Dussehra also popularly known as Vijaydashami is a major Hindu festival celebrated at the end of Navratri every year. This festival is celebrated to celebrate the victory of good over evil. Like every festival there are some of the best dishes that are made and enjoyed by people during Dussehra.

 Top 10 Snacks Made During Dussehra

1. Fafda Jalebi

Fafda is a rectangular-shaped savory snack originating from Gujrat. Fafda got famous for being a Dussehra dish and is the most sought-after snack during the festival with jalebi. It is Prepared by making a mixture of besan, oil, carom seeds, and salt in a vessel with water. Later this dough is made into rectangular rolls and deep-frying.

2. Matar Kachori

Matar Kachori is a savory deep-fried dish originating from the Northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It is one of the popular Dussehra dishes that’s easy to make. It is prepared by deep frying flatbread-shaped wheat flour balls filled with pea mixture made by mixing boiled pea with spices like salt, red chili, and chat masala.

3. Hara Bhara Kebab

Hara Bhara kebab is a vegan alternative to famous kebabs made using meat. This kebab is prepared by boiling potato and then mashing it with boiled peas and spices like salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, and chat masala. This mixture is later given the shape of a kebab and fried in oil or ghee on a pan.

4. Vada

Vada is an Indian snack and a popular Dussehra dish in the Southern part of the Indian subcontinent. Vada is prepared by using either potato or legume soaked overnight and ground together to make a batter with some amount of water. The batter is then seasoned using cumin seeds, onion, curry leaves, chili, and baking powder. The mixture is then deep-fried after giving the desired shape to it.   

5. Upvaas Thalipeth

Upvaas Thalipeth is an Indian Dussehra dish originating in the Indian subcontinent. It is prepared by making a dough using bhajanee, onion, fresh coriander, and other fresh vegetables are added. It is usually served with butter and is hot.

6. Sweet Dosa

Sweet Dosa is an Indian Dussehra dish originating from the Southern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is prepared with a thin batter made of rice and legumes soaked overnight, mixed with jaggery or sugar according to one’s preference. It is a highly nutritious snack served hot to eat.

7. Dahi Bhalla   

Dahi Bhalla is a type of chat originating from the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent. It is a popular Dussehra dish prepared by soaking vada made of legume soaked overnight and then grinding it with salt and other spices in a thick yogurt batter. It is served cold with toppings of sweet tamarind chutney and green chutney.

8. Sabudana Tikki

Sabudana Tikki is a traditional deep-fried fritter originating from Maharashtra in the Indian subcontinent. It is a popular Dussehra dish as people who’re fasting can also enjoy it. It is prepared by soaking sabudana overnight that is later added with mashed potato and peanut without husk. It is later made in small bite size and is deep fried.  

9. Ragda Patties

Ragda Patties is a famous dish of Maharashtra from the Indian subcontinent. It is a common Dussehra food in Maharashtra and is prepared with mashed potato patties and pea sauce. The patties are prepared with simple mashed potatoes with spices and the ragada is prepared with rehydrated peas.

10. Paan

Paan or betel quid chewing is a Dussehra dish or mainly an after-dinner snack originating from the Indian subcontinent consumed to give a narcotic and relaxing effect to the body. There are many types of paan that one consumes according to one’s preference.

  Top 10 Main Course Dussehra Dishes

1. Alugadde Payla And Poori

Alugadde Payla is a dry-veggie prepared in India using potato, onion, green chili, and ginger with spices like turmeric, red chili powder, dhania powder, and chat masala. A little water is added to the dish to give it gravy and an additional taste. it is best served with Poori, a deep-fried bread made with maida, or wheat flour depending on one’s preference. This is one of the most common Dussehra dishes.

2. Huli Tovve And Rice

Huli Tovve is a curry that’s a specialty from Karnataka in India. It is a must-have curry Dussehra dish made of ground masala and vegetables. This dish is a kind of a sambhar served at South weddings. It is prepared using mixed vegetables of one’s choice, peanut, arhar dal, salt, and jaggery. It is served hot with rice prepared by boiling rice in water and then straining the excess water. Tamarind is the most important ingredient in this dish.

3. Balendindina Payla

Balendindina Payla is a sabzi made up of banana stems. It is prepared by cleaning banana stems and cutting them into small pieces. The cut banana stem is mixed with oil, mustard seeds, Bengal gram, turmeric powder, black gram, coriander powder, salt, green chilies, and curry leaves and cooked for a while by covering it with a plate. It is served hot with roti or rice.

4. Alu Boonda

Alu Boonda is a popular South Indian snack that is mainly a ball-shaped potato fritter originating from Udupi. It is prepared by boiling and peeling a potato that’s mashed later with spices like salt, red chili powder, coriander powder, chat masala, and coriander leaves. This mixture is later shaped like a ball and coated in gram flour. The final step is to deep fry it in oil or ghee.

5. Varan Bhaat

Varan Bhaat is a vegan Indian Dussehra dish made with rice and tur dal as its main ingredients. This dish originates from Maharashtra and the Goan state and is similar to the lachko dal of Gujrat. This dish is prepared by cooking dal in the pressure cooker with tomatoes, turmeric, and salt to taste. Bhaat is cooked by boiling it in water and straining the excess water.

6. Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal is a savory Indian rice dish originating from the southern part of the Indian subcontinent. It is prepared by boiling rice in tamarind water and adding spices like salt, chat masala, and pepper. This dish is usually served with sambhar and is a popular Dussehra dish in Southern states like Tamil Nadu.   

7. Shahi Paneer And Puri

Shahi paneer is a savory dish originating from Northern India during Mughal time that is made during the festive season. It is one of the most common Dussehra dishes prepared with cottage cheese with gravy. Shahi Paneer is made by cooking cottage cheese in tomato, cashews, and onion gravy with spices like turmeric, methi, and salt to taste. It is served with puri made by deep-frying wheat flour in the shape of flatbread.

8. Mushroom Masala And Puri

Mushroom masala is a savory dish originating from Northern India that is made during the festive season. It is a common Dussehra dish to be made in Indian households. This dish is made by making a thick gravy using mushroom stock and pieces with spices like salt, turmeric, coriander powder, nutmeg, and pepper to enhance its flavors. It is served with flatbread or puri made with deep-frying wheat flour.

9. Kananga Upkari And Rice

Kananga Upkari is a traditional savory dish originating from Karnataka from the Indian subcontinent prepared using sweet potato as the main ingredient. It is made by cutting sweet potatoes after peeling and sautéing them with spices like salt, turmeric, pepper, and red chili powder. It is best served with rice made by boiling raw rice in water.

10. Chana Puri

Chana Puri is a must Dussehra dish that’s savory in taste originating from the Northern part of the Indian subcontinent with chana as the main ingredient. This dish is prepared by boiling chana after leaving it in water overnight and then sautéed in spices like turmeric, salt, and coriander powder to enhance its flavors. This is a dry dish generally served with puri and suji ka halwa.  

Top 15 Sweet Dishes To Make On Dussehra

1. Shrikhand

Shrikhand is a traditional Indian sweet made up of strained yogurt in the states of Maharashtra and Gujrat. Shrikhand is made by pouring yogurt on loose woven gauze-like material and hanging for hours to drain the whey out of it. Then it’s transferred into a bowl, and flavors like saffron, rose, etc. are added and blended. It then chilled for a few hours and served cold with the addition of dry fruits on it. It’s one of the most common Dussehra dishes of all.

2. Basundi

Basundi is an Indian sweet dish mainly prepared in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka by boiling milk till it gets reduced in half, just like condensed milk. A similar dish is named rabri in North India. Basundi is cooked by boiling milk and adding heavy cream in it to quicken the condensation process and then cardamom, saffron, etc. are added to give flavors to it. It is chilled and served cold. It is one of the best Dussehra dishes to try.

3. Pal Payasam

Pal Payasam is a sweet dish that’s a type of wet pudding often used as a staple food in the temple. Payasam is kheer made in South India. It is made by boiling milk and addition of rice and sugar or jaggery according to one’s preference in it while the milk is boiling. The Payasam is then chilled for a few hours and served cold with an additional topping of dry fruits and saffron.

4. Nachni Barfi

Nachni Barfi is an Indian dense milk-based sweet often made by using milk powder and sugar. Milk powder, sugar, ragi flour, khoya, ghee, and peanut butter are cooked together in a pan till the mix solidifies, followed by transferring the mixture to a shallow pan till it cools. Finally, it gets cut up in the desired shape. Often an edible metallic layer is added on top of it to enhance its beauty.

5. Pinni

Pinni is an Indian sweet originating from the state of Punjab and eaten in the winter season. Pinni is made using desi ghee, wheat flour, jaggery, and almonds cooked together. After the mixture cools down a bit it is given a round shape with the addition of raisins and cardamoms to enhance the taste. This sweet dish doesn’t go bad for a long period.

6. Petha

Petha is an Indian sweet mainly famous in Agra city. It has a translucent candy-like structure and is made using ash gourd or white pumpkin. It is believed to have originated under Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Petha is prepared by dipping a cut of bite-size ash gourd for a few hours and then boiling it till it turns translucent. It is then removed from the solution and dipped in flavored syrup to give it a taste. It has a soft exterior and a chewy interior.

7. Kayi Holige

Kayi Holige is an Indian sweet originating in the Southern part of India also known as Puran Poli. It is a flatbread that has a sweet taste to it famous in regions of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujrat, and Tamil Nadu. It is made by using Senaga Pappu, plain flour, jaggery, and cardamom powder mixed with ghee and water. The mixture is then transferred to a pan and given the shape of flatbread. It is served hot or at room temperature.

8. Mysore Pak

Mysore Pak is an Indian sweet originating in Karnataka, with its texture being similar to sweet buttery dense cookies prepared by Dussehra dishes. The sweet is prepared by, using large amounts of ghee mixed with sugar, gram flour, and often cardamom is added to enhance the taste. The mixture is stirred continuously to avoid it from sticking in the vessel or getting burned. The dish was accidentally discovered by Madappa, after experimenting with different ingredients with a desire to gift his king something unique to eat.

9. Seera

Seera is the most common Indian sweet made at times of festival originating from the Indian subcontinent, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Seera is made by using semolina roasted in ghee with the addition of sugar or jaggery according to one’s preference, and milk. One can also add dry fruits, cardamom, or saffron to enhance its taste. It is a must-eat Dussehra dish in Indian households.

10. Jalebi

Jalebi is a famous Indian sweet originating from the country of Afghanistan. It is made by deep-frying maida flour batter made by using maida, sugar, ghee, and water in the shape of a pretzel, which later gets soaked in sugar syrup or popularly known as chasini. It is enjoyed with other delicacies like rabri. It is served both hot to eat. It is one of the easiest Dussehra dishes to be prepared.

11. Malpua

Malpua is a sweet that can be considered a pancake originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is a famous sweet dish from the state of Bihar and is made using plain flour. Malpua is prepared by frying barley flour in ghee and later dipped in chasni or honey. It is also one of the Chapana Bhoga for Lord Jagannath. It is common to prepare this sweet dish during the festive season. It is one of the popular Dussehra dishes prepared by Indians.

12. Shahi Tukda

Shahi Tukda is a sweet originating from the state of Punjab in the Mughlai kitchen, with the literal translation of the sweet name being royal piece. The dish is prepared by frying white bread in ghee or oil according to one’s preference. Once the bread is fried it is coated with milk and sugar. Flavors like saffron, cardamom, or cloves get added to enhance its taste. It is also a popular dish prepared by Muslims on Eid. It is one of the most common Dussehra dishes prepared in Indian households.

13. Rasgulla

Rasgulla is a syrupy Indian sweet popular in Bengal made of chenna. The dish is made of ball-shaped chenna dumplings, and semolina dough cooked in sugar syrup till the balls absorb chenna. It is generally served cold. The dish originated in Puri, as Khira Mohana that later got renamed Pahala Rasgulla.

14. Coconut Barfi

Coconut Barfi is a sweet dish originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is a dense-milk-based sweet that’s made using milk powder, sugar, and coconut khus. The dish is prepared by cooking milk powder, and sugar in a pan with coconut khus that are later transferred to another vessel to cool. Once the dish is cooled it gets the desired shape with added flavors like saffron or cardamom.

15. Kalakand

Kalakand is a sweet originating from the Indian sub-continent made of solidified sweetened Khoa. It is a must-make Dussehra dish just like ghewar is in Rakshabandhan. The sweet is made using chenna, khoa, milk, and additional flavors like cardamom, or saffron are added to enhance its taste.

Vijaydashami celebrations involves dissolution and farewell to Goddess Durga by immersing the idols clay statue in river with chants and mantras in the background. There are hundreds of dussehra dishes to be made and enjoy during the festive season. Here's a list of the dishes one can try during upcoming Dusshera.