Use this Indian food guide as a reference while ordering at an Indian restaurant. What they are, how to serve them, and other details about the most well-known Indian meals are all included.
THE REASONS WE CREATED THIS GUIDE TO FAMOUS INDIAN DISHES
In general, I find Indian cuisine to be delicious. Indian cuisine only. Chicken tikka masala, however, is the most common response I get when I ask people to name their favourite Indian meal.
For some reason, this has always disturbed me. To be clear, I love chicken tikka masala.
In fact, if I were to introduce someone to Indian food, it would most likely be chicken tikka masala. But Indian cuisine goes well beyond curry.
As I dug deeper, I discovered they biassed against Indian food. They were afraid since they didn’t understand the names. The irony is that the titles of Indian dishes are typically very straightforward. Recipe called after their main ingredients or origins. I’d lost in translation too if I didn’t speak the language.
Please accept this as my sincere attempt to rectify the situation. I’ll run down what you may expect to see on the menu at most Indian restaurants. Now you may try something new the next time you go out to eat at your go-to indian restaurant Markham by consulting this handy reference to the most popular Indian cuisine. There’s a significant chance that after you discover all the wonderful things you’ve been missing out on, you won’t believe it!
Our curry sauces are a delightful shortcut to making wonderful curries in just 15 minutes, and just one of many things we provide if you’d want to experience Indian food at home. You can buy our products online or seek them out at a local retailer.
Indian Snacks
Because of India’s reputation as a culinary mecca, there is always something tasty to eat nearby. Common Indian street meals are often the inspiration for the appetisers at Indian restaurants.
To make bhaji, or pakoras, a spicy chickpea batter is shaped into little balls and deep-fried till golden and crisp.Onion bhaji has made by frying thinly sliced onions in chickpea batter till golden and crunchy. These are like onion rings, but better! Cauliflower, potatoes, and paneer bhajis are also quite common.
Samosa is another well-liked street snack from India. Samosas were flaky, deep-fried pastries filled with spicy potato or meat filling.
Vada Pav consists of two simple ingredients: deep-fried potato patties, or vadas, and a simple dinner roll, or pav. Vegetarian vada pav were spicy sliders with a fritter or patty between two slices of dinner bread. Sliders often have onions, green chilies, garlic chutney, mint and cilantro chutney, and sour cream.
INDIAN BREAD
Loaf bread from India, baked in a wicker basket
There are a variety of flatbreads available in India. With different flours, these meals have different names.
Naan is a type of Indian Food flatbread that is very well-liked. Adding yeast or yoghurt to wheat flour dough makes naan. The dough has then used to make flatbreads in an Indian tandoor.
Roti is more commonly found in Indian households. Roti has Indian flatbread made from whole wheat flour, kneaded into a soft dough, rolled out, and fried in a tava. Naan is more widely available (Indian stovetop skillet).
Pan-fried flatbread called “paratha” has many layers. Using wheat flour, ghee or oil applied between dough layers before rolling. Stuffed parathas can made many ways. Loaded parathas start with a ball of dough loaded with contents and rolled into a flatbread.
- The Famous Aloo Paratha: stuffed with a fiery potato mixture
- Cauliflower stuffing with a kick: that’s Gobi Paratha.
- Paratha filled with an assortment of veggies
Poori are flat circles of dough. Northern Indians love this delicacy, which deep-fried in ghee or oil till puffy and crispy. It’s usually eaten with aloo ki sabzi or chana masala (curried chickpeas).
INDIAN MEALS
Masala Tikka: Tikka is Hindi for “small chunks,” and masala is a spice mixture. Chicken tikka masala has cooked chicken chunks in a spiced sauce. Plays use paneer tikka masala. Tomato-based tikka masala sauce richened with cream or thick yoghurt.
Chana (Chole) Masala: Chickpeas are known as chana or chole in Hindi. Chana masala chickpeas cooked in onion, ginger, garlic, and garam masala. This is a popular North Indian curry that is spicy and flavorful. It’s usually served with bhature, a soft and flaky bread, or kulcha, a baked, pillowy bread.
Saag Paneer: Saag is the Hindi word for leafy green vegetables such as spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, and others. Nonetheless, this recipe has superb spinach curry with cubed paneer (Indian cheese). At some Indian restaurants, palak paneer—spinach in Hindi—has served.
Korma is a nutty, creamy curry that is frequently made with crushed cashews or almonds. The protein in most korma dishes cooked in a yogurt-based sauce flavoured with ginger and garlic. The fried onion thickens the sauce while also adding a hint of sweetness.
Navratan Korma (Navratan means “nine,” so this dish contains nine different types of vegetables, dried fruits, nuts, and occasionally paneer.)
- Korma (Chicken Korma)
- Korma with Vegetables (vegetarian)
- Korma with Roasted Pumpkin
Rogan Josh is a dish from Kashmir, India’s beautiful northern state. This dish has Persian origins and is traditionally prepared with lamb or goat. Rogan josh consists of lamb or mutton braised in a gravy flavoured with garlic, ginger, and aromatic spices (cloves, bay leaves, cardamom, and cinnamon), with onions or yoghurt added in some versions.
Vindaloo
Vindaloo curry is one of its byproducts. Traditionally, hog marinated in wine vinegar and garlic has used to make the fiery and savoury dish vindaloo. When the Portuguese arrived in India and founded their colony in Goa, they brought with them their cuisine, including vindaloo. As a result of the union of Portuguese cuisine and Indian Tandoori Chicken flavours, various positive outcomes occurred.
- Chicken Vindaloo
- Pork Vindaloo
- Lamb Vindaloo
- Fish or Shrimp Vindaloo
Dal: Dal is the Hindi word for lentils and refers to all lentil-based soups in Indian cuisine. Lentils has pressure-cooked with water before mixed with onions, tomatoes, and spices like ginger, garlic, and turmeric to increase flavour.
- Dal Makhni consists of two or three types of lentils or beans cooked with spices and milk or butter to enhance richness. Makhni refers to the utilisation of butter or cream.
- Dal with a delicate tempering of entire spices, such as cumin seeds, mustard seeds, etc.
- This meal has much lighter than dal makhani and has composed of Chana Dal, a light and zesty Split Bengal lentil soup.
- Dhaba Style Dal: Dhaba are roadside eateries along India’s highways. The food served there is quite popular due to the fact that it is home-style cooking with added butter or cream! The dal served in these dhabas has migrated to more sophisticated Indian restaurants because it is so good and popular.
Biryani, a renowned Indian rice dish with origins in the Mughal empire in India, is a rice dish prepared with multiple layers of rice, some type of spiced meat, paneer, or vegetables, added richness with ghee or yoghurt, and then slow-cooked to perfection. For a rich flavor, it has topped with caramelized onions and saffron. There are numerous biryani preparations:
- Hyderabadi Dum Biryani (this tends to be one of the spicy varieties and usually uses chicken)
- Goat Biryani
- Lamb Biryani
- Shrimp Biryani
- Paneer Biryani or Vegetable Biryani
CONCLUSION
Indian culinary education is not a one-time crash course, but a lifelong education.
Thankfully, you can not required to bury your nose in book. Your “lessons” can consist of visiting nearby Indian eateries and perusing our large selection of entrees, naanwiches, and more!
Explore our blog to discover more about the numerous types of curries and the distinction between North and South Indian cuisine in order to go deeper into the world of Indian cuisine.
