Community-based cuisines
Many rich community-based cuisines have the potential to turn into commercial bestsellers. These include micro-cuisines such as the delicacies of the Bunts (from Mangalore), the Suriani and Moplah kitchens (from Kerala), Mathur-Kayasthas (Delhi, UP) that reflect the secular past of the Indo-Gangetic plain and Tamil Muslim cooking. Bhopali food, Kashmiri Pandit food, the lip-smacking cuisine of the Saraswat Brahmins of coastal Maharashtra and Goa too are full of commercial possibilities, while Parsi food, reflecting a rich cultural mix of Gujarati and Iranian influences needs urgent attention to popularise it.
Micro-regional cuisines
Bihari food, though simple and predominantly vegetarian, has its own delicious specialties. Bengali food, with its reputation for being the most classically pure in India, is of course not a single monolith. There are distinct traditions from east and west Bengal and the more cosmopolitan food of the erstwhile Calcutta. But Oriya food is a seriously unexplored culinary minefield. The original food from Pondicherry too holds distinct promise. Himachali and Pahari cuisines from Uttaranchal are once again virtually unknown even in the popular touristy destinations of the Himalayan hillside. Assamese cuisine, on the other hand, too has considerable regional variations but is rich with rice forming the staple and supplemented by lentils, herbs, vegetables and non-vegetarian dishes.