Kedarnath travel guide

Simple vegetarian

India's vast everyday vegetarian cooking tradition—dal, vegetable curry, rice or roti; available at every dhaba, train station and temple canteen across India; the quality of the dal and the freshness of the vegetable determines everything; never as simple as it looks

Hot chai

India's true national beverage—black CTC tea boiled with milk, sugar, ginger and sometimes cardamom; served in 50ml glasses at dhaba stalls across the country; the ginger quantity determines the quality; a 4am cup of chai at a highway dhaba is a profound Indian experience

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

Maggi

India's beloved instant noodle comfort food—cooked with extra vegetables, egg or cheese at homestays, mountain cafés and chai stalls across the Himalayas; so deeply embedded in Indian culture that it survived a 2015 national ban and returned triumphant; eating Maggi at altitude is ceremonially Indian

Paranthas

Flaky layered Punjabi flatbread—wheat dough folded with butter or ghee repeatedly to create layers; served with pickles, white butter and yogurt; distinct from stuffed parathas; a Punjabi roadside dhaba parantha fresh off the griddle at 6am is one of North India's great breakfasts