Indian cuisine is one of the few types of cooking that shuts off the satiety centre of my brain! I just can’t get enough. Indian meals are served family-style, with ample amounts of rice for all.
As in the traditional cooking of many countries across the globe, the closer one gets to the equator, the hotter and spicier the dishes get.
Try these recipes with varying degrees of heat and spice to determine how your palate likes the foods the best. Also, Indian cuisine offers some of the best dishes for vegetarian and vegan diets.
When I throw an Indian indulgence feast, I usually make one chicken curry, one lamb curry, and one or two vegetable curries, with varying degrees of heat. Beer or tea work very well with Indian meals.
If you can find Kingfisher, Flying Horse, or Taj Mahal beers from India, you will be in for a treat. For a sweeter drink to accompany your spicy meal, you may consider a cool, delicious mango lassi slushy. Put on some Bollywood music and have a blast!
I always serve papadum to guests while they await an Indian feast. The crisp, delicate, thin wafers are sure to evoke salivation when accompanied with dipping sauces such as assorted chutneys of mint, coriander, tamarind, and mango.
Also, don’t forget the naan. I don’t even care for breads, but, to me, naan is the most delicious bread on earth! You can find naan in many large-box grocery stores, and certainly at Asian food markets.
I think you have to have a proper tandoor, the Indian clay oven, to make your own naan from scratch.
Also, I love to offer Indian pickles with the main meal. Several varieties of fruit pickles, such as lime, lemon, mango, chilli, and mixed fruit, are available in various degrees of heat.
Bringal (aubergine or eggplant) makes a fantastic Indian pickle, too. Depending on where you live, it is quite common to find Indian pickles in grocery chain stores.
Where I reside now, I purchase Indian pickles at Asian markets. As with any hot condiment, a little dab’ll’do.
I have not included any desserts here for two reasons: 1) I don’t care for Indian desserts, and 2) most every guest is overly stuffed following the meal to even consider eating dessert.
For a more elegant Indian repast, I invite you to try my curried seafood soup as a first course. It takes a long time to prepare, but it’s worth every single second!
I will upload links to more recipes soon. Thanks for your patience. I look forward to sharing the recipe for my dad’s famous lamb tongue curry.
It is a succulent dish from Hyderabad, India, and it is amazing. When I lived in Sherman Oaks, California, I could find lamb tongues readily at standard grocery stores, even lamb heads, but in most parts of the USA, you might have to order them from a specialty butcher.
