If you’re a Desi student who’s just fought valiantly fought through the most brutal of wars (exam time), you must feeling a lot of different emotions: relief, anxiety, joy, and everything in between. But along with all those feelings one of the most important ones is HUNGER. And you should be feeling it! You’ve worked hard for the past few weeks to get to this glorious moment, it’s time to enjoy it! Now while I realize for a lot of people exam time is often the time people eat more, but I happen to be one of those people too nervous and anxious to eat the foods I really want to until this difficult time is over. And if you’re anything like me, you’ll have had plenty of ideas about the delicious different foods you can consume once you’ve crossed the bridge. So allow me to tell you some of the best foods from the Indian subcontinent to reward yourself with once godforsaken time has passed!
1. Samosa
After your finals, you’re definitely ready to have some real, spicy, mouth-watering Desi food on your taste buds. But keep in mind, you’ve been a ball of nerves for weeks and if you’ve been taking it easy on the heavy oily foods, your stomach’s going to need some time to adjust to real food again. So start small. And by start small I mean start with deep-fried samosas, stuffed with your choice of chicken, ground beef, potatoes, or if you really enjoy vegetables, chickpeas, spinach, or other vegetarian options. Samosas are generally considered to be an appetizer or snack food, so be sure to keep room for the main course!
2. Pakora
If samosas aren’t your cup of tea, perhaps pakoras are what your taste buds really crave. Another delicious deep-fried snack, pakoras can be made with potatoes, onions, eggplants, spinach, chili pepper, cauliflower, and more! My personal favorite are aloo pakoras (potato pakoras) because they remind me of potato chips in the sense that you can’t just stop at one. Be sure to have a bowl of this ready to ease you into the feast after your post-finals celebrations!
3. Aloo Gosht/Aloo Keema
By far my favorite comfort foods, aloo gosht and aloo keema are curries made with beef (or mutton or lamb) and potatoes, the beef being minced if it is aloo keema and chunks if it is aloo gosht. The best part is the gravy, especially when it is nice and thick. Aloo gosht and aloo keema are foods that are not likely to be found at a restaurant and are better enjoyed in the comfort of your own home. This makes it even better to have after finals, since it gives you a sense of home and peace.
4. Korma
My personal favorite type being chicken korma, this dish can be made using beef, lamb, mutton, or even vegetables. Korma is one of those dishes that is so deliciously flavorful that often you don’t want to stop eating once you’ve started! It rekindles your familiarity with the perfect blend of masala and flavor that is a central part of Desi food! So be sure to have some when you celebrate!
5. Aloo Puri
If you are in the mood for a big breakfast, aloo puri is the way to go. Puri is a deep-fried bread which can be eaten with many foods such as chickpeas, vegetables, etc., my favorite being with what I used to call nashtewale aloo (breakfast potatoes) when I was a child, because I had no other name for the specific potatoes that go with puri (which I later learned was aloo ki tarkari). While it is usually considered to be a breakfast dish, my stomach certainly does not differentiate between meal times when it comes to aloo puri! And neither will your brain when it is recovering from exams. It is oily, heavy, and absolutely delicious!
6. Aloo Ki Bhujiya
As you can probably tell, I have an unhealthy obsession with aloo (potatoes). I can’t help it, it is delicious! Aloo ki bhujiya is another dish that I didn’t know the name of when I was a child, instead calling it “flat aloo” because of the way the potatoes are sliced. This is another comfort food, one which makes you feel very at ease and gives a sense of familiarity. I especially love it when the potatoes are super spicy, so spicy that they can’t be eaten without a tall glass of water sitting next to the plate! Comfort foods like this are the best reminder that now is the time to relax and be happy!
7. Biryani
Let’s be honest: Biryani is one of those foods that really needs no excuse to eat, but because no opportunity to have it can be wasted, let’s make finals one of the newest ones to eat biryani! A mixed rice dish with lots of spices that can be mixed with any type of meat or vegetable, biryani is an amazing contribution to South Asian cuisine that originated in North India. Different parts of the Indian subcontinent have different versions of this dish, including, but not limited to: Hydrabadi Biryani, Punjabi chicken biryani, Sindhi biryani, keema biryani, Memoni biryani, and my personal favorites, Bombay biryani and Lucknowi biryani. It can be made with different types of meat, but my favorite is chicken with (you guessed it!) potatoes. Not everyone puts potatoes in their biryani (something I never understood), but different regions put their own spices and masalas, making biryani one of the best post-finals rewards!
8. Kharaish/Khagina/Anda Bhurji
When it comes to egg dishes, this one has to take the cake for me. Called by different names across the Indian subcontinent, kharaish often looks like scrambled eggs but it is made differently. It includes chopped onions, tomatoes, and green peppers and even though it takes time to make, the end result is completely worth it. The tasty spices combined with the eggs make for a very enjoyable meal, especially when you have it with paratha!
9. Nihari
The crown jewel. If you ask me, nihari is one of those foods which should solve all the problems in the world (seriously, feed a spoonful to Donald Trump and he’ll never speak again due to the hole burned in his tongue!) because if its rich and spicy flavor. My all-time favorite food, nihari is one of those dishes I could easily eat for the rest of my life with no complaints. The most frustrating thing about it, though, is that it takes forever to make. Unless you own a pressure cooker, be prepared to wait 6-8 hours for your stomach to enter paradise. However, those pieces of beef floating in the ruby-red gravy make it well-worth the wait. The gravy in particular is one of the best parts because of its rich flavor. Nihari is an extremely heavy meal, so be ready to laze around for the next few hours after eating it. In fact, I’m pretty sure the sheer weight of the meal is equivalent to the heavy burden that finals put on you, so it evens out!
Finals are one of the most difficult times in a student's life, so in order to ease the pain once you've finished them, be sure to treat yourself to some of these delectable dishes! These are my personal favorite Desi foods to celebrate the end of finals, but needless to say, there are countless others. Comment below to let me know what some of your favorites are!
