Katra travel guide

Langar (free meals)

The Gurdwara langar tradition—free vegetarian meals prepared by community volunteers and served at all times to everyone regardless of faith or caste; at the Golden Temple 100,000 meals daily; the humility of sitting cross-legged on the floor equal to all, eating plain dal-roti, is deeply affecting

Rajma chawal

North India's most universally loved comfort meal—red kidney beans slow-cooked in a tomato-onion-ginger masala, served over steamed white rice with raw onion; the specific Jammu rajma variety is considered the finest; eaten every Sunday at every North Indian household

Chole bhature

Delhi's most iconic breakfast—large puffed fried bread (bhature) alongside a fiery chickpea curry finished with ginger and pomegranate; eaten standing at dhabas of Paharganj or posh restaurants; the best in Old Delhi near Sitaram Bazaar

Prasad

Temple food elevated to a blessing—sweets, nuts, fruits or cooked food offered to the deity and redistributed to devotees as an act of grace; each temple's prasad is specific: Tirupati's ladoo, Golden Temple's karah prasad, Vrindavan's pedas

Jammu cuisine

The Dogra-Hindu Jammu cooking tradition—distinct from Kashmir's Muslim wazwan; features rajma, ambal, madra (chickpeas), kaladi cheese, arsa rice cakes and the famous rajma chawal; the rajma grown locally in Jammu's hills is considered India's finest