It’s 5 pm and you are in Mumbai, sitting in a sales review meeting. An early team lunch feels like a distant memory and you are starving now. Just then the evening snacks and coffee are served. One look at the well laid out table and you are slightly disappointed. Sure, you have flown from Delhi, but it doesn’t mean you would always eat a samosa or a kachori in the evenings. That’s because you are watching your diet, and how you wish you knew of some healthy alternative to munch on in the evening that is available locally.

Wherever you go in India, the food just gets better, tastier but sadly GREASIER. Right? WRONG! No matter wherever you travel, you will always find some local dishes that are not only delicious but also healthy, sans the unnecessary calories.

So, let go your pre-conceived notions that people in Mumbai only eat vada pav or an oil-loaded egg roll is the only popular evening snack from West Bengal, because there’s more to it.

Next time on your visit to another city in India, be sure to keep this list handy and order one of these amazingly tasty snacks that will satiate your hunger without adding inches to your waistline! ;)

1. Paneer Tikka

Image Credit: Flickr @Charles_Haynes

Mildly spiced, soft paneer with tomatoes, onions and capsicum, paneer tikka is the way to draw curtains to an eventful day when you are in north India. Charred and smoky, you can eat this protein-rich delicacy as much as you want. For a fuller meal, fill it inside a roomali roti, add sliced onions and some mint chutney. Voila! Your healthy and scrumptious paneer tikka roll is ready to be devoured!

2. Soya Chaap

Soft, juicy and spicy soya chaap (made with soyabean) is a sure way to get your proteins. All around north India, you get this dipped in tomato gravy, made as kebabs on skewers and on a stick too. Again, wrap it in a roomali roti or even a tandoori roti, and you get a delicious filling meal.

3. Dhokla

Image Source: Flickr @Sandy_Austin

Head west and you will always find yourself spoilt for choice. Even though you get dhokla all over India, the best will always be served in Gujarat. Almost everywhere you go in Gujarat, you will find this steamed delicacy, lightly tempered with mustard seeds, to be had with fried green chilies and mint chutney. Our favorite khaman dhokla is not just steamed, soft and airy; it is also light on the stomach. This one is widely available across India, and is an all-day meal dish.

4. Khakhra

Khakhras are savories from Gujarat that are roasted to perfection to give them a crunchy, papad-like texture, thus making them healthy and low on calories, yet delicious. This thin and crisp goodness is available in mind-boggling flavors from pav bhaji to pani puri. With a longer shelf life, you can carry them as an anytime hunger-fix while you travel. Add the flavor by having them with pickles and chutneys. Can’t you almost feel like snapping a chilly garlic khakhra, smearing it with mango pickle and listening to that crunch in your mouth?

5. Poha

Image Source: Flickr @Scott_Dexter

Flattened rice, vegetables and spices, tempered with some oil, garnished with some sev; poha is a quintessential west and central India breakfast item. It is light, flavorful, really fuss-free and healthy. Of course, like many fusion things we keep doing, there are Chinese (the one with soy sauce and vegetable juliennes) and Italian (the one with the flavoring of oregano and chili flakes) versions amongst many others now available. It can be best had at small shacks in every nook and corner of all the streets, in the country. They make it really well!

6. Neer Dosa

Neer which means ‘water’ is a light, rice flour based dosa made in Karnataka. The dosa is prepared in very little oil and served with chutney or some curry. Neer dosa gets its taste from simplicity; no complex flavors making it just a healthy snack. So, keep it on your must-have list while travelling down south.

7. Idli

Image Credit: Flickr @Roland_Tanglao

The steamed, fluffy and soft idlis have been a favorite amongst the weight-watchers since ages now. And more so when you get the ones flavored with tomato, spinach, and beetroot or stuffed with mix vegetables that make it a tasty goodness at another level. Enjoy it with chutney or wash it down with hot cup of filter kaapi and your trip to south India is worthwhile!

8. Ghugni

Image Credit: Flickr @Kaberi_Kar_Gupta

A very popular tea-time snack from east India, ghugni is black, yellow or white peas cooked in gravy. A protein-rich snack and quite filling one at that, ghugni can be easily found being served in the streets of Kolkata to Asansol. Grab a plate while you stroll around mesmerized with the old world charm of Kolkata. It will keep you full till your dinner date with kosha mangsho!

9. Jhal muri

Chopped onions, tomatoes, chilies mixed with murmura (puffed rice). Some mustard oil drizzled for taste. And all this thrown together, given a nice shake and served right there! Super healthy, tasty and simple. Very integral to east India, jhal muri is a much preferred evening snack. And though, it all may sound simple, making a perfect packet of jhal muri is an art.

Now cross your heart and promise yourself that you will not let your waistline or your taste buds complain, next time your hunger pangs strike on your unraveling tour through India.

Naina Madan

From CA to advertising to writing, life has been a true roller-coaster ride. Not that I mind it. When not figuring out how to earn money to finance the travel, coffee and books, I am day-dreaming the travel, the coffee smell and virtually sniffing through new released books.

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