McAloo Tikki

The proof that the most popular McDonald’s burger in a country can have no meat at all. A crisp patty of spiced potato and peas, the kind of thing sold at street stalls across India, with a sweet tomato mayo, onion and tomato. It is cheap, crunchy, soft inside and properly seasoned, and most people who try it wish they could order it at home.

When McDonald’s opened in India in 1996 it faced a problem no other market posed: most customers do not eat beef, and many do not eat pork. The menu had to be rebuilt from scratch around chicken and vegetarian food, and the potato tikki, a snack every Indian customer already knew, became the heart of it.