Indian cuisine 13th best in the world, ahead of Vietnam, Thailand: TasteAtlas

In Asia, India only trailed behind Japan, China and Indonesia in the annual ranking which was based on 590,228 valid ratings for 18,912 foods in TasteAtlas's database.

TasteAtlas recommended diners to try must-have dishes in India such as butter garlic naan, Amritsari kulcha (a lip-smacking stuffed flatbread dish), Garam masala (a blend of ground spices), Parotta (a layered Indian flatbread made from refined flour, eggs and oil) and Muthia which is made up of besan (chickpea flour), whole wheat flour, methi (fenugreek), salt, turmeric, chili powder, fresh ginger.

Some iconic traditional restaurants are Dum Pukht (New Delhi), Ram Ashraya (Mumbai), Shree Thaker Bhojanalay (Mumbai), Nawab Saheb (Mumbai) and Suvarna Mahal (Jaipur).

Indonesia has been ranked 10th on TasteAtlas's list of the world's 100 best cuisines this year, the highest among Southeast Asian countries.

Vietnamese cuisine was the second best in Southeast Asia, ranking 16th globally, followed by Thai cuisine which ranks 24th globally and Malaysia at 29th.

Italian cuisine was named the world's best this year, followed by cuisine of Greece, Peru, Portugal and Spain.

Founded in 2015, TasteAtlas links 9,000 local restaurants and showcases tens of thousands of dishes based on reviews and research by culinary experts, chefs, and users.

The site serves as a global map of traditional dishes made from local ingredients and aims to celebrate great food, foster pride in culinary traditions, and spark curiosity about dishes unfamiliar to many tourists.

In September, Mumbai in India surpassed many food hubs such as Chiang Mai, Osaka and Bangkok to be named Asia's 4th best street food city, according to British magazine Time Out.