pan-fried with local herbs. Best between Kullu and Manali and in the Tirthan valley; order it the day you do Solang or the Atal Tunnel.

The rest of the list

  • Aktori — a buckwheat pancake from Lahaul, found in Sissu and Keylong
  • Bhey — lotus-stem stir-fry, spicy and crisp
  • Chha Gosht — marinated lamb in a gram-flour and yoghurt gravy
  • Kaale Channe Ka Khatta — sour black chickpeas, a dhaam regular
  • Tibetan thukpa and momos — McLeod Ganj and Manali’s Tibetan kitchens
  • Tudkiya Bhath — Chamba’s spiced rice with lentils and potato
  • Chicken Anardana — chicken with dried pomegranate seeds
  • Aloo Palda — potatoes in a yoghurt gravy
  • Auriya Kaddu — pumpkin with mustard
  • Mittha — sweet rice with jaggery and dry fruit, the Manali dessert our 10-day itinerary sends you to find

Where the Volvo stops

Overnight Volvos from Delhi to Shimla and Manali leave after 5 pm and make a dinner halt on the Chandigarh highway and a dawn tea stop after Bilaspur or Solan. Parathas and chai are reliable; keep cash for the dhaba.

Himachal’s small, cosy cafés and restaurants offer a wide range of delicacies at affordable prices — relish as many as you can during your stay.