This popular north Indian dish features puri that is prepared with wheat dough, moulded into round balls, flattened by a rolling pin, and finally deep-fried. The accompanying potato curry is quite watery, and made with curry leaves, mustard seeds, dry mango powder, red chili powder, turmeric, coriander leaves and tomato gravy, and is sometimes spicy to taste.

This Gujarati delicacy is also savoured in Mathura. The dish includes gram flour, semolina, lemon juice, green chilli-ginger paste and curd. Served with mint and tamarind chutney, khaman dhokla is relished as a snack. It is quite light on the tummy and packs a punch of flavour.

The dessert dish is made from refined flour, yoghurt, sugar, milk powder and saffron, and then it is deep-fried in ghee (clarified butter). To relish the crispiness, it is eaten hot. It is a favourite breakfast snack, typically paired with tea. In Mathura, a specialty known as “aloo ki jalebi” is relished by those attempting the parikrama of Govardhan. This particular version tastes like potatoes, and is just perfect for tired devotees to give them a boost of energy.

Prepared with curd and milk, this beverage is flavoured with sugar, saffron, and cardamom powder, and topped with ice cubes. Garnished with almonds and pistachios, it is relished in northern India. A beloved drink, lassi is usually available in two variants – sweet and salty. Both are delicious and help keep the body cool.

In Mathura, breakfast isn’t just the first meal of the day – it is a time spent with family, catching up on stories with friends, and preparing for the day over a hot cup of tea. And of course, tea is only savoured as it is meant to be when accompanied by hot samosa and yummy kachori. For both these street snacks, pastry dough is filled with spicy ingredients and deep-fried. The crispy delicacies are triangular (samosa) and round (kachori) in shape. They are served with spicy mint or sweet and sour tamarind chutney. In Mathura, these snacks are available at hole-in-the-wall stalls as well as restaurants across town.

It is a sweet dish prepared with boiling milk. When milk is churned as it boils, the froth created often sticks to the sides. The layers that get deposited on the sides and at the bottom of the vessel are scraped out. To this, semolina (rava), rose water and powdered sugar are added. Later, it is garnished with dry fruits and a tint of saffron (kesar). Khurchan is available in sweet and savoury forms.

The traditional sweet of Mathura, peda has become a favourite all over the country. An extensively served offering during festivals, weddings and other important celebrations, it is a prasasd of Lord Krishna. On Janmashtami, peda is made in hundreds of kilos. The recipe includes the use of condensed milk, cardamom powder and khoya (a milk product). Fresh mawa, milk, sugar and ghee (clarified butter) are cooked together to create a creamy, silky dessert that virtually melts in the mouth. The delicacy is bite-sized and blissful. Another version of it calls for saffron to create kesari peda. This particular curation is quite rich and tasty, and is offered to devotees and guests during festival celebrations. Tourists usually take home boxes full of peda for their loved ones – its travels well and can be eaten even after a few days.