Help with understanding menus

Vasko

I know there are many Indian food enthusiasts on this forum, so I'm asking for your help. A lot of the time I know what I'll be getting when I order from the menu, a lot of the time I don't. Although there is a nice element of surprise in random ordering, I would still like to be more aware of what everything means.

Basically I would like to have the names of the most commonly used vegetables, meats, sauces, preparing techniques, etc. translated into english (get a cookbook, I hear you all saying!)
But I'm not looking for recipes, just translations of the basic stuff.

For example, one point of confusion for me is roti. Is roti "bread" in a general sense or is it a particular bread?

Another thing: will "potato", for example, be written differently on menus in different parts of India due to different languages? I think I've noticed that some things remain the same on menus even though you pass through different linguistic areas...

If you find the time to help me out here, I would be very thankful

guerik

aloo = potato
murgh = chicken
paneer = cheese (sort of like fetta?)
saag = spinach/dark green leafy vegetables
gobi = cauliflower
brinjal = eggplant
muttar = peas

makhani = butter (or something in "butter" sauce, which is a sort of mild creamy tomato curry)
do piaza = sauce with onions and tomatoes
shahi = another sort of creamy tomato sauce, but a bit hotter in my experience
tandoori = cooked in a tandoor (a type of oven) and I think also a certain blend of spices (as on tandoori chicken etc)

There are tons more but these are off the top of my head

ashish0608

Vasko,

Roti is a particular type of bread and there are a lot more, here is a link that lists/explains various type of Indian breads

http://www.fatfreekitchen.com/breads.html

There are some more that I can think of "Romali Roti", "Missi Roti", "Kulcha", "Pudina Paratha", "Lacha Paratha" (I love it!) in explaining these, I can only define some of the words used

"Rumali" is thin like a napkin (rumal)
"Missi Roti" would have some besan (gramflour)
"Pudina" is fresh mint leaves
"Lacha" is Spiral or layered

explaining preparations of any of the above is beyond me, and I don't think anyone can make Indian Breads by the recipie..I tried making the simplest i.e. a roti once, was stuck in kneading the dough itself ..and I wonder how the ladies here pour water in the flour without even measuring

and yes..I will have the Lacha Paratha today with dal makhani

Ashish

SHIMLA

paneer = cottage cheese
patta gobi = cabbage
phool gobi = cauliflower
muttar = green peas; Watana = White Peas; Choley = Chick-peas
makkhan = butter; makhani = (made) from butter
shahi = royal(literal meaning); so any dish which has a generous proportion of almonds, cashew nuts and raisins is termed "shahi"
gosht = meat
kabab = grilled meat. (Nowadays we have veg. kababs too!!)
handi = pot. A dish cooked in a closed pot is called ..... handi
pakora = An item(egg, paneer,onion, etc.) mixed in gram flour and deep fried
tadka = a way of preparation in which asafoetida, mustard seeds, turmeric powder, curry leaves and cummin seeds are mixed and heated in oil till they crackle. This is added to a dish, then that dish is called ..... tadka, eg. "Dal Tadka".

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seventies'hippy

I get so hungry just reading these foodie threads,,,,,,,,,,,,

More rice anyone?

Vasko

Thanks guys, this is a good start for a "translated menu compilation"...

Can anyone answer my earlier question: "will "potato", for example, be written differently on menus in different parts of India due to different languages? I think I've noticed that some things remain the same on menus even though you pass through different linguistic areas..."

Are the ones you have listed in Hindi?

maree

Also palak=spinach

Re potatoes... I think I've only seen it written as aloo or alu.

butterball

One of may favorite subjects.. I'm preparing a list

butterball

Posting this thread is just making me sooooo hungry - and I just want to spend hours in the kitchen making the stuff !

If you get the chance in India, really 'search out' local restaurants and avoid the traveller 'multicuisine' places that serve up spaghetti, chinese & Indian all at the same time - look for unusual hotels, stalls in bazaars or even canteens or railway stations etc.

Another tip - some of the most intersting books to bring back are the cookery books ! Every year I'll bring a dozen or so that just make heavenly reading ( the food photographs are often dreadful, but the recipes themselves are usually 100% & awesomely tasty... ) You'll discover 50 variations on the same dish and eventually find your favorite way of doing it. You'll also find 50 ways of spelling a dish too.. ( ! ) I've got specialist books on anything from Kashmiri to Kannadian - and v cheap too .

Below are just a few more 'menu' things to add to a seemingly endless list - It would be insane to list all the Hindi, Tamil etc individual ingredients - we'd run out of bandwidth !

Anyway, below are a few to add for starters :


Saioo, moorkoo, moormoora, patani, choovray, chinnakonee, iddly hoppers, wadas- battery breakfast things

Mullitigatwny, shoorva, russam - spicey soupy things

Chuppaties, paratas, rotis, appums - bready things

Paratha - more bready things but Mogali & stuffed with yummy fruit & nuts. Rich - but then isn't most Kashmiri food..

Pustholes, samoosas - deep fried stuffed puffy things

Sambal - mixed up saucy thing, usually a snack accompaniment

Boorthas - Muslim savory thing eaten with Pilau or breads

Pilaus, pulaos, pillaws, pilaffs ( take your pick ) - Highly prized Mongol ( Persian, Turkish... etc ) rice composite often made by professional 'pilau' cooks.

Korma, Koormah, quormah - Moglai rich & spicy but not hot. Nothing like the insipid sweet stuff you get in westernised eateries.

Koofta, kofta - minced bally things made usually in a sauce. Lamb, beef ( yes ! ) prawns - you name it.

Kabab - need we say anything ? Not the same as what gets sliced off a spinning health hazard.

Karahi, curry - Staple fare taking it's name from the vessel it's cooked in. More vaieties than stars in the universe. Dry or runny.

Bhoona, Bhuna - dry curry from the South. I think Bhoona means literally ' dry fried '

Vindaloo - Not the red hot macho meal it is here in the UK, Goan influenced chilli / vinegar offering often using fatty meats like pork, goose, ducks etc.

Molee, mooli - essentially a coconut milk curry from the sout & Sri Lanka using veg, hard boiled egs etc.

Dhall, dal - lentils ! Runny or fried.

Foogaths - cooked sambaly things ( see above )

Philouries - frittery things

Ballachong - pickled things - often prawns.

Hulwas, Luddoos, burfis, coa, dhood-padah, goolab jamon etc - super sweet sweetmeats. In small doses recommended !

Malai - 'cream' eg Malai Kofta

Meals - Le plat du jour ! I'd be interested in any variants - I particularly liked the 'limit meal' and 'un-limit meal' I was offered
in Madurai ! Vary from North to south. The complete package.

Masala - 'mix'. Can be virtually anything - spices, mixed veg etc Mixed up

Kurd - often sounds like krrrd - Yogurt. In cooking, accompanying or 'raita' - a kind of runny creamy chutney

Chutney - thicker , often spicy accompaniments to meats etc or even just rice.

Cutlets - Fried veggie burgers ! Can be meat or just about anything.

Bhaji - not sure about the exact translation, but can be a dry curry or a deep fied gram flour snack as in onion Bhaji. Not unlike pakoora

Thali, tali - see 'meals'

Silver leaf - wafer thin sheets of real silver - actually banned here in the UK ( but widely available 'under the counter' ) laid over Mogali dishes to enhance the 'majesticness' of a meal. Sort of wraps 'over' the dish like a skin and breaks up. A real head turner for your guests done at home !




Keep your eyes open

.... part two to come when I've digested the above !

shanshas

Most of the menus will be printed in English. The actual words would probably be Hindi. Some of the commonly available dishes / vegetables will be consistent through out the country, such as

Potato = aloo, alu
Peas = matar, mutar
chick peas = chana, cholo
cauliflour = gobi
spinach = palak, saag
onion = pyaz, (also known as kanda in some parts)

Hope this answers your question

Vasko

wow, butterball, I'm waiting for part two...

I find the easiest thing is to order a thali, that way you get a lot of variety - the only problem is I don't know what I'm eating unless I ask afterwards (which I don't do often enough).

Bryan

crumbled eggs ...Now there is one to ponder from a menu

Anymore classics ...there was a rumour of scrambled eyes from a menu in Pushlar but I couldnt verify it

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cyberhippie

There was a place in Puri that had "crispy fried teats"

I didn't order to find out!

Vasko

This is rather funny, courtesy of one of our members' photo gallery: Would you order this to quench your thirst?

butterball

Adds a whole new meaning to a long cold one please.. !

Part two soon..