Indian food...what is it...how do i decide??

kailas56

OK, true confession time. I spent 6 weeks in India in 1998 and nearly starved to death. I loved the people, the country, everything......but the food. I never knew what to order in restaurants and what I did order never tasted good. I love spicy Mexican food but Indian food was very different than Mexican. What can I eat in India when I return in October? Where I live in Colorado there are no Indian restaurants for me to try out different dishes. What are the main dishes? Any suggestions and explanations of different foods would be helpful. Thank you friends!

Ikuru

• palak paneer
(spinach) (cottage cheese)

• malai kofta
(not sure What it is but i think its a mashed/baked potatoe ball with nice souce around it (spinach or Red tomatoe sauce)

• aloo ghobi
(potato) (collyflower)

• masala dosa
(masala is tomatobased souce "dosa" is a pancake like thing wraped with filling (you can allso buy this a "snackfood" sometimes out of small schaks).

• chana masala
(chickpeas in souce)

• Thali
(a meal of different veg foods and stuff, verry basic, can be spicey)

Im not verry good on explaining food, might have some huge error in my describtion above. some of the food might need a plate of rice on the side, and some bread (naan, roti, chapati).

Its all veg and Good food order it and I think you might like it.

what to drink then?
Lasie chai and some maybe some more lasie. Like mango lassie. (lasie is ofcourse yogurth and fruit, but comes in plain and salt and sweet aswell.
Bannana lassie is cheap and common and good for "delhi belly". Tastes great too. Chai iss tea and you better get used to it. Its what you drink in india, on trains and such anyhow. If you want something milder, you ask for ginger honey (just ginger and honey or lemon honey water...) Its great and healthy.

Good luck!

It took me some time too, but try too get in to it, its Great food. Some of the best there is I belive.

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kailas56

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try all of them. By the way....what are the ingredients?

SitaParityaga

Food is different all over the country...let us know and we'll list some regional favorites too.

SHIMLA

B]Non-Veg[/b]:
Chicken Kolhapuri - Chicken in hot,spicy gravy using a generous amount of chillies! Guaranteed to make yor nose run !!This is popular in Maharashtra.
Chicken Afghani - Boneless Chicken marinated in curd/yoghurt in a mild, sour tasting gravy including raisins and cashew.
Chicken Kali Mirch - Chicken in hot, spicy, dark coloured gravy, whose chief ingredient is kali mirch, which is black pepper.
Chicken Masala/Curry - Plain old chicken gravy with mild, tomato base. The curry is thinner.
Kheema Mutter - Mutton mince in brown gravy with green peas, spicy.
Mutton Roganjosh - A Kashmiri Lamb dish with a unique sweet, sour and hot taste !

Apart from the above, try the barbecued items - called Tikkas or Kababs - in Chicken/Mutton - Mutton Sheekh kabab is the best, with Chicken tikka not far behind !

If you like rice, then Mutton dum biryani is a must - Lamb pieces cooked in coloured and flavoured rice, where the pot in which it is prepared is sealed with dough. Popular in Muslim areas, try it in Old Delhi, Lucknow, Hyderabad, etc.

Veg.:

Not much to recommend here, as I love non-veg food, but a few common ones:
Aloo Mutter - Potato and green peas in brown gravy. Mild and good.
Channa masala - Chickpeas in brown, tomato based gravy.
Palak Paneer - Cottage Cheese in a gravy of spinach - green coloured and excellent taste.

There are plenty of Indian snacks available everywhere : Masala Dosa, Idli Sambar, Vada Sambar, Upama, Batata Vada, Samosa, Kachori, Khamang, Pohe, Bhel, Sev Puri, Paani Puri, etc., etc. !!!

Indian Sweets to be tried are : Gulab Jamun, Rasogulla, Sandesh, Malai Sandwich, Ras Malai, Chum Chum, Jalebi, Imruti, Kaju Katli, Pista Katli, All sorts of Barfis, Sutar Feni, Badami Halwa, Mahim Halwa, various types of laddoos, etc.,etc.!!

I do not see how anyone can starve in India !!

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Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

Kiki

For Indian sweets, you simply MUST try one I discovered a few weeks ago. It's called sohanpapri. It is so good, your tongue will have an orgasm. So, be careful where you are and who you are with when you try it!

kailas56

Wonderful posts! I just love indiamike.com! Thank you for the suggestions. How do I ask for something not spicy? What foods are the least spicy? I will primarily be travelling in the North and will make my way up to Leh. What regional foods do you suggest in that area?

Ikuru

are you passing trough rishekesh? There is great organic/sesonal veg food places there, german bakery and a desert named KHIR that is like a rice pudding and quite good.