what should i order first indian food

^{If you’re going to an Indian restaurant for the first time, I recommend you order the following.}

• Samosas. For an appetizer, I recommend you order samosas, which are small deep-fried pastries with spicy fillings.
• Tandoori Chicken. If you’re a meat eater, Indian chicken dishes are the way to go for an inaugural main course. ...
• Butter Chicken or ‘Murgh Makhani’. You can never go wrong with Butter Chicken. I haven’t met a single person who doesn’t like it. ...
• Channa Masala or ‘Chole’. The unique variety of Indian vegetarian dishes is legendary. ...
Basmati Rice. Rice is a major staple in India, and there are many long and short-grained varieties. Basmati rice dishes are typically steamed or cooked in water.
Naan (Indian bread) Everybody loves naan! Seriously — if you like bread, you will like naan. ...
Raita. Always order raita. This yogurt-based side dish is a great cooling agent to accompany any dishes with some heat.

What to order at an Indian restaurant for the first time?

If you’re going to an Indian restaurant for the first time, I recommend you order the following. For an appetizer, I recommend you order samosas, which are small deep-fried pastries with spicy fillings.

How hard is it to order food in India?

Deciphering and ordering Indian food is a lot easier than you might think. Whether your ordering food from an Indian restaurant or abroad the basics are more a less the same. Indian Menu’s abroad tend to use English terms to help you with a description of the dish out but in India you only have the names of the Dishes to go by.

What is the best food to eat in North India?

Most North Indian restaurants specialize in Mughlai food which was created by the Mughal Empire and is a combination of Persian ingredients with Indian spices. If you go to a North Indian restaurant, definitely order the naan, kebabs, chicken tikka masala, and cream-based dishes like korma and butter chicken.

How to get great Indian food as a beginner?

The most straightforward way to get great Indian food as a beginner is to choose good restaurants. This can be difficult if you are a traveler visiting India for the first time and unsure of how to recognize quality restaurants. A good way to get some recommendations is to ask the hotel staff or your guide for advice.

Is Indian food spicy?

Spices are big in Indian cooking, but spiced doesn't always necessarily translate to spicy. While it's true that you can find plenty of fire in some Indian entrees, there are plenty of dishes to suit those who can't stand the heat. And, perhaps, more importantly, most restaurants are used to accommodating Western palates.

How to read an Indian food menu

If you've never eaten Indian food before, you might only be familiar with one dish: curry. But curry is actually a style of cooking, and any Indian restaurant is likely to have a vast number of different curries, each containing different ingredients and flavor profiles.

What Are the Different Types of Indian Food?

India is a huge continent and, as such, there are many many different styles of Indian cooking. When choosing an Indian restaurant, be sure to inquire as to what style of Indian cooking they specialize in.

Which dishes are best for beginners?

Still feeling intimidated? The following dishes are standard at most Indian restaurants and won't intimidate western palates.

What is a tandoori chicken?

Tandoori Chicken is one of the most famous and lovable Indian non-veg appetizers. For preparing this food item, the chefs are using breast and leg pieces of a chicken. These pieces are properly grilled on flames and marinated with lots of ingredients, such as – yogurt, lemon juice, and multiple spices. It is the most flavoursome dish where you can experience several aromatic Indian spices and ingredients. In a full place of Tandoori Chicken, you will get around 8 pieces.

What is a Hyderabadi dum biryani?

It is a specific dish made up of long grain basmati rice and with the use of different types of traditional Indian spices. Most commonly, these types of dishes are served with raita. When it comes to ordering Hyderabadi Dum Biryani, you will get multiple options as variants, such as – egg, goat, chicken, and veg. It depends on your choice of what kind of meal you want to have.

What is a reshmi kabab?

It is a specific dish that is made up of boneless chicken pieces. These pieces are marinated with different types of ingredients, such as – cheese. After it gets marinated, the pieces are grilled until it gets completely cooked.

What is a samosa chaat?

Samosa chaat is another variant of it. In this particular dish, you will get Samosa with more ingredients and a different taste. Here, a samosa will be mashed and topped with chickpeas, different types of chutneys for authentic flavors, cilantro, chopped onions, and yogurt. When someone is hiring the best Indian catering near me, you can find samosa in their finger food menu for sure.

What are some good side dishes to serve with Indian main course?

All Indian main courses can be eaten with rice and/or naan ( Indian bread), of which there are many varieties. As well, there are numerous yogurt-based condiments and chutneys that complement everything on your plate. I recommend you order both rice and naan, as well as one condiment as follows:

What is a good side dish to serve with hot food?

Always order raita. This yogurt-based side dish is a great cooling agent to accompany any dishes with some heat. Its role is similar to that of tzatziki in Greek cuisine – a refreshing, cold accompaniment to the main dishes. This is also a must-have if someone has low tolerance for heat. When I first took my friend Meg to an Indian restaurant, raita was her savior as the food was much hotter than she anticipated. We still laugh about how she cautiously ate one chick pea at a time in a spoonful of raita.

What is naan bread?

Naan (Indian bread) Everybody loves naan! Seriously — if you like bread, you will like naan. Dough is slapped onto the inner wall of the tandoor oven and takes only seconds to fluff up to dreamy, pillowy flatbreads that go with absolutely anything. It is especially tasty when dipped into butter chicken sauce.

What is a tandoori chicken?

Tandoori chicken with a side of steamed basmati rice is basically ‘chicken and rice’ — every single cuisine in the world from Italian to French to Mexican to Chinese has some variation of ‘chicken and rice.’. You can order the heat level of Indian dishes as hot, mild, or something in between. So folks, ordering doesn’t have to be intimidating – you ...

What are some appetizers that are vegetarian?

Typically triangle-shaped, samosas can be made vegetarian (with potatoes, peas, and spices) and non-vegetarian (with ground chicken or lamb, and spices), and are often accompanied by a tamarind chutney. Deep-fried or baked and packed with flavor, samosas are a great way to start your meal.Similar to egg rolls in Chinese cuisine, samosas have become a very popular snack in North America. Even mainstream grocers have developed frozen packaged varieties. In India, many appetizers are commonly eaten as snacks at tea time or bought from vendors on the street — just like in other parts of Asia, street food is some of the best food in India.

Is Indian food plated?

Typically, Indian food is not individually plated — rather, it is served “family style” in large dishes for everyone to share. The best way to get a good taste of all that Indian food has to offer is order a few main courses. The following three dishes are great choices if you’re ordering for the first time:

Can you use naan to make pizza?

It is especially tasty when dipped into butter chicken sauce. Today you can find prepared naan in most mainstream grocery stores ; some even use naan to make homemade pizza. Indian flatbreads come in all types including naan, rotis, chapathis, parathas, kulchas, and more.

How is Indian food eaten?

The fist thing to keep in mind is that Indian food is meant to be eaten as a group and is not plated as individual portions. Unlike in the west where you usually order a main and side dish per person dinning, Indian food is ordered together for the table as a whole or groups of people when in large numbers and then shared. That is because Indian meal consists of a number of components and the food is served on a large silver platters or dishes where it then is served by the restaurant staff onto your individual plates. So don’t go ordering a main dish per person in Indian restaurant.

What is an Indian meal?

A Complete Indian Meal and How Much to Order. A typical Indian meal will begin with a starter or appetizer. This is usually comes in the form of a small dry dish with a few pieces on each platter…so each one gets a small taste. It’s often served with some accompaniments like chutneys or sauces.

What to serve with a table of 4?

For a table of 4 around two types of starters of your preference- vegetarian or non-vegetarian, is a good way to start. Order a Lassi or a Masala Chaas for as an Indian Drink. Lassi and Chaas are traditional Indian yogurt drinks.

What to eat with non vegetarians?

Along with that a vegetable side dish is normally ordered along with Indian flat breads. Then the main meal is wrapped up with a rice dish with a lentil dal.

What to do when you eat rice with your hands?

The proper technique would be to break the bread, dip or take small piece of condiments such as chutney, or vegetable curry and eat it. The basic rule of thumb as long as you do not make a mess by eating something with your hands (such as liquid, grains of rice) it should be enjoyed with your hands.

How many people does a half plate of Indian food serve?

In many restaurants in India they offer a half plate or a full dish. The half usually says serves 2-3 people while the full serves 4-6 people. But the portions differ from place to place so it’s best to ask the staff what their quantity is like and they’ll inform you on how many people it will serve.

Is it easier to order Indian food?

And more often than not you end up ordering the wrong type of dishes or, too much or too little and spoil your experience. Deciphering and ordering Indian food is a lot easier than you might think. Whether your ordering food from an Indian restaurant or abroad the basics are more a less the same. Indian Menu’s abroad tend to use English terms ...

What is the most approachable Indian dish?

Chicken korma. Both chicken korma and butter chicken are among the most approachable Indian dishes: they're creamy, stew-like concoctions in which chicken is braised in a velvety sauce made with butter, coconut milk, cream or yogurt plus some mild spices.

What is a dahi puri?

Dahi puri. These little snacks are one to two bites each (depending on how dainty of an eater you are) and packed with flavor. This is perhaps the most "advanced" item on this easygoing beginner's list, solely because of the blend of flavors and ingredients found in each puffy puri shell. But it's also my favorite.

What are the ingredients in chana?

The little garbanzo beans ("chana") are stewed down in a blend of chopped tomatoes, onions and spices including garlic, chile peppers and garam masala (a curry blend that features pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cumin and cardamom). It makes a hearty main dish despite being vegetarian, and makes for great leftovers heated up the next day.

What is the color of Saag Paneer?

It's not just spinach in there, though; the bright green color of saag paneer comes from a blend of all kinds of greens, from collard greens to broccoli. It's one of the dishes you'll find most often on menus and buffets, and one I can never pass up.

What kind of vegetables are in pakora?

Pakora. If you like vegetable tempura or fried okra or any other iteration of fried veggies you can think of, you'll probably like pakora. Although pakora can have chicken inside, it's battered vegetables you'll find most often. Look for eggplant, potato, onion, spinach and cauliflower as standards.

Is it good to jump in head first in Indian food?

If you want to jump in head-first -- again, good for you! Otherwise, give the dishes below a try if you're venturing out for your first Indian meal.

What is papdi in Indian food?

"Chaat" is the overall term for savory street food often found on Indian roadside carts, and "papdi" refers to the crunchy dough bits that make up the base.

Where did dosas originate?

Dosas first came from south India, and are thin pancakes of fermented rice batter that. They can be eaten on their own, served with chutney, or stuffed with spiced potatoes.

What is Masala Chai?

Masala Chai. Shutterstock. Translation: Spiced black tea with milk. Masala chai (meaning "spiced tea") can be traced back thousands of years. The specific spices involved will depend on where you get it, but you can usually expect a blend of black pepper, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger.

What is lamb curry?

A curry for lamb lovers, which has roots in Kashmiri and Persian cuisines. It is deeply flavored with aromatics like ginger, bay leaves, and cardamom, plus ground dried chiles. An absolutely soul-warming dish and a great curry to splurge on.

What is a Saag Paneer?

Saag Paneer. Paneer is a soft, unaged cheese that you'll find yourself eagerly fishing for, in order to score all the cubes before everyone else does . But the saag, which can be made with other leafy greens besides spinach, such as mustard greens, is also delicious when scooped up with naan.

Is chicken tikka masala invented in India?

Unlike butter chicken, this dish wasn't invented in India. It's a British invention and is often spicer than its similarly hued counterpart. You usually can't go wrong with chicken tikka masala, no matter where you're ordering it.

Is there bread in India?

No table is complete without multiple types of bread, as far as we're concerned. There's a wonderfully staggering number of types of Indian bread, and while this is one that's often served with breakfast, it's delicious no matter the hour.

Samosas

Start with samosas. They are either fried or baked and look like little triangle dumplings. They’re commonly served as an appetizer. Samosas can have a variety of fillings some of the most common are spiced potatoes, onions, peas, lentils, minced meat (lamb, beef or chicken).

Chicken Tikka Masala

This dish is served with plenty of sauce (as many Indian dishes are ). The orange sauce is a creamy tomato- and coriander-based recipe with roasted bite-sized pieces of chicken.

Naan

I don’t know anyone that doesn’t like naan. Delicious by itself and great to mop up the plentiful amounts of sauce that most Indian dishes include. Order garlic naan for an Indian version of garlic bread.

Butter chicken

Sometimes seen on menus as chicken makhani or murgh makhani, butter chicken is also a good alternative to chicken tikka masala. The dish is roasted chicken in a mildly spiced curry sauce.

Biryani

For a rice dish, order biryani. This is usually served as a vegetarian dish at Indian restaurants and is a combination of rice, spices and lentils.

Mango Lassi

When it comes to dessert, to be honest, most Indian desserts are pretty hit or miss and almost always overly sweet. My advice is that if you’ve been enjoying your little gastronomic adventure, ask your waiter for help with dessert or try lassi, a yogurt-based drink.