| Indian Food and Indian Restaurants are common in | | | | extremely tasty. Usually it is not overly spicy but you |
| many parts of the world , but in my pocket of the | | | | should ask just to be sure. One of my favorites at |
| world they seem to be few and far between. I | | | | Indian Restaurant is Chicken Tikka Masala. As a |
| realized that many Americans may not be | | | | matter of fact, I read somewhere that Chicken Tikka |
| accustomed to Indian Food; what to order at an Indian | | | | Masala is the number one most ordered dish in |
| Restaurant or the proper way to eat Indian Food. | | | | England. Having a large Indian population, Indian |
| Since I grew up eating Indian Food, it is natural for me | | | | restaurants seem to pop up everywhere in England. In |
| to tear my naan up and soak up the yummy curry. | | | | fact, Indian Food is all I ever want to eat when I go to |
| That is why I wanted to put together a short article | | | | England. |
| outlining some common Indian dishes and what you | | | | Vindaloo: (Pronounced Vind-aloo) HOT HOT HOT!! |
| may want to order at an Indian Restaurant. I hope this | | | | This is one of the hottest dishes you can order. Again, |
| will encourage you to give Indian Food a try. | | | | it is made with various spices like curry, but it is really |
| More than likely, you will start out with complimentary | | | | hot. It is so hot in fact, I am not able to eat it and enjoy |
| poppadoms. These are like very thin crackers, but | | | | it. To my palette, the pepper overpowers any other |
| much larger. There are usually 3 sauces or chutneys | | | | flavor and I cannot enjoy the dish. WARNING: This dish |
| that go along with poppadoms, a lime green sauce | | | | is not for an Indian Food virgin. |
| made with cilantro that is somewhat spicy, a dark | | | | It is typical for these dishes to come with basmati |
| brown sauce which is very sweet (save some for | | | | (Indian white rice). But you are missing out if you do not |
| later, I will tell you why in a moment), and a mango | | | | order some delicious nann (bread pancakes) to eat |
| chutney which is very good but pretty hot. | | | | with your curry. Part of the experience of eating Indian |
| Appetizers: | | | | Food is using your hands to soak up the gravy with |
| More than likely you will see Samosas on a an | | | | the naan. |
| appetizer menu at Indian restaurants. These are a | | | | Although there are various types of naan I |
| safe option as they are full of flavor but not spicy. | | | | recommend starting with something simple like plain |
| They are triangular pastries that are filled with | | | | nann, or garlic. You usually get 2 pieces which is a |
| potatoes, peas and other vegetables. The sweet, | | | | gracious plenty for 1 person. You might want to |
| brown chutney I told you to hang on to goes great on | | | | consider 2 orders for 2 people and if there are |
| these. | | | | leftovers they are great for breakfast in the morning. |
| Main Entrees: | | | | Indian restaurants do not typically offer any vegetable |
| Tandoori: Tandoori is always a safe option. This is not | | | | side dish with the entrees. This is probably because so |
| a hot and spicy dish at all. It has no heavy sauce to it | | | | many Indians are vegetarians, the vegetable entrees |
| either. It is simply cooked in a clay oven known as a | | | | are a main course by themselves. Indian curries tend |
| Tandoori, hence the name. Do not be freaked out by | | | | to have very rich sauces and those along with rice |
| the color. It will come out with a red color especially if | | | | and naan will fill you up quickly. But if you feel it |
| you order the chicken. It looks a little weird but it tastes | | | | necessary to order a vegetable I recommend |
| great. | | | | something with aloo (potato) or baigon (eggplant). |
| Biryani: (Pronounced beer-e-ani)Think of Biryani as the | | | | For drinks, Indian beer goes well with Indian food. I |
| Indian version of Chinese Fried Rice. It is rice with | | | | usually enjoy a Taj Mahal with my meal. If beer is not |
| vegetables (usually including raisins) with your choice of | | | | your thing, then I highly recommend trying a Mango |
| meat. Lamb Biryani is really good. Really it is good with | | | | Lassi. It is a sweet, fruity drink which is like having a |
| any meat. I probably would not recommend getting | | | | milkshake with your dinner. |
| Biryani with shrimp. Again, this is another safe choice | | | | If you are still able to eat dessert after your filling meal, |
| as it will not be a spicy dish. | | | | a good choice is Kulfi. This is Indian Ice Cream, which |
| Curry: This is really a thick gravy full of cumin, garlic, | | | | usually comes in several flavors, two common flavors |
| tamarind and a bunch of other tasty spices made to | | | | being mango and pistachio. |
| the hotness of your request. Curry is by far the most | | | | Well, there you have it! This should give you enough |
| well known Indian dish. I like it with beef, lamb, chicken | | | | information to be confident enough to give Indian food |
| or shrimp. | | | | a try. |
| Masala: This is a creamy tomato sauce which is | | | | |