How to order at an Indian restaurant for the first time
Guest post by Big Apple Curry co-founder Myna who is my sister, lives in Toronto, and works in the non-profit world helping girls and women
Many people are interested in exploring Indian food, but they don’t know where to begin. If you’re not familiar with the cuisine, an Indian restaurant menu can be overwhelming. Whenever I meet someone who feels this way, I take them to a good, reputable Indian restaurant and walk them through the experience. The great thing about Indian cuisine is there is something that everyone will like — grilled ‘tandoori’ meats and kebabs that give a whole new meaning to the word “BBQ”; plenty of vegetarian dishes like creamy tomato curries with as many as nine vegetables; and the tastiest vegan options you’ll find in any cuisine from cumin roasted potatoes to pan-fried okra. 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 just need to know what to look for. This is where I can help!
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. 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.
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:
Tandoori Chicken
If you’re a meat eater, Indian chicken dishes are the way to go for an inaugural main course. Tandoori Chicken is a particularly good option for people who like chicken wings and barbecue. Marinated overnight in yogurt and spices, anything made in a ‘tandoor’ is baked in a traditional Indian clay oven at more than 500F. The yogurt marinade makes the meat tender and the high heat of the oven seals in all the spices and juices. Tandoori chicken is a nice complement to other saucier curries, and is a dependable dish that won’t scare away an Indian cuisine newbie.
Butter Chicken or ‘Murgh Makhani’
You can never go wrong with Butter Chicken. Ever. I haven’t met a single person who doesn’t like it. As my brother-in-law Sean says, it’s a great dish to start for the novice as it’s fairly innocuous and mild in spice, low on the heat scale, but rich in flavor. When my friend Alison first tried Butter Chicken, she immediately exclaimed “where has this been all my life?!” She’s been hooked ever since.
Channa Masala or ‘Chole’
The unique variety of Indian vegetarian dishes is legendary. The earthy, flavorful, chick peas curry known as Channa Masala is always a winner – and not just among vegetarians and vegans! Last month I took my colleague Dave to an Indian restaurant for the first time. He’s a quintessential meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Dave ate Channa Masala and said it reminded him of his grandmother’s baked beans – just spicier. Even carnivores who don’t typically eat legumes or beans discover they love this dish.
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:
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. The flavor combinations are endless. Plain steamed basmati rice is satisfying on its own, while more complex rice preparations like biryani provide layers of flavor with slow-cooked meats combined with spices, saffron and roasted onions. Curries go particularly well with basmati rice — fluffy and fragrant, it compliments a range of dishes beautifully.
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. 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.
Raita
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.
In addition to these dishes, my advice is as follows:
- Unlikely favorites: curries with eggplant and spinach may not seem appetizing at first, but when prepared the Indian way, they make for delicious dishes. Consider dishes such as Palak Paneer – cubes of mild farmer’s cheese cooked with spinach in onions and spices; and Baingan Bhartha – roasted eggplant cooked with tomatoes, onions and spices.
- Heat Tolerance: always consider your tolerance for heat. Note that ‘spice’ is different from ‘heat’ — it gets confusing when the two terms are used interchangeably. While all Indian dishes are spiced (by a host of spices like cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom), not all Indian dishes pack a lot of heat (heat comes from things like cayenne, red chillis, and black pepper). If you can’t handle that much heat, then tell your waiter to make the food mild, just to be safe. Indian restaurants can generally make food that is mild, medium or hot and the waitstaff is typically good at asking diners what their preference is.
- Experiment: explore the menu and go for something unheard of! Indian food has a lot of variety, which means it’s good for sharing. Most restaurant menus are predominantly North Indian, but some offer items from India’s many culinary regions. You might discover something completely different that you love. Give it a try, see what you find!
Thanks for the great advice, I’ve never been super into Indian food, so I’ve been looking for great ways to start. I will definitely have to try the butter chicken since I am a big chicken eater. Hopefully next time my sister invites me out for Indian food I will have a better idea of what I should order.
Hello Callum!
Thanks for visiting Big Apple Curry! I’m so happy to hear it was helpful. As you can see from our site, my husband Sean wasn’t crazy about Indian food either, and now it’s his favorite cuisine. Did you try butter chicken? Hurray for your sister’s invitation for Indian food, say hello to her for us!
With warmest wishes,
Ina
I am 70 and about to take my first trip outside the USA, to London. I value your suggestions and plan to follow them.
I find most people mention the word ‘spicy’ meaning it to be hot spicy rather than flavor spicy. You can order mild yet full on flavor loaded food.
One of the things I noted here in your blog was that samosas are triangular but I think of them as a pyramid shaped triangle or if you prefer a triangle shaped pyramid, lol. I have seen them also as two sided triangular pastries mostly packaged and frozen, not served fresh. There are exceptions of course.
Today I’ve got four friends who are unfamiliar bot not allergic to any of the many spices or other, fingers crossed here, meeting me at a new dive restaurant. It’s got nothing but 5 stars all the way down from Indian clientele and others.
This ones called Biryani & Bites. Tried it once a month ago and it’s hands down the best one in the area. Also it won’t break the bank despite huge portions of meticulously prepared, not just cooked (thrown together) delicious, authentic food. Here is what I thought I would recommend.
1 samosa ea, (extra large) as an appetizer, I chicken tikka masala, one daal, 1 order of pooris, I huge Madras Biryani, 2 masala dosas (extra large) cut for ea.
1 order of bondas and 1 pitcher of their signature blended mango lassi (buttermilk). All the dishes must be mild but full of flavor. You think it sounds ok?
Hello Arun! Thank you for writing to us, and my apology for the delay in responding – we had a technical glitch. How was your dinner with friends at the new restaurant? It sounds like what you recommended was a good mix of dishes and flavours. Samosas always make for a great appetizer (you’re right, they are pyramid-shaped!) and adding bondas to the mix provides both North and South Indian flavours. Similar to butter chicken, chicken tikka masala is a great choice as it’s innocuous, mild and always a hit, and daal is a good vegetarian option to have on the table. Puris are a special treat – while they can be a bit rich they are very tasty. I’m always a big fan of biryani as it’s a one-pot dish that’s packed with flavour. As for masala dosa – it’s a signature South Indian dish that tastes different from everything else you ordered, so a good addition if the goal is to experience the range of dishes that Indian cuisine has to offer. And rounding it all out with a pitcher of mango lassi sounds perfect! I hope you and your friends enjoyed all of it. Please let us know how it was, and if you’ve been exploring any other Indian restaurants. We’re here to help if you have any more questions!
I’ve been to South India and tasted lots of good food there — buttered chicken is my fave and biryani (although I cried every time I eat it).
Now my friends wanted to try Indian food and are relying on me on what to order. Your blog has helped me so much thank you so much.
Hi Angela! I’m happy that this blog post has been helpful. Keep us posted on what new dishes you try and enjoy – and we’re always here if you have any questions!
I’ve been eager to try several of the Indian restuarants in the area, but have been too intimidated by the menu. This article really simplified the offerings and I feel much more confident going in. Thank you!
Hello Toree! I’m glad you find this article useful and that you feel confident about going to an Indian restaurant, that’s terrific! Let us know how it goes and what you order! We’re always here to help out if you have any more questions!
Just about to go for my first indian lunch ! Thank you for the great post and ideas… This is an excellent “how to guide”!
Hello Lauren! How exciting that you’re going for your first Indian lunch, I hope you enjoy it. I’m glad you found this post useful — please let us know how it goes, I’d love to hear what you ordered!
Indian food is one of my most favourite foods in the whole world…and it’s thanks to a dear friend for bringing me to a great restaurant and ordering us some easy to like and not to overpowering dishes. Not everyone is that lucky…and I think this post is the PERFECT thing for anyone to read who might be wanting to check out this delicious cuisine. The descriptions of the food were right on. I love how they were made to seem so approachable. Who doesn’t love chicken and rice…or a deep fried appetizer? I know I do. My only problem….now I want some Indian Food!!!!
I will always remember that first time I took you to an Indian restaurant, and now it’s one of your favourite cuisines! I’m glad you think this post will be useful for anyone who is looking to try Indian food, and that it will help them have the kind of experience you did. As for your cravings, I hope you are inspired to try cooking a few dishes at home!
As the quintessential meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, I thoroughly enjoyed my first taste of Indian cooking. Myna did a wonderful job selecting the menu items for me to try. I do like hot-spicy food so I wasn’t concerned about the heat, I had just never been exposed to Indian cooking as I was brought up in a French-Canadian/German household. The Butter Chicken was excellent and I was pleasantly surprised by the Channa Masala as I don’t usually eat many legumes. It was very flavourful with a pleasant reminder of French-Canadian baked beans with a bit more kick.
For my next sampling of Indian cuisine I plan to jack up the intensity and go for the spicier dishes.
I really enjoy the blog, especially the articles that give it personality. I also like the map of Indian cuisine (because I’m a geek like that). I suspected that there wasn’t one “Indian Cuisine” but I didn’t realize the extent of the diversity.
It was great to introduce you to Indian food for the first time, and I’m glad that you enjoyed it! If you’re interested in the spicier dishes you should try vindaloo next time – it’s one of the hottest curries, often made with chicken, beef or lamb. You would also enjoy kebabs – skewered, spicy meats. Thanks for your kind words about the blog – we’re glad you are enjoying it!