So I hear MFP likes Indian food

It comes up often enough. Inquiries about Indian cuisine so I figured I’d write a little bit about it. Indian cuisine consists of a very large variety but we will focus on the generally offered menu in a typical restaurant which usually serves Punjabi, Delhi, Hyderabadi and Bombay menu. In order to keep the thread a wee bit shorter, I would omit South Indian foods. We will also cover many Pakistani dishes as many Indian restaurants offer Pakistani dishes also and you can feel free to go to Pakistani restaurants too (which personally I prefer going to over Indian restaurants). One rule of thumb when it comes to Indian and specially Pakistani restaurants is that the fancier the restaurant, the likely you are to be served bland food. Doesn’t mean you should hit burned down hobo joints but most of the good Indo-Pak restaurants are low income joints. Another thing to remember is to not judge the book by its cover. Most Indian food might look simple which is why I won’t be making this thread pic heavy but the scent and taste will be more than rewarding. Enough chit-chat, lets talk actual food!

Appatizers/salads

Simple people enjoy simple yet delicious salads. The most common salad at Indo-Pak homes will be a simple Onion+tomato+cucumber with salt and lemon juice salad. Every restaurant can fix you up this salad even if they don’t have it on the menu. I recommend you ask for it while eating your food (specially curry) and take bites of it along with your main dish.
Another appetizer is “chat”. Another simple yet delicious eat. Boiled chick peas with boiled potatos, fresh cilantro, tomatos, onions, lime juice mixed with Indian croutons (called papdi), yogurt mix and spices. This my friends is an extremely healthy and nutritious eat and one Indians eat as street food for snacks but many restaurants offer as appatizers.


Main Menu
Its often asked what’re the “healthy” options when it comes to eating at an Indo-Pak Restaurant. Without going into the “Live a little” and “enjoy one day and make it up another day” I will try to explain the foods. One reason I recommend Pakistani restaurants is because typical Pakistani restaurants will have more spicier food and they don’t rely heavily on cream based sauces, which Indian restaurants will. Both Indian and Pakistani restaurants will use HEAVY amounts of oil/butter. What I usually do is when I get my curry plate, I tilt it a little and use a paper napkin to absorb the excess oil. Ask for your Naan for without butter. Almost every Indian buffet will have naan with butter to make you feel full faster. What a waste of calories when you could be using those calories for something else. Ask them for naan without butter! Most of the dishes explained here can be with or without cream so ask your waiter.

Murgh Makhni (AKA, Butter chicken): This is cream based dish and VERY expensive in calories department. Small bonesless chicken pieces cooked with lots of heavy cream, butter and spices. Its not very spicy and for folks who like mild taste, this is very delicious. Try to avoid eating with white rice.

Tikka Masal: Not entirely same as Tikka (BBQ), this is NOT an Indian dish but rather a British. Delicious nonetheless. BBQ chicken cooked into cream based curry. Typically mild taste but can be a bit spicy so ask.


Chicken Jalfrezi: Not a cream based dish, cooked with good amount of veggies, lowish in calories. You will like it if you enjoy a bit of spice as this is a spicy dish. I also have a recipe for those who wish to try cooking it at home: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto/view/chicken-jalfrezi-226129


Haleem: Not a cream based dish, this is nutrition power house. Lots of fiber, protein and just enough fat. Cooked over night, this is considered a delicacy. LOTS of lentils, whole grains, meat, veggies and spices. Whats not to like? Try only beef version because chicken is weaksauce. This doesn’t need any bread or rice, eat it with a spoon like an extremely thick soup. Garnish will be given to you and I encourage you to use all of them (in small quantity to taste).


Achar Gosht: Another non-cream based dish, this is another one of my favs. This will be a bit spicy and there will be entire peppers stuffed with spices in your plate. There will be oil all over to make sure to dab the oil out (it doesn’t add to the flavor value once its done cooking). Don’t try the chicken version, only beef/mutton. Try it with naan


Kadhai: Some make it with cream. The cream version is actually fairly bad so if they only have cream version, don’t order it. Similar to Achar Gosht except the peppers, this is a very delicious dish. You can tell it’s a good recipe they used if you see good amount of tomatoes and onions in it and the curry itself is thick. See if they have “Lahori Chicken Kadhai” though other versions are just as good.


Biryani: My ultimate favorite dish. This is calorie expensive but worth every calorie. Rice, veggies, meats, spices, oil heavy. Ask if they have “Sindhi Biryani” or “Bombay Biryani”. Hyderabadi is decent too but I personally prefer Sindhi or Bombay. Sindhi will be a bit milder in comparison than Bombay but if they have Bombay, they can add some white rice to mild it for you.


Korma: ONLY try this at a Pakistani restaurant. Indian restaurants have it also but its just not as good. Its thick curry made with beef/mutton and is very spicy non-cream based delicacy.

BBQ
Chicken Tikka: spicy chiekn pieces cooked over flame. Try it with lemon. Very delicious if the restaurant marinades it right after making cuts. If you get a lot of spice-free bites, they didn’t do the job right.

Shaami Kabab: mixed with lentils and beef and cooked like burger patties, this is something I usually eat with vegetarian dishes or add one or 2 when eating rice.

Chapli Kabab: ONLY eat it if the person making it is “Pathan”. Chances are, you won’t have good quality ones but if you venture to big city, you can look for Pathani Chapli Kebab.

Seekh Kabab, Gola Kabab and bunch of other kababs are basically same thing. Ask the waiter about them. They’re good to eat with some raita (Indian yogurt sauce) and paratha as a “roll”.




[/i] Dessert

Gotta have some good dessert after all these spices! Kheer is a staple dessert in Indo-Pak cuisine. Its basically just rice pudding and is very delicious. They also have Gulab Jamun which is very delicious but most restaurants won’t have good quality ones available. My suggestion, look for a Pakistani or Bangladeshi sweet shop and try different treats (you can ask them to put multiple in a box). You will definitely enjoy it.

I can probably go on and on. The breakfast alone can probably fill up an entire thread but I am trying to keep it a bit relevant. Feel free to add or ask questions.

Enjoy

PS. I have a small blog with some recipes (if you dig through the crappy poetry) http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/taunto