Overview
- Uttar Pradesh released a 208-item district-to-dish catalogue under its One District, One Cuisine programme that features only vegetarian foods and skips kebabs, biryani, nihari and other noted meat dishes.
- Lucknow is mapped to rewadi, chaat and malai makhan and Agra to petha and dalmoth, choices that critics say overlook signature Nawabi fare that defines the cities’ food identity.
- MSME ministers Rakesh Sachan and JPS Rathore said the omission was not intentional, the list was compiled by local committees, the scheme does not ban meat and entries can be revised on district recommendations.
- Food historians including Pushpesh Pant called the all-veg roster “half-baked,” and users on social media mocked the selections and flagged items that read like commodities rather than actual dishes.
- Modeled on the ODOP push, the scheme carries a ₹150 crore budget with one-time subsidies up to 25% capped at ₹20 lakh to help artisans package, brand and sell local foods, which supporters say could expand if non-veg staples are added.