The most common dishes on Indian menus
Share of the menus we read that list each dish.
Each city's signature dish
The dish a city's menus list far more often than menus everywhere else. Only dishes on at least 10 menus, and at least 15% of menus, in that city count.
| City | Signature dish | On menus there | Everywhere |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMV | Bhel Puri | 34% | 18% |
| NYC and NJ | Puri | 43% | 22% |
| Bay Area | Kheer | 45% | 31% |
| Chicago | Uttapam | 18% | 11% |
| Houston | Kheer | 49% | 31% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | Idli | 30% | 14% |
| Atlanta | Chicken 65 | 58% | 23% |
| Los Angeles | Baingan Bharta | 36% | 17% |
| Philadelphia | Gobi Manchurian | 33% | 18% |
| Seattle | Masala Chai | 66% | 30% |
| Boston | Puri | 61% | 22% |
| Raleigh-Durham | Dal Tadka | 41% | 20% |
| Austin | Masala Chai | 69% | 30% |
| Detroit | Hakka Noodles | 32% | 13% |
| Phoenix | Chole Bhature | 30% | 19% |
| Sacramento | Chole Bhature | 36% | 19% |
| Charlotte | Idli | 40% | 14% |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | Chole Bhature | 39% | 19% |
| Columbus | Puri | 42% | 22% |
| Denver | Momos | 47% | 12% |
| San Diego | Gajar Halwa | 36% | 19% |
| Tampa-Orlando | Dal Tadka | 42% | 20% |
| Toronto | Hakka Noodles | 29% | 13% |
| Vancouver | Momos | 27% | 12% |
| Calgary | Hakka Noodles | 35% | 13% |
| Manchester | Lamb Rogan Josh | 58% | 35% |
| Sydney | Papdi Chaat | 20% | 9% |
| Melbourne | Dahi Puri | 22% | 6% |
| Auckland | Dahi Puri | 17% | 6% |
| Singapore | Dahi Puri | 18% | 6% |
Biryani or butter chicken?
Which of the two shows up on more menus in each city.
| City | Chicken biryani | Butter chicken | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| DMV | 58% | 68% | Butter chicken |
| NYC and NJ | 55% | 34% | Biryani |
| Bay Area | 55% | 49% | Biryani |
| Chicago | 60% | 53% | Biryani |
| Houston | 51% | 54% | Butter chicken |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 52% | 47% | Biryani |
| Atlanta | 56% | 62% | Butter chicken |
| Los Angeles | 66% | 47% | Biryani |
| Philadelphia | 67% | 48% | Biryani |
| Seattle | 52% | 65% | Butter chicken |
| Boston | 63% | 44% | Biryani |
| Raleigh-Durham | 57% | 57% | Tie |
| Austin | 61% | 53% | Biryani |
| Detroit | 68% | 62% | Biryani |
| Phoenix | 48% | 35% | Biryani |
| Sacramento | 61% | 73% | Butter chicken |
| Charlotte | 50% | 44% | Biryani |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 48% | 48% | Tie |
| Columbus | 53% | 39% | Biryani |
| Denver | 42% | 55% | Butter chicken |
| San Diego | 70% | 52% | Biryani |
| Tampa-Orlando | 59% | 68% | Butter chicken |
| Toronto | 34% | 50% | Butter chicken |
| Vancouver | 39% | 66% | Butter chicken |
| Calgary | 28% | 61% | Butter chicken |
| London | 34% | 43% | Butter chicken |
| Birmingham | 49% | 62% | Butter chicken |
| Manchester | 47% | 53% | Butter chicken |
| Sydney | 37% | 67% | Butter chicken |
| Melbourne | 31% | 64% | Butter chicken |
| Auckland | 39% | 74% | Butter chicken |
| Dubai | 30% | 46% | Butter chicken |
| Singapore | 28% | 48% | Butter chicken |
Dosa, chaat and sweets
| City | Places we list | Masala dosa on menus | Pani puri on menus | Sweet shops | All-vegetarian places |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DMV | 420 | 20% | 21% | 8 | 23 |
| NYC and NJ | 799 | 16% | 14% | 14 | 12 |
| Bay Area | 627 | 19% | 13% | 8 | 20 |
| Chicago | 218 | 19% | 10% | 4 | 5 |
| Houston | 93 | 14% | 8% | 2 | 9 |
| Dallas-Fort Worth | 176 | 27% | 15% | 1 | 8 |
| Atlanta | 254 | 20% | 25% | 7 | 6 |
| Los Angeles | 530 | 18% | 13% | 12 | 3 |
| Philadelphia | 305 | 15% | 13% | 1 | 2 |
| Seattle | 326 | 15% | 18% | 5 | 2 |
| Boston | 261 | 38% | 6% | 1 | 7 |
| Raleigh-Durham | 145 | 29% | 11% | 1 | 5 |
| Austin | 154 | 29% | 18% | 3 | 3 |
| Detroit | 175 | 32% | 7% | 5 | 4 |
| Phoenix | 138 | 15% | 18% | 0 | 2 |
| Sacramento | 115 | 6% | 27% | 3 | 1 |
| Charlotte | 100 | 35% | 21% | 1 | 5 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul | 87 | 21% | 12% | 0 | 0 |
| Columbus | 107 | 11% | 0% | 3 | 0 |
| Denver | 164 | 11% | 7% | 1 | 0 |
| San Diego | 139 | 11% | 13% | 0 | 1 |
| Tampa-Orlando | 228 | 18% | 21% | 2 | 4 |
| Toronto | 1,235 | 7% | 18% | 69 | 23 |
| Vancouver | 514 | 9% | 30% | 53 | 5 |
| Calgary | 239 | 16% | 19% | 20 | 5 |
| London | 3,317 | 8% | 13% | 32 | 41 |
| Birmingham | 935 | 2% | 11% | 18 | 2 |
| Manchester | 676 | 5% | 9% | 3 | 2 |
| Sydney | 650 | 15% | 24% | 17 | 13 |
| Melbourne | 799 | 12% | 25% | 16 | 19 |
| Auckland | 463 | 5% | 25% | 14 | 10 |
| Dubai | 1,010 | 11% | 13% | 4 | 50 |
| Singapore | 748 | 12% | 13% | 3 | 30 |
How we did this
Spice India lists Indian restaurants from public map data and restaurants' own websites. Where a restaurant publishes its menu online, we read it and note which of 76 common dishes it serves. Percentages are shares of the menus we have read in each city (cities with at least 30 read menus). Figures update every week as we read more menus, so they move a little over time. Journalists are welcome to use these figures with a link to this page.