10 Lesser Known Indian Street Foods from Small Cities (+ Recipes)

10 Lesser Known Indian Street Foods from Small Cities (+ Recipes) — the stuff I keep daydreaming about at red lights#

So, I love the big-name street foods. Of course I do. Pani puri, vada pav, momos… yeah yeah. But if you ask me what I actually remember from traveling, it’s the small-city snacks that kinda sneak up on you. The ones you eat standing near a scooter, with chutney on your wrist, and you’re like… wait, why isn’t this famous??

I’ve been doing these slightly chaotic weekend trips (and some work trips where I conveniently “miss” lunch) and collecting street food obsessions from smaller towns. Some of these are old-school classics, some are having a bit of a comeback because, honestly, 2026 is the year everyone wants regional + hyperlocal + “heritage grains” and all that. Millets, jaggery swaps, air-frying at home… it’s all over food reels.

Anyway. Here are 10 lesser known Indian street foods from small cities that I think deserve way more hype. And yeah I’m giving you home-style recipes, not the fussy restaurant ones. I’m not your culinary school auntie, ok.¶

CopyHot take: the best street food in India is usually in the places tourists skip. The chaos is lower, the flavors are louder.

1) Farcha (Prayagraj/Allahabad) — crunchy fried chicken, but desi and spicy#

The first time I had farcha was near Civil Lines in Prayagraj, late evening, little crowd, and the vendor was moving like he had 6 hands. It’s basically chicken (or sometimes fish) marinated, coated with egg + flour + spices, and fried until it goes all craggly. It tastes like if fried chicken took a train through North India and picked up black pepper, garlic, and attitude.

Recipe (quick-ish):
- 500g chicken pieces
- 2 eggs
- 3 tbsp maida + 2 tbsp rice flour (for crunch)
- 1 tbsp ginger-garlic paste
- 1 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp red chilli powder, salt
- 1/2 tsp garam masala, squeeze of lemon
Mix chicken with spices + ginger garlic + lemon, rest 30 min. Beat eggs, toss chicken in egg, then flour mix. Fry medium-hot till deep brown. Eat with onion + green chutney. Don’t be shy with the pepper.¶

2) Chaat from Banaras that isn’t “just” chaat: Tamatar Chaat (Varanasi)#

Ok Banaras isn’t a “small city” in the tiny sense, but it’s still not Delhi and the vibe is its own planet. Tamatar chaat is this warm, tangy tomato gravy situation with crispy bits (sev, crushed papdi), spices, sometimes peas. I ate it near Godowlia and I swear the steam smelled like hing and black salt and happiness.

Recipe:
- 4 big tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbsp ghee/oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin + pinch hing
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1-2 boiled potatoes (optional)
- salt, kala namak, roasted jeera powder, red chilli
Cook tomatoes in ghee with cumin/hing, add ginger, mash a little, simmer till thick. Add potato chunks if you want it more filling. Serve in a bowl with crushed papdi, sev, coriander, and a squeeze of lime. It’s messy. That’s the point.¶

3) Bedmi Poori + Aloo (Mathura-ish, but the best I had was in a tiny lane in Aligarh)#

Yes, people know bedmi, but most folks I meet in other states… they don’t. Bedmi is a poori stuffed with spiced urad dal. Puffy, a little flaky, and it has this distinct dal aroma that plain poori can’t touch.

Recipe:
- Dough: 2 cups atta, salt
- Filling: 1/2 cup urad dal (soaked 2 hrs, drained), 1 tsp fennel, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1/2 tsp chilli, pinch asafoetida
Grind dal coarse with spices. Make atta dough. Stuff small balls with dal mix, roll gently, fry like poori.
Quick aloo sabzi: boil potatoes, temper cumin + hing, add potatoes, turmeric, chilli, lots of water for that “tari” style. Eat hot. Regret nothing.¶

4) Dahibara Aloodum (Cuttack/Bhubaneswar) — Odisha’s comfort bomb#

This one, omg. I had it outside a busy market in Cuttack, and it was humid and I was cranky and then… bam. Soft lentil vadas soaked in seasoned curd, topped with spicy aloodum (potato curry) and crunchy bits. Sweet, tangy, spicy. Too many things happening, but it works.

Recipe:
- Vada: 1 cup urad dal soaked, ground fluffy, salt, fry small vadas
- Dahi: whisked curd + salt + roasted cumin + a little sugar (yes)
- Aloodum: potatoes + mustard oil + cumin + chilli + garam masala-ish
Assemble: vada in dahi, spoon aloodum, sprinkle chilli powder, coriander, maybe sev. In 2026 I’m seeing people add microgreens to it for “modern plating” and… look, do what u want, but I like it street style.¶

5) Thattu Vadai Set (Madurai/Tirunelveli) — crunchy discs + chutney = addiction#

If you’ve never eaten thattu vadai set, please fix that. It’s these thin, crispy vada discs layered like a sandwich with chutneys and onion and sometimes carrot. I had it near a bus stand in Madurai, and I’m not joking, I ate two back-to-back and then pretended I didn’t.

Recipe:
- Buy/Make thin thattu vadai (some folks use store ones, it’s ok!)
- Chutneys: green (coriander/mint) + red (garlic chilli)
- Fillings: sliced onion, grated carrot, coriander, a squeeze of lemon
Spread chutneys on two discs, add filling, close like a little crunchy burger. Eat immediately or it goes soggy and sad.¶

6) Khar (Guwahati/Assam) — not exactly street snack, but it shows up at small stalls now#

I know, khar is more like a meal element, but I’ve seen little local joints serve “khar plates” in Guwahati in a quick-serve way, especially around lunch rush. The signature is khar (alkaline extract from banana peel ash) giving a clean, almost soapy-in-a-good-way taste? Hard to explain. It’s very Assam, very specific.

Recipe (home-friendly):
- Use ready khar powder if you can find it (some Assamese stores sell it)
- Cook with bottle gourd or raw papaya + lentils or fish
Basic: sauté mustard oil, add veg, turmeric, salt, water, simmer. Add a pinch of khar towards the end. Don’t overdo it or it tastes weird.
Honestly this is one of those foods where my recipe is ‘approx’, because every household does it different. Like, my friend’s mom scolded me for even measuring stuff lol.¶

7) Patra Ni Machhi (Surat’s street-style leaf-wrapped fish)#

Surat isn’t tiny, but it’s not always on street-food lists outside Gujarat. I had a leaf-wrapped fish snack (patra style, sort of inspired by patra/alu vadi technique) at a local place where they steam and then lightly sear it. Tangy, herby, not heavy. Also, coastal fish just hits.

Recipe:
- Fish fillets (pomfret/mackerel works)
- Marinade: coriander, mint, green chilli, garlic, lemon, salt, little sugar, pinch turmeric
- Wrap in banana leaf (or parchment), steam 10-12 min, then sear on pan with oil for a little char.
This kinda fits 2026’s “steam + sear” trend people do for lower oil, but still tasty. I’m into it.¶

8) Mawa Kachori (Jodhpur/Small towns in Rajasthan) — sweet, rich, chaotic#

If you’re a sweet-and-salty person, mawa kachori is basically your soulmate. I ate it in a smaller town stop near Jodhpur during a road trip and I still remember the sugar syrup dripping down my finger while I tried to act like a grown adult.

Recipe:
- Dough: maida + ghee + water, rest it
- Filling: mawa (khoya) + chopped nuts + cardamom + a bit of sugar
Stuff, fry till golden. Dip in sugar syrup (1-string consistency). Top with chopped pistachio.
Not diet food. But also… who cares on an occassion.¶

9) Chikki-style Til Gur Laddoo but street-fresh (Latur/Marathwada winter stalls)#

This is simple, but I’m adding it because winter stalls in smaller Maharashtra towns do til-gur stuff sooo well. And in 2026, everyone’s talking “seed cycling” and “clean energy bites” and paying 300 bucks for a date ball… while the uncle selling til-gur laddoos for cheap is the original wellness influencer, ok.

Recipe:
- Roast sesame seeds
- Heat jaggery with a tiny splash of water till it melts and thickens
- Mix sesame + jaggery quickly, grease hands, roll laddoos
Add peanuts if you want. Work fast or it turns into a rock. (I learnt the hard way. Nearly broke a spoon.)¶

10) Bhutte ka Kees (Indore… but I had a killer one in Ujjain)#

Corn grated, cooked with milk, spices, and finished with lemon and coriander. It sounds mild, but it’s not boring at all. The Ujjain version I ate was extra gingery and had that perfect balance of sweet corn + heat.

Recipe:
- 2 cups grated sweet corn
- 1 tbsp ghee, mustard seeds, green chilli, grated ginger
- 1/2 cup milk
- turmeric, salt, pinch sugar
Cook corn in ghee with tempering, add milk, cook till it’s not raw. Finish with lemon + coriander. Optional: grated coconut on top.
If you’ve got an air-fryer obsession (so many people do now), no you can’t air-fry this… please don’t try and then blame me.¶

Little side rant: trends in 2026 that I actually like (and one I don’t)#

What I’m seeing lately is more “regional street food pop-ups” in metro cities, which is GREAT because people are finally curious beyond the usual. Also more millet use on carts (jowar, ragi) — partly health, partly because prices of some staples keep wobbling, and vendors adapt. I’ve also noticed a lot more QR ordering even at small stalls, which feels weirdly futuristic when you’re eating off a steel plate.

Trend I don’t love: when places over-style street food and charge insane money. Like, why is my thattu vadai set on a wooden board with flowers. Give me a paper plate and let me live.¶

My messy tips if you’re cooking these at home#

• Don’t chase perfection. Street food tastes good because it’s a little rough around the edges, you know?
• If your chutney tastes ‘flat’, add acid first (lemon/tamarind) before adding more salt. This changed my life, actually.
• Use rice flour in coatings when you want that shattery crunch (farcha, vadas, etc.)
• Resting batters/doughs helps… but I also ignore this when I’m hungry, so do with that what you will

Final thoughts (aka me craving snacks at midnight)#

I’m not saying these are the ONLY underrated Indian street foods, not even close. But they’re the ones that stuck to my brain. Maybe because I ate them on slightly sweaty evenings, or during long train delays, or because a vendor smiled when I asked for “thoda aur chutney” like I was family.

If you try any of these, tell me what you messed up and what worked, because that’s half the fun. And if you’ve got your own small-city fave, I’m all ears… I’ll literally plan a trip around one snack, no shame.

Also if you like this kind of rambly food-travel reading, I end up finding a lot of fun bloggers via AllBlogs.in. Worth a scroll when you’re procrastinating dinner.¶