Curries laboriously cooked with a mix of spices: Anyone who has spent time in an Indian kitchen would know what it takes to prepare a curry. These dishes are generally quite labor-intensive: from chopping lots of onions and tomatoes, grinding spices, and then deciding whether a dish calls for frying, pressure or slow cooking..- it is a very hands-on experience. Take garam masala for instance - it is made fresh from grinding toasted cumin, coriander seeds, pepper corns, cinnamon sticks, star anise, and other whole spices. Then there is the ginger and garlic chilli paste - you can choose to use the store-bought paste versus making your own paste with fresh garlic pods and ginger.... the same goes for tomatoes - store-bought puree versus fresh tomatoes....In my experience, the fresher the ingredients, better are the flavors. A dish truly cuts it for me when I can tell that the pastes and spices were freshly prepared.
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| Spinach chicken, black dal, tandoori chicken with Rosemary naan, Mumbai Central |
Grilled meats: Much like the barbecue traditions around the world, Indian and Pakistani have their own version of tandoori meats: cooked in a clay oven. The smoky flavors, the crisp exterior and juicy insides is what makes tandoori meats special. They are also lower calories, protein heavier options than the curries but equally satisfying. Kebabs - either as large chunks of meat or minced meat mixed with spices and shaped on skewers - also made in a tandoor are a highlight mostly in Pakistani restaurants that typically serve them with a side of delicious chole (chickpeas curry) and naan (bread) that is also baked in the same tandoor. You'll even find a whole fish like pomfret prepared in a tandoor along with other specialties like Lahori fried fish.
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| Karahi chicken, Spice Circle Desi with seekh kebabs |
Regional diversity: There is a famous analogy that India is a continent pretending to be a country - I think the same can be said about its food. If you are in a larger city, like Salisbury, UK where I recently visited, you might get lucky to experience the regional flavors. On this trip, I discovered a restaurant serving food from the Malabar coast of Kerala in Southern India - Kerala style fish curry cooked with fragrant curry leaves and mustard seeds paired with Kerala parathas. Even dishes that share the same name can vary by region. Take Karahi chicken for instance - a desi chicken is spicier and cooked with green chillies while the Peshawari style is milder . And then there are the chilli momos I have had at Nepali restaurants - compared to the more common steamed or fried versions served with a variety of sauces. Regional cuisines across South Asia offer a wide range of dishes that vary in cooking styles, ingredients, or spice levels.
Lots of vegetarian options: One of the strengths of South Asian, particularly Indian restaurants is the variety of vegetarian or vegan options on the menu. If you are not a vegan, paneer or cottage cheese is a star ingredient. Rich, hearty curries like paneer lababdar feature cubes of paneer, sometimes lightly grilled before cooking in an onion and tomato rich gravy. Rarer to find, Gujrathi or Rajasthani cuisine that Rupa Vira or Jodhpur, both in Northern Virginia specialize in vegetarian dishes. Meanwhile, Mumbai Central features a vegetarian version of Parsi Dhansak - a rice and lentil stew - one of the first times I have even seen it on a mainstream Indian menu.
