What comes to your mind first when you think of Indian Food? I’m sure that the first few things that come to your mind are about the rich spices, mouth watering curries, oily, fat, hot, fine aromas, rich flavors, diversity, butter chicken, chicken biryani etc. But no-one would think anything close to bizarre. For people who thought Indian food was all about vegetables, curries and spices, read on and your perceptions will be changed forever; from good to gross to weird, like really weird!

1. Onion Halwa

Made by frying onions in butter and then cooking on slow heat with milk and sugar, and then enjoying the near heaven taste and texture.

2. Eri Polu

Eri Polu is an exotic delicacies prepared from Silk Worm pupas. Eri silkworm is the primary ingredient and is used after it has spun its cocoon. Try not getting grossed out, it only gets better from here!

3. Turmeric and Ginger Halwa

It is commonly cooked in North Indian households and is supposed to fight cold and cough during winters. (So , now you know what to get your hands on when you catch cold.)

4. Frog Leg

For the Lepcha community in Sikkim, there is nothing more exotic than few pieces of Frog legs and they can relish in the cold mountainous weather. They believe that these frog legs contains medicinal values and are able to cure dysentery and other stomach ailments.( would you give it a try?  )

5. Black Rice

These are black in colour and are also known as Emperor's Rice . They are full of health benefits and are eaten in Manipur , Kerala and North Bengal.

6. Dog Meat

Yeah, you read it right. The food culture of Nagaland is poles apart from rest of India. Here the dish is considered a delicacy which might be regarded as a taboo to other Indian communities. Here the delicacies include dogs, spiders, pork, beef, crabs, cats, chicken and even elephants. Dog is considered a delicacy in Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur’s tribal communities only.

7. Kharode/Paya Soup

It is a flavorful clear soup made with lamb trotters by adding various spices. It is considered to provide immunity against cold and flu infections.

8. Red Ant Chutney

It is called Chaprah in Chhatisgarh ,which is made from red ants along with their eggs. The chutney has a pungent and spicy taste that gives you an out of the world experience. These red ants are also used as a garnish for the dishes to make it spicier and hot.( all the spice lovers out there , would you try? )

9. Phan Pyut 

How does the idea of letting potatoes rot instead of harvesting sound to you? If that’s not strange enough then how about consuming those rotten veggies either raw or treated with spices? That’s exactly what’s done in some of the North-Eastern states of India.

10. Doh Khlieh

Or pig brain if nothing else. While pork dishes are popular in many parts of the country steamed pig’s brain is a dish that’s enjoyed in Meghalya.

Which of these are you willing to try ?