Categories: Food & Wine

Guide to Ordering Indian Food

Indian food is meant to be eaten as a group. It is often served on a large silver platter with several smaller bowls on it. A typical Indian meal includes at least one starch, (bread or rice), one or two main dishes, a vegetable and a dahl, or at
least two vegetables for non -vegatarians, and a chutney, sometimes as many as five chutneys.

Because these meals are meant to be shared, certain rules of etiquette have evolved. The general rule of thumb to remember is : If it doesn’t make a mess, eat it with your hands. There is NO “Double dipping”. If a piece of food touches your mouth or your plate, eat it, do not offer it to anyone else, except your closet family member.

Indian Menus generally list Dishes as two word options, the first word telling you what is cooked, the second word
describing how it is cooked. If you are at a very traditional place the first words may not be in English. Here are some of
the more common ones :

Palak – Spinach
Aloo – Potato
Murgh – Chicken
Mutter – Peas
Paneer – cheese

So Mutter Paneer = Peas with cheese, and Murgh Korma is chicken in korma sauce.

With all that in mind, here’s how we order ;

Starches :

Rice – A bowl of plain rice will cleanse the palate and also put out the fire. It is especially useful if you are ordering more than one dish and sharing. Order rice.

Bread – Indian bread comes in a variety of forms and serves a variety of purposes. It’s often served with several sauces and should be ordered with every meal, here are some breads you are likely to find on the menu. Pick one bread.

1. Naan -unleavened white bread backed in a tandoor oven. Perfect for smothering with chutneys.
2. Roti -Whole wheat bread baked in a tandoor oven
3. Poori – Deep fried puffed whole wheat bread. Poori’s often perfectly golden colour and puffiness, make it an excellent and impressive choice.
4. Paratha -layered whole wheat bread

Appetizers – Traditionally, there are no appetizers, and all the food arrives at once. If you are hungry, most places offer the following while you are waiting for your meal.

Samosa’s – savory pastries stuffed with either potato’s and peas, or spiced lamb filing, excellent appetizers of snacks.

Pakora – usually crunchy fritters stuffed with cauliflower,Spinach and potato,often confused with Samosas.

Main Dish – Pick one or Two. It is usaully best to pick a mild dish, such as a korma or a biryani, and a spicer dish for varities sake.

1.Tikka – A marinade made with spices and yogurt, often used on chicken, Tikka is often mild due to the yogurt.

2.Kebab – Grilled or broiled meat, the meat is usually grilled on a rotating stick and served on a stick cut into cubes. Kebabs are usually made of lamb, or beef, but vegetable kebabs are becoming increasingly popular.

3.Biryani – An excellent rice dish, prepared with a large mixture of spices, Basmati rice, vegetables,potato’s and occasionally meat. Biryani is generally mild and an excellent choice for vegetarians.

4.Korma – A creamy mild sauce, usually made with yogurt, cream and Ocassionally nuts and coconut milk.

5.Saag – creamed spinach dish, most often eaten with Paneer or Indian cheese and roti. It ranges from very mild to very hot.

6.Masala – a term used to mean “many spices”, masala can be mild or extremely hot depending on the cook and usaully includes :

7. Vindaloo – tangy curry sauce, usually including wine vinegar and lots of garlic, some of the spiciest stuff around.

Dahl – a stable in Indian cooking, the main source of protein in Indian vegetarians diets, it is a mixture of dried peas, or lentils,split peas beans, or other legumes. Chances are you will either love it or hate it. If you are having meat, you can substitute a vegetable dish 😛

Raita -cooling cucumbers and yogurt, sometimes with tomato’s. Raita is one of those dishes that changes drastically from place to place. One thing remains the same however, it will almost instantly douse any fire created by the spices in the food. Can be a real life saver ! If you are going to order very spicy food, don’t forget to order this !

Chutney – relish made with fruits or vegetables and spices. Mango chutney is probably the most famous. Some chutneys can be very hot. If you are lucky, and you should be, chutneys will come automacticaly with the bread.

Drinks-

Lassi- Lassi is a yogurt drink that comes in several different forms. Sweet, Rose, Salt, and very often Mango. Unlike water, Lassi calms the tongue and can be very helpful in putting out the fire that the spiciness of Indian food can often cause. Very highly recommended for first timers and old hands alike.

Dessert-

Indians are big on sweets. There are a variety of desserts, including Rasgulla- balls made of milk, cooked in a light sugar syrup, and Kheer – a sort of rice pudding…and then there is Kulfi – a delicious aromatic Indian ice cream.

After the meal :

You are very likely stuffed at this point and wondering how you are going to digest all this food, not to worry, either when your check is brought or on your way out the door, you will notice a tray or bowl with what looks like shiny coloured grains of rice. These are candy coated fennel seeds, possibly with some squares of rock sugar candy added. You want to eat a small amount of this, fennel not only aids in digsestion but keeps you from having “Dragon Breath”, a well known side effect of good Indian cooking. Once you eat the fennel you are done ! And hopefully ready to order you next traditional indian meal like a native !