This Indian food guide is a reference for Indian menus at restaurants. This guide will help you understand the most well-known Indian food items, their preparations and how they are served.
This Guide to Popular Indian Foods is Why We Made It
I love Indian food. I am a huge fan of Indian food in general. When I ask people to name their favorite Indian food, they almost always reply "Chicken Tikka Masala". This has always annoyed and irritated me. Now, don't get me wrong, Chicken Tikka Masala is AMAZING! Actually, if I had to pick one Indian dish to introduce to a non convert the most likely choice would be Chicken Tikka Masala. There's more to Indian Food.
The more I asked people the more I found out that it wasn't that they were not a fan of other Indian food items, but they found themselves intimidated by the name and didn't understand the meaning behind them. It's funny, Indian food names can be fairly simple. The names of Indian foods are usually given in relation to their principal ingredients or their the place of origin. In reality in my case, if I didn't understand the dialect, I'd be lost too.
So consider this my effort to rectify the situation. Here's a rundown on what you commonly find on an Indian restaurant menu. Now next time when you go to your favorite Indian restaurant to enjoy your meal, make use of this guide to the most popular Indian cuisines and choose something outside of your comfort zone. You'll be shocked by how much goodness you've missed, there's a good possibility.
If you'd like to indulge in Indian cuisine at your home, you can buy our products. You can find them in a retailer near you, or you could make the most popular dishes at home with our Home Chef Collection products.
Indian Appetizers
As a foodie nation that India is it is a place where there's a meal planned at any time of the day, and food accessible at every turn. Indian street food is well-known due to the wide variety of food items offered in Indian restaurants.
Bhajji: Bhajji (or Pakoras) are crisp deep-fried little blobs of spicy chickpea batter served with spicy condiments called chutney. Onion Bhajji is a thinly cut onion that has been tossed in chickpea batter, then deep and fried until crispy.
Samosa: Another popular Indian food is the Samosa. Samosas contain a small amount of meat or potato filling. They are then wrapped in dough and deep-fried until crisp and crispy.
Vada Pav Vadas are deep fried dumplings or flattened patties of potato, and a pav is simply a dinner roll. Vada Pav is essentially a spicy vegetarian variation of sliders. The patt or dumpling is sandwiched between two halves a dinner roll. Condiments are typically added to the dish including cilantro or green mint chutney.
Indian breads
Indian breads are mostly flatbreads. It's how they're cooked or the kind of flour used to make them that determines what they are called.
Naan: Naan, one of the most loved flatbreads in India is a well-loved Indian food. Naan can be made by either making the wheat flour dough rise with yeast or adding yogurt to it. The dough is then rolled out into flatbreads, and baked in an Indian oven, known as a Tandoor.
Roti: Although Naan is extremely popular in Indian restaurants, roti is a common staple in Indian homes. Roti, a simple Indian bread made of whole wheat flour, is generally mixed into soft dough, and then rolled into thin circles. Then, it's prepared on an Indian tava (Indian stove) for a final finish.
Paratha: Paratha refers to a flatbread made with layers of flour that are pan-fried. It is made from wheat flour and ghee , or oil, is smeared between layers of dough before rolling them. However, there are many ways in which you can make a paratha, specially one that is stuffed. A Stuffed Paratha is made when filling is stuffed into dough balls and then rolled into flatbread.