A Guide to Ordering Indian Food: Indian Menu Terms & Dishes (Part-I) A Guide to Ordering Indian Food: Indian Menu Terms & Dishes (Part-I) In my previous post- A Guide to Ordering Indian Food: What You Need to Know Before You Order I started you off with the basics of Ordering from an Indian Menu, the components of an Indian Meal and how it’s served to access how much to order. In this post I’ll cover roughly what some of the names you may come across on an Indian Menu and their meanings which will help you decide what you’d like to Order the next time your at an Indian restaurant. The Names of Indian Dishes The naming of Indian foods is not nearly as complex as it looks or sounds!

The dishes are often named by the cooking process involved in preparing them (like Tandoori Chicken), or from the place the food originated from (like Kashmiri Aloo from the Kashmir region), or the culture it was adapted from (like Mughlai Biryani which comes from the famous Mughal culture), or the main ingredient in it (like Chicken Adraki which is made with mainly ginger and chicken)or the texture or dominant flavor of the finished dish (for example Reshmi Kabab with literally means Silken or smooth referring to the succulent bits of chicken or Achaari Murg with its pickle-style flavors). Indian Menus generally list dishes as two word options, usually the first word telling you what is cooked, the second word describing how it is cooked or any of the above references. General Terms Translated Murg or Murgh: is the Hindi word for Chicken Gosht or Gosh: is the Urdu word for meat mainly lamb, beef or mutton (which is goats meat…more commonly used across Indian instead of lamb). In India with it’s vast majority of Hindu’s that don’t eat beef it is usually means mutton or lamb.

Keema/Kheema: is the Hindi word for mince (it could be mice chicken, mutton, lamb or beef) Aloo: is the Hindi word for Potato Mutter: is the Hindi word for Peas Palak: is the Hindi word for Spinach Chole or Channa: is the Hindi word for Chickpeas. Malai: is the Hindi word for Cream. It signifies a dish thickened or enriched with fresh Cream. Ghee: is the Hindi word a type Clarified Butter Chai: is the Hindi word for Tea with milk Common Dishes on Indian Menu’s Appitizers or Starters Indian Appetizers or starters as they are known are usually dry dishes that come in bite sized portions on a platter. The following dishes are often found on Indian Menu’s under Starters. Tandoori Kebabs These are marinated meat pieces cooked on metal skewers in an Indian clay oven called tandoor, which is where the word tandoori comes from. The secret of the marinade is the use of yogurt which binds the spices to the meat and acts as a tenderizer. The most popular Tandoori dish is the Tandoori Chicken.

Other tandoori dishes you’ll find on the menu include Malai Kebab (creamy kebab), Reshmi Kebab(meaning succulent kebab) and Sheekh Kebab(spiced mince meat kebab). Tikka Tikka means bits or chunks. A marinade made with spices and yogurt, often used on cubes of chicken or paneer (Indian cottage cheese), Tikkas are often mild due to the yogurt. The pieces marinated in a Tikka Masala(spice mix) are also cooked in a tandoor. Pakoras or Pakodas Crunchy batter fried fritters of various vegetables like cauliflower, Spinach, potato, eggplant, capsicum or whole chillies, onion or paneer (Indian cottage cheese). The batter is usually made of besan (gram flour) and a few spices. The vegetables are dipped in the batter to coat them completely and then deep fried. It’s served with a chutney or ketchup. Papad The Papad or Papadum as it’s also known can best be described as a type of Tortilla. Typically it is made from lentil, chickpea, black gram or rice flour.

The dough of a Papad is shaped into a thin, round flat breads and then dried (traditionally in the sun) and can be cooked by deep-frying, roasting over an open flame, toasting, or microwaving, depending on the desired texture. It can be served plain as a crunchy snack or is sometimes topped with a kind of salsa of tomato, onion, coriander and chilli which is called Masala Papad. Tikkis Not to be mistaken with tikkas, Tikkis are small cutlets or patties made from mashed or diced vegetables and bound with potato and bread. Sometimes they are coated with egg or bread crumbs or just plain deep fried or pan pried. The result is small sized cutlet which is served with different chutneys. Popular Tikkis you’ll most likely find on the menu include Paneer Tikki made from Cottage cheese and potato, Aloo Tikki made with potato other veggies like carrots peas, beans and spices. Hara Bara Kebaba popular starter dish is actually a Tikki though it’s called Kebab. It’s made of green vegetables and peas.

Main Dishes As mentioned above the names of Indian dishes mainly come from cooking process involved in preparing them or the the main ingredient in it or the region it comes from. So here’s what some of the names you may come across on a menu mean: Masala This word typically means spice mix so recipes for Masala dishes can be as varied as the chefs that cook them! They can therefore range from medium to really hot but will usually have a thick, not very substantial gravy. Karahi or Kadhai/Kadai This style of cooking gets its name from the wok-like dish known as Karahi it is cooked in. In Karahi/ Kadhai dishes the main ingredient is usually marinated in a yogurt and spice sauce and then stir-fried in a Karahi with sliced onions, bell peppers, ginger, garlic and chopped tomatoes. Karahi dishes range from medium to very hot and have medium amounts of gravy. Spices to expect are coriander, cumin, chilli and garam masala. Korma or Quorma Korma is a creamy mild sauce, usually made with yogurt, cream and occasionally nuts and coconut milk.

It is Mughlai dish from North India is typically made by marinating the main ingredient in yoghurt and spices like ginger and garlic. It is then cooked in its own juices and a gravy made of onions, lots of tomatoes, green chillies and whole spices like cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander, cumin, etc. Kormas can range from mild to medium hot. Bhuna, Bhoona or Fry This means “to stir-fry or sauté”. Many Indian dishes require spices to be lightly fried or Bhoono-ed to release their aroma and flavors and prevent them from having a ‘raw’ taste. Bhuna dishes can range from mild to hot. Bhuna dishes are characterized by the fact that the meat or vegetable used is cooked in its own liquids and no extra water is added. This makes for medium amounts of thick gravy that go well with both wet and dry dishes. Saag The word Saag is mostly used in connection with leafy greens like spinach, fenugreek, mustard greens and dill. In India, Saag is not just cooked by itself but often combined with great success with all kinds of meat, fish and vegetarian ingredients.

The greens in these dishes may be chopped fine and cooked or cooked and creamed. Saag dishes are mostly mild with a medium amount of gravy. They’re not the most aesthetically pleasing to look at with it’s green color but it’s healthy and most of the time you wouldn’t believe their green leafy vegetables. Achaari Made with spices similar to those that go into Indian pickles, Achaari dishes can be medium- to very hot and most often will have a tangy flavor. Expect spices like chilli, fennel, mustard, carom seed (or Bishop’s weed), cumin etc. These dishes will be on the drier side with minimal gravy so it’s best to make you second main dish a gravy dish. Makhani/Makhni This name comes from the word Makkhan which means butter! These typically North Indian dishes are therefore cooked in butter and have substantial creamy gravy in which tomatoes play a predominant role. Makhni dishes are usually mild to medium hot and made with chicken, vegetables or lentils. Butter Chicken also known as Murgh Makhani is probably the most well known makhani dish of all times. Malai This word means cream.

Malai dishes have a good amount of creamy, cream-based gravy. This gravy is mild and usually made with onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic to which spices like coriander, cumin, garam masala etc are added. Cream is added to the dish as a finishing touch. Expect the dish to be mild and team it with a hotter, relatively drier main dish. Kashmiri This style of cooking comes from Kashmir in North India and is characterized by rich, creamy gravies made up of spices, nuts and dried fruit teamed with milk and cream! The result is delicious mild dishes that go well with rice preparations. Expect fragrant spices like cinnamon and cardamom. The gravy is often mildly sweet as sometimes sugar is added to the dish or the raisins and dry fruits tend to sweeten the dish. Jalfrezi This tasty style of cooking came about in the days of the British in India. ‘Jal’ means hot and ‘frezi’ means fry, so it essentially a stir-fry with little gravy. Usually a meat like chicken, lamb or beef, or vegetables is stir-fried with green chillies, bell peppers, onions and tomatoes and then cooked in its own juices.

Dopiaza/ Dopyaza This term means two (do) onions (piaza) or double onions. This Mughlai (Mughal style) dish is usually prepared with lots of onions – pureed onions that makes up a thick gravy to which the main ingredient is added and the other that is added raw and cooked with the main ingredient or stir-fried till caramelized. As onions contain high amounts of natural sugar they caramelize when they are fried and render a slight sweetness to the dish. Onions are also used as a garnish. Mughlai Mughlai cuisine is a result of the Mughal rule in India. Food was rich and cooked with aromatic spices, nuts and dried fruits. Most Indian restaurants interpret this as mild to medium-hot cream and nut based gravies, rice dishes with lots of nuts and dried fruits. Saffron is a key ingredient used to flavor these dishes along with whole spices. Vindaloo Hot Vindaloo dishes have their home in coastal Goa in western India. The Vindaloo spice mix is made by grinding lots of dry red chillies and whole spices like cinnamon, cloves and cumin in vinegar.

Vindaloos have plenty of gravy and are usually made with pork but can also be cooked using beef, chicken fish or lamb. The result is a tangy and spicy dish that goes well with bread. Dum This is a style of cooking that originated in the North. Dum means pressure and implies that the dish is cooked to a certain stage and then the vessel sealed to pressurize the contents and cause them to slow-cook (for hours sometimes) in their own juices. Dum dishes can range from mild to hot and usually have a medium amount of gravy. This method of cooking is used to prepare rice dishes as well. Madras Probably called Madras curries to identify them with their home in the south of India, these are really hot curry dishes. Madras curries team lots of pepper and chilli with onion, tomato, curry leaves and mustard and have a good amount of gravy which is why they go well with plain boiled rice.

Instant Murgh Makhani Recipe-Butter Chicken Masala - Fas Kitchen You are here: Home / Chicken recipes / Instant Murgh Makhani Recipe-Butter Chicken Masala Instant Murgh Makhani Recipe-Butter Chicken Masala July 10, 2015 96 0 This is Murgh Makhani Recipe not Chicken Tikka Masala. If you thought chicken tikka masala and murgh makhani are same, then I am sorry, you are wrong. Murgh Makhani recipe or butter chicken masala is a delicous, rich and heavy delight. Save this recipe for special occasions if you are health conscious. The murgh makhani recipe/butter chicken masala is a very rich dish made with as the name suggests butter, cream and cashew nut paste. Traditionally it is the chicken is marinated and grilled in oven or tandoor and cooked again in a makhani sauce. But sometimes when I am short on time, I make this simple and instant yet amazingly taste murgh makhani recipe.

If you are really conscious about the calories that go into this murgh makhani, you can very well subsitute the butter with oil, cream with yogurt and cashew-nuts with coconut. But what is murgh makhani recipe without the makhan (butter) and the cream in it. It won’t taste the same. If you go to any non-veg Indian restaurant, you will surely find the murgh makhani or the butter chicken in the menu. And it really leaves me amazed how each restaurant adds its own unique variation to it. If you have guests coming over at short notice and you don’t have time to grill and make the chicken, try this simple and easy murgh makhani recipe. I am sure you wont be disappointed in the least.

Let’s get started with the murgh makhani recipe/butter chicken recipe Ingredients for murgh makhani recipe 1 chicken, cut into medium pieces (learn to remove raw smell from chicken here) 3 medium onions, ground into paste 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste 2 tomato, ground into paste 1/2 cup cashew nut 1/2 tsp dried fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi 3/4 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp red chili powder 1/2 tsp turmeric powder Method for murgh makhani recipe Grind together cashew nuts and cream, and set aside. Heat butter and oil in a pan and add the bay leaves, cardamom, fenugreek leaves/kasuri methi and cumin seeds and fry till it leaves an aroma. Add the onion paste and fry till the paste turns pink. Add the ginger garlic paste, tomato paste, red chili powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, garam masala powder and salt. Cook till the oil starts leaving the sides of the pan. Add the chicken now. Lower the flame to the minimum after adding the chicken. When the chicken is done, cook till the oil leaves the sides of the pan again.

Mix in the cashew-nuts and cream paste at this point and stir well. When the oil surfaces on top, switch off the flame. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve hot with rice or roti. Additional Notes: More than the ingredients, the technique used in this recipe plays a key role. After adding the cashew-nut and cream paste, remember to stir often as the gravy gets burnt at the bottom quickly.

Until next time, Trishna Restaurant North Indian Cuisine | Menu Fish Ajwain Boneless Fish marinated in yoghurt and caraway seeds grilled over charcoal RM24.00 Fish Amritsari Boneless Fish marinated in garlic and yoghurt, fried to crisp with perfection RM24.00 Fish Lahsooni (Garlic Fish) Fish marinated with garlic & special spices, skewered then grilled RM24.00 S.TS4 Fish Pakora (Fish Fritters) White Dori Fish Fillet deep fried to perfection served hot with dip RM22.00 Fish Tika Small pieces of fish, skewered and grilled RM24.00 Achari Prawns (4 Pieces) A Hyderabad special dish, crispy prawns prepared with curry leaves.

RM48.00 Garlic Prawns (4 Pieces) A selection of marinated prawns grilled with garlic & aromatic herbs RM48.00 Special Sizzler Mixed Grill (Small/Big) A selection of Chicken/Prawn/Fish/Mutton served on a sizzler RM40/60 Tandoori Chicken (Quarter/Half/Full) Pieces of specially marinated chicken with a blend of spices RM25/35/55 Afghani Chicken Tender Chicken pieces marinated in yogurt and barbequed RM25/40/60 Achari Chicken Tikka Boneless Chicken marinated with pickled spices and barbequed RM24.00 Chicken Chaat Boneless Chicken blended with yogurt and cheese and prepared in Tandoor RM24.00 Chicken Lahsooni Kebab Boneless Chicken marinated in garlic & yoghurt, grilled over charcoal RM24.00 Chicken Seekh Kebab Minced Seasoned Chicken, skewered and grilled with pepper & herbs RM24.00 Murgh Malai Tikka Chicken marinated in yoghurt and cheese grilled over charcoal RM24.00 Mutton Seekh Kebab

 Minced mutton skewed and done to perfection in clay oven with spices RM24.00 Noorani Kebab Three Layers of minced chicken, mutton, vegetables grilled together RM30.00 Reshmi Kebab Boneless Chicken seasoned, skewered and grilled with egg coating RM26.00 Stuffed Tangdi Kebab Special (2pcs) Chicken Drumstick stuffed with minced mutton RM27.00 Tandoori Chicken Tikka Pieces of specially marinated chicken with a blend of spices RM24.00 Special Veg.

Sizzler (Mixed Grill) (Small/Big) Sizzling yummy assortment of vegetables along with the spices RM30/45 Paneer Tikka Chunks of paneer marinated in spices and grilled in a tandoor RM24.00 Paneer Hydrabadi A rich Nawabi preparation of paneer in the spices and cream RM24.00 S.TV3 Paneer Tikka Achari(Cottage Cheese Pickle) A classic paneer recipe made with the shallow fried cubes of paneer, pickle, yogurt and other unique ingredients RM26.00 Paneer Pakora (Fried Cottage Cheese) Cubes of Paneer fried with Butter & Herbs RM24.00 Tandoori Aloo(Baked Potato) Boiled potatoes, stuffed, covered with a spicy paste and baked to perfection. RM22.00 Tandoori Gobi Succulent pieces of cauliflower marinated in tandoori spices RM22.00 Tandoori Mushroom Succulent pieces of button mushroom marinated in tandoori spices RM22.00 Veg.

Seekh Kebab (Skewered Kebab) Made of minced vegetables with spices and grilled on skewers RM22.00 Mushroom Malai Tikka Marinated mushroom in authentic spices served hot RM22.00 S.TV10 Hara Bhara Kebab The crispy hara bhara kebab is a vegetarian kebab recipe full of aromatic spices, healthy ingredients with an amazing taste! RM22.00 S.TV11 Mixed Veg. Pakora Classic Indian finger food made with assorted vegetables & fried with low fat butter RM20.00 S.TV12 Samosa’s (4 pcs) Fried pastry with a savory filling of spiced potatoes, onions & peas served hot with a dipper RM16.00 Chaana Chaat A low calorie snack made with boiled chickpeas & fresh herbs RM14.00 S.TV14 Pappadi Chaat An Indian street food snack that is relished a lot.

Prepared with papri, boiled potatoes, chickpeas, sweet and green chutney, dahi RM20.00 S.TV15 Aloo Chaat (Potatoes) An indian street food snack prepared with papri, boiled potatoes, chickpeas, sweet and green chutney, dahi and assam sauce RM14.00 Masala Peanut Roasted peanuts with tomatoes,herbs,lemon juice and masala RM14.00 Masala Pappad Crispy papad topped with spicy salad makes a very refreshing appetizer RM14.00 S.TV18 Aloo Tikki (Fried Potato Patty) Two or Four Pieces of Fried Potato patty served with assam sauce & green chutney. A famous vegetarian snack all over India. RM18.00 Chicken Curry Thick chicken curry made with authentic spices, serve hot RM26.00 MN Butter Chicken Chicken cooked in mouth-watering butter cream, melted with spices to create the perfect blend. A must try. RM26.00 MN3 Kadai Chicken A spicy chicken dish that is a little dry in nature with a rich aroma given by the Ginger and spices.

RM24.00 Chicken Lababdaar Boneless pieces of chicken cooked in tomato and onion based creamy sauce. RM26.00 MN5 Saag Chicken(Spinach) Traditional saag is an Indian curry dish with lots of fresh spinach this version adds lean chicken for a light supper with little fat RM24.00 MN6 Murgh Do Pyaaza(Chicken In A Fried Onion Sauce) Succulent pieces of chicken made in thick onion sauce RM24.00 MN7 Murgh Rogan Josh(Chicken in a spicy red pepper sauce) Marinated chicken & cooked with hot masala chilly RM26.00 Chicken Shahi Korma A Mughlai dish which is made of curd, nut and milk RM26.00 Chicken Tikka Masala Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, served in a tomato cream sauce.

RM26.00 Chicken Black Pepper Chicken marinated in black pepper and spices served dry RM24.00 MN11 Mutton Saag (Mutton with Spinach) Mutton works well with big flavours and complements the iron-rich spinach in this tasty curry recipe RM24.00 Mutton Curry Classic Indian thick mutton curry served hot. Good with bread. RM24.00 MN13 Mutton Rogan Josh(Mutton in a spicy red pepper sauce) Marinated mutton & cooked with hot masala chilly RM28.00 Mutton Shahi Korma A traditional Mughlai dish which is made of curd, nuts and milk RM24.00 Mutton Black Pepper Mutton marinated in black pepper and spices served dry RM26.00 MN16 Keema Mattar (Dry Minced Meat) A tasty side dish, made of Minced mutton with fresh green peas and Indian spices.

Served dry RM26.00 MN17 Mutton Keema Masala Made of minced mutton marinated with masala, then stir fried with fresh green peas and indian spices RM28.00 Mutton Vind Aloo Mutton Vindaloo is an Indian curry dish popular in the Goa region RM26.00 Keema Egg Curry A protein rich, spicy and tangy egg curry cooked in Keema style RM26.00 Egg Curry A protein rich, spicy and tangy egg curry served with thick gravy RM22.00 Egg Bhurji Scrambled eggs with onion, tomato, ginger, chillies and masala RM24.00 Fish Masala/Curry Thick fish gravy cooked with authentic spices and herbs RM24.00 Prawn Masala/Curry Thick prawn gravy cooked with authentic spices and herbs RM35.00 Prawn Tawa Masalaeema Mattar (Dry Minced Meat) Fresh prawns spiced and stir-fried to perfection RM30.00 Prawn Special Fresh prawns with skin marinated in Home-made spices RM38.00 Gobi Aloo (Potatoes & Cauliflower) A Dry Mixture

 of spicy potatoes and fried cauliflower.

RM20.00 Bhindi Masala (Okra/Ladies Finger) Tangy ladies fingers cooked with masala and served hot. RM20.00 Mix Vegetables A combination of assorted vegetables cooked in gravy RM20.00 Baingan Aloo (Eggplant/Brinjal & Potatoes) Eggplants cooked with potatoes in a thick gravy and spices RM20.00 Baingan Bharta (Roasted Eggplant/Brinjal) Roasted eggplant grilled with authentic spices and herbs RM20.00 MV6 Baingan Sweet & Sour (Eggplant/Brinjal) Pieces of eggplant cooked in a blend of sweet and sour gravy. RM20.00 Corn Palak Mushroom Mushroom cooked with spinach and baby corn RM24.00 MV8 Aloo Jeera (Potatoes with Cumin Seeds) A simple yet irresistible dish of potatoes spiced with cumin seeds. RM20.00 Veg.

Kofta Curry Vegetable balls cooked in a spicy Indian curry RM20.00 Plain Saag (Plain Spinach) Spicy Spinach puree made with Indian herbs RM18.00 Malai Kofta Curry Deep fried vegetable balls made with thick Indian gravy. Served hot RM24.00 Navratan Korma (Nine Gems) Made from the nine different veggies, including fruit and nuts RM24.00 Saag Aloo (Potatoes & Spinach) A North Indian side dish made from potato and spinach. RM18.00 Mushroom Masala Indian curry recipe for button mushroomswith spices in thick gravy RM22.00 MV15 Kashmiri Dum Aloo (Stuffed Potato Balls) Rich Potato balls, stuffed with fry fruits simmered in spicy tomato cream gravy.

The potatoes are traditionally deep fried RM20.00 Karela Masala (Bitter Gourd) Sweet and spicy bitter gourds cooked with chilly and spices RM20.00 MV17 RM18.00 AB5 Rumali Roti (set of 2 pieces) The word “rumal” means handkerchief in Urdu and Hindi, and the name rumali roti means handkerchief bread is extremely thin and supple and the fact that it is usually served folded like a handkerchief is probably how it got its name. RM10.00 AB6 Kathi Rolls Traditionally, a Kathi roll is a Kati Kebab wrapped in layered parantha. The parantha is typically dough that is kneaded into a rope and coiled into a round patty. This is the flattened wit a rolling pin and partly fried in oil on a tawa.

Wrapped with Chicken/Mutton Keema (minced meat) RM20.00 Wrapped with Vegetables (onions, cauliflower, potato) RM14.00 The Curry House - Glossary of Indian Restaurant Curries Glossary of Indian Restaurant Curries balti Balti is more a style of cooking than one particular curry. The word balti can be translated as "bucket" (i.e. a cooking pan) and some say the style of cooking is indigenous to an area of northern Pakistan known as Baltistan. A balti pan is basically a karahi which has the shape of a Chinese wok but with 2 small round handles on either side of the pan instead of one long handle. In specialist "Balti Houses" the balti is a meal in itself which contains both meat and vegetables and is eaten straight from the karahi using curled up pieces of nan bread. In standard Indian restaurants the balti is more of a stir-fried curry containing plenty of fried green peppers and fresh coriander ( cilantro). Medium hot. bhuna Bhuna is first and foremost a cooking process where spices are gently fried in plenty of oil to bring out their flavour.

The dish "bhuna" is an extension of that process where meat is added to the spices and then cooked in its own juices which results in deep strong flavours but very little sauce. The restaurant bhuna is a well spiced curry with a thick sauce. It is often garnished with fried green peppers ( bell peppers) and shredded onions. Usually medium hot although I have had some pretty hot ones in my time. biryani Biryani is not a curry at all but the curry connection comes from the mixed vegetable curry with which it is served in most Indian restaurants. Biryani originated in Persia and, at its simplest, was rice and meat baked together in the oven. The cooks to the Moghul emperors took the biryani and transformed it into a courtly delicacy by adding aromatic spices and other exotic ingredients. Traditionally, biryanis are baked in the oven for some time so the aromatic spices and juices from the meat permeate the rice. In the Indian restaurant, however, all the dishes are made to order and the poor chef has to find a way of preparing the biryani in double quick time.

So the restaurant biryani is often just pilau rice stir fried with chicken or lamb which has been cooked as an extra dry bhuna. The restaurant biryani is usually garnished with almonds and sultanas ( golden raisins) and is accompanied by a mixed vegetable curry to add a little juiciness to the rice. Mild. dhansak A famous Parsee dish. Interestingly the dhan part of the name means rice and a dhansak is traditionally served with a pulao of fried and spiced rice. An authentic dhansak will made with lamb and contain vegetables and many different types of dhal (the sak in the name). The curry house dhansak is often referred to as "hot, sweet and sour with lentils". The "hot" is chilli powder, the "sweet" is sugar and the "sour" is lemon juice. Curry houses commonly use masoor dhal (split red lentils) but some restaurants now use chana dhal to good effect. If it is done well the dhansak is an excellent curry with contrasting flavours and textures.

But if the "sweet" in your restaurant dhansak is provided by the addition of pineapple then, in my opinion, you should order something else. dopiaza The dopiaza is a classic Indian dish dating back at least to Moghul times. The name dopiaza broadly translates as "2 onions" or "double onions". Some traditional versions of the dopiaza use twice the weight of onions compared to the weight of meat but a classic Indian dopiaza is more likely to use the onions in 2 different ways, fried and boiled, at different stages of the cooking. The restaurant version has small fried pieces of onion in the sauce and then larger chunks of lightly cooked onion are added towards the end of the cooking. Medium hot. jalfrezi Jalfrezi is not a traditional Indian dish as such but, like the bhuna, is actually a method of cooking. It literally means "hot-fry" but is probably better translated as "stir-fry". The term jalfrezi entered the English language at the time of the British Raj in India. Colonial households employed Indian cooks who would use the jalfrezi method of cooking to heat up cold roasted meat and potatoes.

But the restaurant jalfrezi is not a version of the Anglo-Indian dish. Oh no. The Indian restaurant chef uses the jalfrezi method to stir-fry green peppers, onions and plenty of green chillies as the basis for a curry with just a little sauce. The chillies make the jalfrezi taste very fresh but also make it one of the hotter curries on the restaurant menu. korai Many Indian restaurants had a balti-style curry on their menu long before the rise in popularity of balti cooking in the UK. They did not call the curry a balti but rather a korai or karahi and many restaurants still carry one on their menu. Both the balti and korai contain stir fried meat and vegetables and both take their name from the utensil in which they are cooked. Because korai is a style of cooking rather than a traditional recipe the curry house versions can vary considerably from restaurant to restaurant. It can be medium or hot and will usually contain green peppers, tomatoes and onions. korma A traditional korma will have a long slow cooking. In fact, korma is not one particular dish but rather a method of cooking similar to braising.

Because korma is a cooking method there are a wide variety of dishes that could be described as "korma". Many kormas call for the meat to be marinated in yoghurt and then the meat plus marinade are braised on a very low heat until all the juices condense down into a thick sauce. The restaurant chef has to cook to order so doesn't have time for long, slow cooking. The korma you find in Indian restaurants usually contains ground almonds, coconut and thick cream. It is often described on restaurant menus as being "very mild" but a good korma should not be bland. Madras The curry house Madras is a restaurant invention which started life as simply a hotted up version of the standard restaurant curry. Because it is a restaurant invention rather than a traditional recipe the Madras can vary considerably from one restaurant to another. The restaurant Madras can be hot or very hot, red or brown, a hotter version of a plain curry or quite rich in tomatoes. Mostly though it comes with plenty of sauce and is strongly spiced . It is the standard restaurant hot curry.

Moghul masala The Moghul dynasty ruled much of the Asian sub-continent for 3 centuries and left behind a fabulous legacy not just in art and architecture but also in sumptuous cuisine. There is no one Moghul style but the usual restaurant interpretation is rich and creamy. The curry house Moghul masala contains plenty of ginger, ground almonds, yoghurt and cream. Some restaurants offer a Shahi Moghul dish which is garnished with a small omelette flavoured with chopped coriander leaves. Mild to medium. pasanda Derived from a court dish of the Moghul emperors the pasanda is traditionally made with thinly sliced and marinated lamb fillets. It is sometimes called lamb badam pasanda because the dish contains ground almonds, the "badam" of the title. The restaurant pasanda is usually quite mild and contains ground almonds, cardamon pods, purÃ©ed tomatoes and cream. patia Like it's more famous cousin, dhansak, patia is a Parsee dish. A traditional Parsee patia is made with fish cooked in a dark vinegar sauce. The restaurant patia is hot, sweet and sour in equal measure.

The restaurant patia grew popular as a starter using prawns ( shrimps) as the main ingredient. Many restaurants now offer the patia as a main course as well and give you the choice of a prawn, chicken or lamb version. It is usually garnished with fried tomato pieces. rogan josh Rogan josh is another all time favourite on the curry house menu. It was originally a Kashmiri dish but is equally at home in the Punjab. An authentic rogan josh will be made with lamb and may, at its most elaborate, contain dozens of spices. The Kashmiri and Punjabi versions do differ (the Kashmiri does not traditionally contain onions or garlic) but they are both highly spiced and share a deep red colour derived from the liberal use of dried red Kashmiri chillies. The curry house rogan is also red but the colour comes from red peppers and tomatoes rather than Kashmiri chillies. The restaurant rogan is characterised by its garnish of tomato pieces and fresh coriander. It is usually medium hot. saag Saag gosht is a classic curry traditionally made with spinach and lamb.

Saag is, strictly speaking, a general term for tender green leaves such as spinach, mustard greens and fresh fenugreek leaves. If you were talking about spinach on its own it would be called palak. Many restaurants these days will offer a chicken or a prawn alternative to lamb and so the dish will show on the menu as just "saag" or "palak" omitting the gosht (lamb) from the name altogether. The saag is usually served medium hot and is made in the bhuna style. tikka masala To my mind it is fruitless to enter the debate on the origins of the famous chicken tikka masala. If you want to remind yourself of the contending arguments then take a look at the essay on the subject "Is it or isn't it? - the chicken tikka masala story" by food historians Peter and Colleen Grove. Chicken tikka masala is the all time most popular dish on the Indian restaurant menu and what the restaurant diner really needs to know is whether the restaurant is providing a good example of the dish. And what is a good example? Well, the chicken tikka pieces should be aromatic and slightly smoky from the tandoor.

The masala sauce should be well spiced but not hot, rich and creamy and have a hint of coconut. Tikka masala usually has a deep red colour, gained from the use of artificial food colourings. vindaloo The vindaloo was originally a Portuguese dish which took its name from the 2 main ingredients which were "vinho", wine/wine vinegar, and "alhos", garlic. Over time it was spiced up, hotted up and otherwise changed by the indigenous peoples of the ex-Portuguese colony of Goa. Not many restaurants produce an authentic Goan vindaloo not least because the pork used by Christian Goans in their recipe would not be acceptable to Muslim chefs. In some restaurants the vindaloo is just a pumped-up Madras i.e. the same recipe but with lots more chilli powder. Other restaurants have interpreted the "aloo" part of the name as meaning potato and introduced diced potato to a hot standard curry with added lemon juice for tartness and black pepper for extra pungency. Very hot. Makhani Chicken (Indian Butter Chicken) Recipe - Allrecipes.com ONEHAPPYMEAL 3/17/2002 Excellent!

If you love to spend hours in the kitchen, this recipe is for you. Great taste, but not so easy or quick to make. I've tried recipes that are just as good, with easier and faster p... MTELEP 4/20/2005 I'm a huge fan of Indian food and go to restaurants around the Bay area all the time. I've always wanted to be able to make my favorite dishes at home, but a lot of the recipes on the internet t... Rania S 11/26/2005 It just didn't taste like butter chicken at all. However, the next day after refrigerating, the flavors came together and tasted MUCH better. Still NOT butter chicken. Also, I like spicy food an... Dodd1015 12/21/2007 I'm a serious Indian cook; my family eats curries all the time. This recipe is awesome and was immediately one of our family favorites! I make extra batches of the sauce and then freeze, making ... JENNPATEL 1/30/2011 Very nice. Good flavor.

I used tomato sauce in lieu of "pureed tomatoes", and would have liked the sauce to be a bit thicker. My husband is Indian, and found the flavor to be very nice. Chrissy 4/14/2008 This recipe makes an amazing butter chicken. It tastes just like the butter chicken you'll get at a fancy Indian restaurant! The first time I made it, my boyfriend and I ate so much of it that... DC Girly Girl 1/6/2008 Mmmmmm!!! Used 2.5 lbs split breasts. Since I was using bone-in pieces, I doubled all other ingredients EXCEPT tomato puree. Added a dash of curry powder to both marinade & sauce. Used 1 cup of... Lisa Marie 8/1/2007 I could not find Fenugreek leaves at all, but the recipe turned out absolutely amazing without it. This is now one of my all time favorite dishes. HOONGA 5/7/2002 Not bad, but too much tomato puree, which made the taste a bit sour. I also didn't find it spicy enough so I added more garam masala to make it more spicy.

Indian food Glossary - Indian food hindi names, telugu names, tamil names and kannada names Indian Food Glossary Achar: Any kind of pickle Aloo: Potato Biryani : A fancy rice casserole, often containing meat, poultry, seafood or vegetables Chapati/Roti: Thin bread cooked on the griddle Dal: Any kind of legume--beans, peas, or lentils Dosa: Crispy, crepe-like southern Indian specialty filled with potatoes or vegetables Korma : Braised meats in a thick, mild creamy sauce Kulcha: Tender, pita-like bread cooked in the tandoor Lassi: A refreshing, creamy yogurt drink that can be sweet or salty Masala: Spice blend Naan: Flat, oval bread cooked in the tandoor Pakora: Fritter dipped in a spicy chickpea batter; can be made with vegetables, cheese, chicken or seafood Paneer: Cheese Paratha: Flaky bread fried on the griddle Poori: Airy, deep-fried bread Pulao : An aromatic rice pilaf Raita : A yogurt-based condiment usually containing vegetables Rasam: A thin, spicy broth Saag: Spinach, but can also refer to other greens Sambar

: An extremely spicy broth popular in southern India Samosa: Flaky, pyramid-shaped pastry stuffed with potatoes or ground meat; a traditional Indian snack Tandoor: A deep, clay oven that has very high temperatures Tandoori : Any dish cooked in a tandoor Vindaloo : An extremely spicy curry dish that's a regional specialty of Goa A to Z Glossary Aachar: Indian Pickles are mainly made with vegetables and fruits like mango, lime, green chilies etc.

Made mostly during the summer in India, they are a spicy and delightful addition to the Indian meal. One has to get aquatinted with the strong flavors of most pickles, so do try one. Appam: Wafer thin, round and flat. They are usually made out of rice, potato and/or various lentil flours Aloo: Potato Am chur: Mango powder. A sour flavoring agent. Appam: Wafer thin, round and flat. They are usually made out of rice, potato and/or various lentil flours Ata (Atta): Chapatti flour . Fine whole meal flour used in most Indian breads. Avial: Vegetable curry from the south of India __________________________________ Bandai: Aniseed stars. Badam: Almond Bagar or Tadka or Chounk: Spices and herbs are added one at a time to hot oil and this tempering is either done as the first step in the cooking process, before adding the vegetables for example, or as the last, pouring the tempered oil over a cooked dish. The oil extracts and retains all the sharp flavors of the spices and flavors the entire dish.

Balchao as in the Goan recipe Prawn Balchao where the shrimp is marinated in a brine sauce: a Goan specialty where vegetables like aubergines or seafood like prawns are "pickled" in sugar, vinegar and spices for a day or two before eating. Barfi: A dessert made from milk that has been cooked slowly and reduced to a fudge-like consistency. This sweet is flavored with either saffron, vanilla essence, cocoa, rose water, etc. Sometimes nuts and fresh coconut is added. Eaten and served in bite-sized pieces "Barfi" is a very popular after dinner dessert. Just like bringing a bottle fine wine when you visit someone for the first time, a decorative box filled with different kinds of "Barfi" is a traditional gift in India. Basmati rice: Basmati rice is authentic Indian long grained white rice, which has unique nutty flavor. Basmati rice is very popular in India and all over the world. A wide variety of rice dishes are made with Basmati rice.

They are: plain steamed rice, pulaos, pilafs, biryanis or just different types of fried rice  which include meat, vegetables, nuts, and even fruits sometimes. Gourmet cooks prefer to use Basmati rice for its fragrant flavor. Special occasion rice dishes are mostly made with Basmati rice. Besan: Chickpea flour. Bhaaji or Sabji: Deep-fried vegetable dipped in a seasoned batter  usually made with onion. Bahare: Stuffed Bharta: A spicy vegetable dish, with a pulp like consistency. A commonly made bharta is a "baingan" (eggplant) bharta. Bhel Puri: One of Bombays favorite snacks. It is a mixture of puffed rice, "sev", "puri", lentils, finely chopped onions, chopped coriander topped with two kinds of chutneys; one is the sweet tamarind date chutney and the other is the spicy cilantro chutney. Bhuna or Bhunao: is to saut� or stir-fry.

Usually onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and green chilies are fried in oil, but to make sure that this doesnt stick, burn or cook unevenly, a small amount of liquid is added, repeatedly. After the oil separates from the mixture, the main ingredient (meat or vegetable) is added and cooked. Biryani: Elaborate dish made from spiced saffron rice cooked with pieces of lamb, chicken or vegetables. It is usually made on special occasions since it takes a long time to make a biryani, but it is surely worth the effort. It always tastes better the next day since the spices marinate and flavor the meat and rice. Bombay Duck: A smallish fish native to the Bombay area known locally as Bommbil. It is dried and appears on the table as a crispy shallow-fried starter or as an accompaniment to a curry. Bondas or Vadas: Round deep-fried savory snack made in different varieties usually from lentils, potatoes etc. eaten with a chutney. Boti Kebab: Marinated boneless cubes of meat cooked in a tandoor.

Brinjol: Eggplant __________________________________ Cassia Bark: A corky bark with a sweet fragrance similar to cinnamon and is used extensively in Northern Indian cookery. Cayenne pepper: A type of chili powder. Ceylon curry: Usually cooked with coconut, chili, and lemon. Chaamp: Chop. Chakla Belan: A special rolling pin and board. Chamcha: Spoon or ladle. Chaat: Salty snacks served with an array of sweet and spicy chutneys. Chai: Indian tea. Chapatti: Unleavened Indian flatbread made with wheat flour, water, oil and salt. Usually cooked on a "tava" or thick griddle and brushed with "ghee". Chaval: Rice. Chhalni: Sieve Chili: There are a great many species of chilies, which are the fleshy pods of shrub-like bushes of the capsicum family. Chilies range from large to small and colors include green, white, purple, pink, and red. Chilies are the most important heat agent in Indian cooking. They vary in hotness from mild to incendiary-like potency. Most commonly used are the small, fresh green or red chilies.

Red chilies can be dried and used whole, and chili powder is made from grinding dried chilies. Chimta: Tongs Chutney: Fresh relishes made with fruits, vegetables, and herbs. Curry : To Indians, the term curry means gravy or sauce, Curries are what made Indian cuisine famous all over the world, the most famous of all is the Chicken Curry. Residents of the rest of the world, however, have come to think of "curry" as simply a thick creamy yellow sauce or any dish seasoned with a curry-powder blend, whether it has a sauce or not. An authentic Indian curry is an intricate combination of a stir-fried wet masala (mixture of onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes), various spices and seasonings with which meat, poultry, vegetables or fish is prepared to produce a stew-type dish. Curry leaves: (Not to be confused with the curry spice blend) The curry leaf plant is a tropical tree of the citrus family. The long slender leaflets that look a little like bay leaves are dark green on top and paler underside. The leaves have a strong, warm curry (combination of nuts and lemons) aroma when bruised or rubbed.

__________________________________ Dahi: Yogurt Dal: Dal is an Indian word, which includes dried peas, beans, and lentils that are red, yellow orange, or pink, plus split peas and other legumes. Dal can also be used to describe a soup like dish prepared with lentils. Dals are the primary source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Dals are cooked whole or pureed, depending on the dish. Ground powdered dal is used in unleavened breads and crackers, and even in spice mixtures Dalchini or Darchim: Cinnamon Dewa: Lentils. There are over sixty types of lentils. The most common types are masoor, channa, and urid. Dhansak: Traditional chicken or meat dish cooked in lentil and vegetable puree. Doroo: Celery Dosa: A popular delicacy from southern India made from rice and "urad" dal. They are usually made very thin and pancake-like and sometimes filled with a spiced potato mixture. Served with chutney and "sambar". Dum: A way to steam foods in a pot with a tightly covered lid or a sealed pot. A popular spiced vegetable dish is "Dum Aloo".

In the olden days, the utensil was sealed with atta (dough) to capture the moisture within the food as it cooked slowly over a charcoal fire. Some coal was placed on the lid to ensure even cooking. The food continued to cook in its own steam, retaining all its flavor and aroma. Dum means, "to steam" or "mature" a dish. __________________________________ Elaichi: Cardamom __________________________________ Feni: The Goan drink made from cashews or coconut is the perfect beach drink. It was originally a very basic and local drink, much like toddy. __________________________________ Goor or gur: Jaggery (palm sugar) or molasses. Gosht: Lamb Gulab Jamun: Deep-fried cake balls served with aromatic syrups. Gurda: Kidney. __________________________________ Haldi or Huldi: Turmeric. Haldi is a very important Indian spice. It is the basis for all Indian curry spice blends. Halvah: Indian sweet made from a variety of finely grated vegetables, milk, and sugar and flavored with cardamom. The consistency is that of a thick pudding. Among the popular halvah is the "Gajar Halvah".

Hing: Asafetida is the dried gum resin of an East Indian plant. It has a strong odor and the flavor is a little like "spicy garlic. Usually just a pinch is used for cooking mainly fish, vegetables and making "Indian pickles". It is available in a yellow powdered form. __________________________________ Idli: South Indian steamed rice cakes: a very popular snack from the south of India. Generally eaten with "sambar" and "chutney". Imli: Tamarind. Jaifal or Taifal: Nutmeg Jal frezi: Saut� or stir-fry. Jalebi: These sweet crisp round whirls, made from plain flour and water deep-fried and then dipped in sugar syrup, served hot or cold, make a favorite Indian dessert. Kala jeera: Black cumin seeds. Kala namak: Black salt. Kaleji: Liver. Kalongi: Nigella, similar to wild onion seeds. Karanji: Pastries made out of whole-wheat flour and filled with a cooked mixture of freshly grated coconut and sugar. It is a Maharashtrian delicacy.

Karela: Small, dark green, knobby vegetable of the gourd family. Kashmir Chicken: Whole chicken stuffed with minced meat. Katori: Small serving bowls which go on a thaali (tray). Kebabs: Marinated and spiced small pieces of any meat, poultry, fish, ground meat, vegetables, skewered and grilled in a tandoor/oven or over a grill. Kebabs can also be shallow fried over a pan. Keema: Ground meat, raw or cooked. Kheer: Essentially a rice pudding, made with rice, milk and sugar flavored with cardamom. Sometimes nuts are added. Served either hot or cold. Khoya: Also known as "mawa" is made by bringing milk to a boil in a pot and stirring continuously thereafter on a low flame. It is then reduced and thickened to the consistency of soft cream cheese. Used widely in the making of many Indian desserts and sweet meats. Khurzi: Lamb or chicken, whole with spicy stuffing. Kish mish: Sultanas Koftas: Spiced meat or vegetable balls deep-fried and served with a curry sauce. Kokum: A variety of plum, pitted and dried.

They are very sour. Korma: Rich sauce thickened with yogurt, nuts or poppy seeds, fragrantly seasoned with aromatic spices. Kulcha: Flatbread often stuffed with onion or potatoes and seasoned with cilantro. Kulfi: Sweet, aromatic ice cream made from cream, milk, and sugar flavored with mango, pistachios, saffron etc. __________________________________ Lasan: Garlic Lassi: A tall cool drink made from yogurt and water and made either sweet or salty. Lavang: Cloves Makhani: A traditional dish. Tandoori chicken is cooked in ghee and tomato sauce. Makke: Corn flour Maiai: Cream Masala: Spices, herbs and other seasonings ground or pounded together. When wet ingredients like water, vinegar, yogurt etc. are added to the spice mixture it is appropriately called a "wet masala". Dry spice mixtures are also called "Garam masala" or commonly known in the world as "Curry powder". Indian cooks generally don't use pre-prepared curry powder (originally a British invention to approximate Indian seasoning) but prefer making their own ever-changing blends.

Malaya: The curries of Malaya are traditionally cooked with coconut, chili, and ginger. Mama: Puffed basmati rice. Masala Dabba: Spice box containing the commonly used dry spices and is always kept near the cooking range for easy and quick access. A spoon is included for ease of use. Masoor: Red lentil with a green skin. Mattar or Mutter: Green peas. Mattar Paneer or Mutter Paneer: Curried peas with cubes of fried homemade cheese. Methi: Fenugreek. Mirch: Pepper. For centuries the most important spice, gaining the title king of spices. It grows on vines that flower triennially and produce clusters of berries, which are picked and dried which then become peppercorns. Green, black, and white are not different varieties. All peppercorns are green when picked and must be bottled or freeze-dried at once to retain the color. Black pepper is the dried berry. White pepper is obtained by soaking off the black skin of the berry. Peppercorns are a heat agent and can be used whole or ground. Mollee: Fish dishes cooked in coconut and chili. Moong: One of the more commonly used lentils.

It has a green skin and can be used whole, split or polished to make various dals. Munacca: Raisins Murgh: Chicken Murgh Masala: A specialty dish of whole chicken, marinated in yogurt and spices for 24 hours then stuffed and roasted. __________________________________ Naan: Indian flat bread made from wheat and baked in a tandoor. Naan keema: Baked naan bread, stuffed with a thin layer of minced meat curry Naan peshwari: Baked naan bread stuffed with almonds and or cashews and or raisins. Nargis kebab: Indian scotch egg spiced minced meat around a hard-boiled egg. Namak: Salt Nimboo: Lime __________________________________ Paan: Betel leaf stuffed with supari (betel nut), quick lime paste, kathechu paste, gulukand (rose petal preserve), fennel seeds and dried grated coconut. Paan is eaten usually after a meal and has known to aid in digestion. Paan connoisseurs always add tobacco in their paan. The paan is garnished with edible thin silver foil called "Varak".

Pakoras: Popular Indian crispy and spicy snack served usually hot out of the frying pot along with coriander chutney. A popular teatime snack served with Indian tea. Slices of different vegetables like potatoes, onion, chilies, spinach leaves, eggplant etc dipped in a batter made out of chickpea flour and a few dry spices and deep-fried. Palak or sag: Spinach or green leafy vegetable Paneer: Cheese (aka Indian cottage cheese) made from bottled milk that can be fried and curried. Papdams (Papad): Thin wafer like discs about 4 to 8 inches in diameter made from a variety of lentils, potato, shrimp, rice etc. The discs are deep-fried or dry roasted on an open flame and served as a crispy savory appetizer. Served in many Indian restaurants complimentary before a meal. Paratha: Whole-wheat unleavened flatbread. It is sometimes filled with cooked ground meat or a vegetable mixture. Slightly larger than a Chapatti and shallow fried to perfection. Pasanda: Meat, usually lamb, beaten and cooked in one piece.` Raita: A cooling chutney of vegetables and yogurt.

Rajama: Red kidney beans. Rassgulla: One of the most famous Indian sweets that originated from east India. The walnut-size balls of semolina and milk are cooked in a light sugar syrup, flavored with cardamom. Rogan Josh gosht: Rich lamb curry, literally meaning "red juice lamb". It is a traditional Northern Indian dish of lamb that is marinated in yogurt, then cooked with ghee and spices and tomato. It should be creamy and spicy  but not too hot. Roti: is Bread in Hindi. "Tandoori roti" is bread that is baked in a tandoor, "Rumali Roti" or literally meaning handkerchief bread is a kind of a thin and flaky partha made up of many layers. Ruh gulab: Rose water Sag or saag: Spinach Sagzi: The generic term for vegetables. Sambhar or sambar: Lentil curry from the south of India. Served as an accompaniment with "idli"and "dosa". Samosas: The celebrated triangular deep-fried pastry appetizers filled with vegetable or meat mixtures.

Sarson ka sag: Mustard leaves Saunf or souf: Aniseed. Seekh Kebab or sheek kebab: The word "Seekh" in Hindi means skewer. Seekh kebab simply means kebabs on a skewer. Kebabs are usually made out of ground lamb mixed with various spices, cooked in a "tandoor". Seenl: Allspice. Related to the clove family. Sev: Thin string-like fried snack preparation made out of gram flour. Used in the preparation of "Sev puri" and "Bhel Puri" or can be enjoyed just plain. Nowadays there are many spicy and non-spicy varieties of "sev" available in specialty Indian stores. Shahi: means "Royal" in Hindi Shami kebab: Round minced meat rissoles. Shashlik: Cubes of skewered lamb. Sonf: Fennel seed. Sont or Sonth: Dried ginger. Supari: Mixture of seeds and sweeteners for chewing after a meal. It usually includes aniseed or fennel, shredded betel nut, sugar balls, marrow seeds, etc.

__________________________________ Tadka: A garnish of spices and fried onions. Tadka dal: Fried lentils and spices garnished with spices and onions. Tandoor: The traditional Indian clay oven is called the "Tandoor". A Tandoor is a clay pot usually sunken neck deep in the ground. Charcoal is put on the flat bottom of the pot. The heat generated by the hot charcoal in and on the sides of the clay pot is used for cooking. Long iron rods, long enough to reach the bottom of the pot, are used in the cooking process. It is probably the most versatile kitchen equipment in the Indian kitchen. Barbecues, breads, dal, gravies made in them acquire a unique taste, very different from the food cooked on the regular kitchen oven. Tandoori Murgh: This is the bright red world famous Tandoori Chicken. Chicken marinated with spices, dried red peppers, and yogurt, cooked in a tandoor. Tej patia: Bay leaf. Thaali: A tray that holds the complete meal served in individual bowls (katori). Tikka: Skewered boneless meat cubes cooked in a tandoor.

Toor or toovar: A type of lentil. Tusci: Basil. Curry, Spice & All Things Nice: Chicken Tikka Masala (The Chicken Tikka Masala Story) Marks & Spenser claim to sell 18 tonnes a week of the stuff : 23 million portions a year are sold in Indian restaurants : 10 tonnes of it a day are produced by Noon Products destined for supermarkets : Most schools and charities in Sylhet, Bangladesh are run by proceeds from its sales : Chef Iftekar Haris from Newport, Gwent has written a musical in praise of it : Organisers of National Curry Week claim that if all the portions sold in one year in UK were stacked they would constitute a tikka tower 2770 times taller than the Greenwich Millennium Dome - and yet in an article in The Daily Telegraph in November 1999, journalist Amit Roy referred to it as a dish which does not exist in Indian cuisine. So the question is is it a genuine Indian dish or isnt it?. The name of this enigma - Chicken Tikka Masala of course.

The flagship dish of Britains newly acclaimed national cuisine boasting a huge 14.6% of the sales of the almost half a million curries consumed, on average, in the restaurants and homes of the United Kingdon every day of the year. Chicken Tikka Masala, or CTM as it was affectionately dubbed by writer Colleen Grove in Spice n Easy Magazine in November 1994, is one of those culinary fables that lend a touch of intrigue and excitement to an already exotic cuisine. The interest in CTM is quite unbelievable and it is estimated that it forms the subject of well over 60% of all enquiries directed at us from the media both in Britain and internationally. Amit Roy was quite correct to observe that the dish does not hail from India and that it was specifically created to appeal to the British palate by some very astute restaurateurs. This much is not in doubt but when one moves on to the history of the dish, fact becomes fiction and depends on just who one talks to. No Indian chef seems to have produced any real evidence that he or she first invented the dish and it is commonly thought that its invention came about almost by accident.

Journalist and restaurateur Iqbal Wahhab claims it was created when a Bangladeshi chef produced a dish of traditional Chicken Tikka only to be asked wheres my gravy?. The response was, supposedly, a can of cream of tomato soup and a few spices and the masala element was born. Top food writer Charles Campion refers to CTM as a dish invented in London in the Seventies so that the ignorant could have gravy with their chicken tikka. Several chefs have made claim to the invention of CTM but none with any evidence or witness support so the mystery will have to remain. The descendents of Sultan Ahmed Ansari, who owned the Taj Mahal in Glasgow claim he invented it in the 1950s but there is no other evidence of the dish at this early date or of the tandoor in Glasgow. The tandoor, which boosted tikka sales, had not even arrived in Britain at that time, having only been introduced to the first Indian restaurant, Moti Mahal in New Delhi in 1948. In fact this can be seen as the birth of CTM in its original form of Butter Chicken.

Lala Kundan Lal Gujral first set up in Peshawar in 1920 but came to Delhi in 1947 to set up Moti Mahal. He worked with a local man to produce the first restaurant version of the tandoor and invented tandoori spice mix for tandoori chicken -ground coriander seeds, black pepper and mild red pepper. Called Murg Makhani in Hindi, Butter Chicken originated in the 1950s at the Moti Mahal restaurant in Old Delhi. Famed for its Tandoori Chicken, the cooks there used to recycle the leftover chicken juices in the marinade trays by adding butter and tomato. This sauce was then tossed around with the tandoor-cooked chicken pieces and presto - Butter Chicken was ready! The leftover dish appealed to Delhites and was quickly lapped up by the rest of the world. So impressed was India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru by Kundal Lal's dishes that Moti Mahal became a permanent fixture in all his state banquets.

Legend has it that when former Soviet premier Nikita Kruschev was asked what he liked about India, he replied, ''Taj Mahal and Moti Mahal''. When the Shah of Iran came on a state visit to India, the Indian Education Minister Maulana Azad told him that coming to Delhi without eating at Moti Mahal was like going to Agra and not seeing the Taj Mahal. After Nehru, his daughter and then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi continued the relationship with Moti Mahal. So fascinated was she by the food that at the wedding of her younger son Sanjay Gandhi, Moti Mahal specialties dominated the dinner. Kundan Lal Gujral, a larger-than-life figure whom people still remember for his immaculate Pathani suits, handlebar moustache, love for good whisky and the favours he dispensed because of his proximity to Indira Gandhi, would personally serve his guests. His wife would begin each day grinding the masalas, a closely guarded secret, that went into the signature dishes. His son Monish and grandson Ashim keep the Moti reputation alive.

An advertisement in a programme for the London Palladium promoting Cinderella starring Cliff Richard in 1966 by The Gaylord in Mortimer Street featured what was thought to be the first tandoor dishes in Britain. Mahendra Kaul, now involved with Chor Bizarre and Viceroy Brasserie in London, sent the tandoor to USA for the Worlds Fair a few years earlier before loaning it and his staff to an unamed restaurant of a friend in United Kingdom who was on hard times before installing it in The Gaylord. However, new information from archived documents at the famous Veeraswamy in London show the tandoor was in use at the restaurant as early as 1959, some ten years before it became widely know in Britain. Top restaurateur Amin Ali, owner of The Red Fort and Soho Spice in Londons Soho remembers serving CTM when he first arrived in London in 1974. A lowly waiter at the time he remembers wondering just what the dish was.

Certainly one family to have tangible benefits from the success of CTM is that of Sheik Abdul Khalique who owns The Polash in Shoeburyness which opened in 1979. His father, Haji Abdul Razzah, returned to Bangladesh in 1985 having made sufficient profit to build The Polash Hotel in Sylhet and a Mosque and The Polash Sheba Charitable Trust were added after his death. The family firmly claim their fortunes are largely down to CTM, the mysterious Indian/British hybrid. CTM was introduced to Waitrose by G.K.Noon in 1983 when he was still in the United States and by the end of the Millennium it was generally acknowledged as the most popular single dish in Britain. For something that is so popular with the public and with the restaurateurs who make their living from it, Chicken Tikka Masala is very much a Cinderella of culinary creations. Very few recipes for CTM appear in the plethora of Indian Cuisine cookbooks that have appeared over the last twenty years and Alan Davidsons recent Oxford Companion to Food does not even consider it deserving of a listing.

Indeed, such are the passions it generates in the industry, that many top chefs refuse to cook or serve it due to its complete lack of authenticity. However, exist it does and demanded it is, so just what is Chicken Tikka Masala? Tikkas are the bite-sized chunks you cut chicken into and these are marinated and cooked in the tandoor. The masala part is where things become difficult. Masala means spices but no exact recipe for these seems to exist. CTM can be yellow, red, brownish or even green and can be very creamy, a little creamy, chilli hot or quite mild. In restaurants it tends to be a creamy sauce - not too hot; a bit tomatoey; very smooth and, all too often, quite sweet and very red. In supermarkets, once you have by-passed the masses of CTM pizzas, filled pancakes, kievs, pies, microwave rolls and so on, you come to the chilled and frozen ready meals which range from mild onion gravy to saffron cream to velvety vermillion. Created on the spur of the moment under pressure it may have been but, as a culinary concept, the dish, if not the name, already existed.

As mentioned in the previous chapter, the earliest known recipe for meat in a spicy sauce with a bread appeared on tablets found near Babylon in Mesopotamia, written in cuniform text by the Sumerians from 1700 B.C. The North Indian dishes Murg Masalla and Murgh Makhni have been part of the Indian chefs repertoire for many years. The Bombay Palace Cookbook by Stendahl in 1985 listed a recipe for Palace Murgh Kari including yoghurt, tomato paste and heavy cream and Niru Guptas Everyday Indian (1995) lists Murgh Rasedar, which includes most of the required ingredients, including cream, tomatoes and onions. The shape of things to come may have been a recipe for Shahi Chicken Masala in Mrs Balbir Singhs Indian Cookery published in 1961.

Pat Chapman, he of The Curry Club, actually lists the recipe from the Shapnil in The Polash Hotel in Sylhet Mridula Baljekar is one of the few cookery writers to have included CTM in her bestselling Complete Indian Cookbook (1993) including food colouring and tomato puree as well as double cream and almonds. Chef Mohammed Moneer introduces yet another ingredient with half a cup of coconut milk instead of cream. It seems that the ingredients generally include yoghurt, tomatoes, cream and spices as well as the chicken pieces and if you have found a version that suits you then stick to it. The Spice n Easy article in 1993 endeavoured to produce the definitive recipe from forty eight versions on offer and came up with a standard version. Chicken Tikka Masala was most certainly invented in Britain, probably by a Bangaldeshi chef, and is so popular it is even being served in some hotel restaurants in India and Bangladesh. It does not come from the Raj or the kitchens of the Moghul Emperors, but millions of people enjoy it every year and perhaps that is all the pedigree it needs!

Butter Chicken Recipe (Murgh Makhani) - Delicious Techniques Heavy cream Steps Put the ginger and garlic into a small food processor and puree, you may need to add a bit of water to make it go. If you don't have a small food processor, you can grate by hand. In a small bowl, whisk the yogurt, vegetable oil, salt, garam masala, saffron, and 2 teaspoons of the garlic ginger mixture together. Save the remaining garlic ginger mixture for the sauce. Put the chicken in a freezer bag and pour the marinade all over it, rubbing it into the chicken. Squeeze all the air out of the bag and seal it. Marinate for at least 4 hours or preferably overnight. For the sauce, puree the stewed tomatoes with their juices along with the tomato paste in a blender or food processor. Add the butter to a pot along with the green cardamom, black cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Fry the mixture until the cloves are puffy. Add the fenugreek seeds, chili peppers, and remaining garlic ginger mixture and saute until browned, and very fragrant.

Add the pureed stewed tomatoes and tomato paste and cook this mixture over medium heat until the tomatoes have become very thick and paste-like (about 45 minutes). Once the mixture starts sputtering you'll want to stir it pretty regularly to keep the sputtering under control while maintaining enough heat to reduce the liquid. While the tomatoes are reducing, grill the chicken. You can use either an outdoor grill or broiler, but in either case it needs to be very hot. You want to get the outside lightly charred, but you don't want to cook the chicken all the way through as it will finish cooking in the sauce. If you cook it completely now, it will get overcooked in the sauce. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board and let it rest for at least 10 minutes before cutting. In a blender or food processor, add the raw cashew nuts along with 2 cups of water. Puree until smooth and milk-like in color. When the tomato mixture is done caramelizing turn off the heat and add the cashew nut milk, whisking it together. Pass the sauce through a wire strainer into a saucepan, pressing on the solids with a silicone spatula to get as much sauce through as you can.

Cut the chicken into large chunks and add it to the pot with the sauce along with the salt, fenugreek leaves and garam masala. Cook this for 6-8 minutes over medium heat until the chicken is cooked through. Add the cream and stir together and then turn the heat off. Plate the butter chicken and drizzle a little extra cream on top. Garnish with some cilantro leaves.

Question: On an Indian restaurant menu what ingredient is found in a dish with `murgh' in its name?
Answer: Chicken