Tandoori i birjani
Tandoori dishes are mainly prepared in the North of India. This name describes a type of clay oven, on which dishes are cooked after pouring marinade of yoghurt seasoned with herbs. The most delicious is undoubtedly the chicken prepared in this way. These dishes are milder than curry dishes and will please even the most delicate palate. Another northern specialty is Birjani, also the tastiest in the form of properly prepared chicken. Lightly seasoned rice is added to the meat, which turns orange, sometimes mixed with nuts or dried fruit. In Kashmiri, Birjani is simply a fruit salad with rice.
The next dish is pulao, prepared from rice with spices, and often with pulses and meat, also popular in other Asian countries in the west of the continent. Tourists, who expected, that Indian cuisine is based solely on curry, they will change their mind after trying one of the tandoori or birjani dishes.
Regional dishes
One of the specialties of Indian cuisine in the north is the Josh rogan, that is lamb meat seasoned with curry. This dish comes from Kashmir. That's where I come from too(«’ Tafra – spicy roulades, cooked in yoghurt sauce. In the restaurants in the north, makhnawala chicken fried in butter is also served.
In seaside towns, it is worth ordering one of the delicious fish dishes, e.g. extremely popular in Bom-bajupomfret, a fish resembling a flounder. If someone orders the "duck" from the menu of Mumbai restaurants (duck), he shouldn't be surprised, when a fish dish appears on the table instead of meat.
The popularity of kebabs in Northern India proves the strong influence of Central Asian cuisine in these areas. You can find many local varieties of this dish here, however, seekh enjoys the greatest recognition of the northerners (on a skewer) and we are (wrapped). Kati kabab is prepared in Calcutta. Another Bengali dish is dahin maać – spiced curry fish in yoghurt sauce, with ginger and turmeric. A little further south, in Hajda-rabada, you can trylialeen, that is, mashed grains of wheat, topped with a slightly spiced sauce from the roast mutton.
On the menu of the restaurant in Lakhnau, next to many varieties of kebab, there is a recommendable dum pukht, a dish consisting of meat and vegetables stewed in a tightly closed earthen vessel.
Starters
Indian cuisine is characterized by a variety of starters, that accompany the main courses. The most popular of these is dahin, as curds or yoghurt are referred to herein. When added to a curry dish, it soothes its spicy taste, and drunk after a meal allows you to get rid of the annoying burning in the throat. Desserts are prepared on the basis of curdled milk, It is also included in the lass i, which is often drunk in India. Another appetizer is a note, salad made of cooked or raw vegetables, mainly cucumbers or tomatoes, poured with curdled milk.
Main dishes are often accompanied by sabzi, i.e. curry vegetables, oraz baingan bharta, eggplant puree. The soup appetizer is mulligatawny, which has also gained recognition in English cuisine. Along with spicy curry dishes, a sauce of pickled vegetables or fruits is served.
Thali
South Indian thali is very popular all over the country. This dish, also called "a dish on a tray" (meat or vegetarian), it is served almost everywhere. Place, in which they are served, most often it is marked with the sign "Meals" (Meals).
Etymologically, thali is just a tray, on which the meal is served, along with several cups attached to it, called katori. Several vegetable curry dishes are served on the tray, spices, bread (papadam, puri lub) and lots of rice. Some thali also include pataa, fruit or nuts wrapped in a leaf. This dish is often accompanied by a bowl of curdled milk, dessert or paan, that is, areca seeds intended for chewing. In less exclusive restaurants, a huge leaf serves as a tray, freshly picked from a banana tree.
The cheapest thali costs just 8 INR, and its price in more expensive restaurants rarely exceeds 30 INR. The exception is Gujarat, where you have to pay for this dish 35-40 INR. Even the greatest hunger will satisfy Thali, because the price includes any number of additional additions. When the service will notice, that the tray is empty, it refills the cups immediately. This dish is usually eaten with the fingers, only sometimes a teaspoon is added to dha-lu or curdled milk. Please note, to immediately after entering the premises, where thali is served, wash hands.
Snacks
Vegetables seasoned with curry and baked in a triangular-shaped dough are called samosa. This snack is extremely tasty and you can get it almost everywhere in India. Bhudja and humility are equally popular, vegetables, cut into small pieces, dipped in batter, made from flour peas.
You can buy bhelpuri in restaurants and on the streets of Mumbai, also sold in all tourist resorts in the country. Seasoned chickpeas (gram), served with a small loaf of puri, is called channa. The sambhar consists of overcooked lentils and a variety of vegetables, seasoned with sour tamarind. All such dishes are referred to here as Chaat, and small snacks sold in bags, something like chips, to Namkin.