Overview: Food culture is often determined by the surrounding. Uttrakhand falls in the land of high and lows where the cuisine varies as per the location. In the upper hilly regions of the state, the locals use less vegetables and rice due to scarcity and cook with dry meat and grains such as barley and mandua while in the lower hills, rice and wheat are consumed with more vegetables and legumes. In both regions, the food available is rich in energy with lots of spices and is either cooked in pure ghee or mustard oil.