Indian Food Explained: 7 Indian dishes & what they're all about 🍛
There is something super special about Indian food. It’s comforting, it’s incredibly flavourful, it’s aromatic, and it’s a feast of flavour in your mouth. We’re so lucky to have a number of killer Indian restaurants serving traditional Indian food in Malta! 😍
Wanna know more about some popular Indian dishes? We’ve got you covered! Let’s have a deeper look at some of them. 👇
Chana Aloo
This dish is a lovely Chickpea Potato Curry. It incorporates a blend of chickpeas, onions and potatoes marinated in garlic, curry, tomatoes, and ginger. For an extra kick, the Chana Aloo Curry can sometimes also contain cayenne pepper or chilli. 🌶️
Tikka Masala
Although Tikka Masala actually originated in Britain and not India, it is probably one of the most popular dishes in any Indian restaurant. The most common protein used in this dish is chicken, which is marinated in yoghurt and a number of spices, like garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, garam masala, paprika and chilli. In India, the closest representation to this dish is the world famous 'Butter Chicken', which can be found all around the country!👌
The sauce is made from tomatoes, cream, garlic, onions, and the same spices used to marinade the protein. This has to be one of my favs! 😋
Vindaloo
This Portuguese-influenced curry dish is considered to be one of the spiciest Indian curries. It basically consists of meat that is marinated in vindaloo paste, which is made from vinegar-soaked chillies blended with ginger, garlic, and a freshly-ground mix of coriander seeds, cumin, pepper, mustard seeds, cinnamon, cloves and green cardamoms. 🍛
The meat is then sauteed with some onions, vinegar and sugar in a pan, and water (or sometimes even tomato puree) is added to create a sauce. Super spicy but super yummy! 🔥
Makhani
Makhani (“with butter”) is the sauce that accompanies the famous Butter Chicken dish. There’s a vegetarian option, Dal Makhani, which uses lentils instead of meat. To make a makhani sauce, fresh tomatoes are cooked with garlic and cardamom and then pureed. Butter, spices and Khoa (dried whole milk) are then added and the protein is cooked in this sauce, together with ginger, onions, and garlic. 🧄
You can find Dal Makhani, and most of the others on this list (and many more authentic Indian dishes!), at The Tiffin Box at The Plaza Food Hall. ✌️
Aloo Gobi
This dish is super comforting and super flavourful. It consists of potatoes (aloo) and cauliflower (gobi) mixed with some Indian spices, including nigella seeds, curry leaves, cumin and turmeric which gives the dish its yellow colour. Aloo Gobi usually also includes garlic, ginger, onions, tomatoes, celery and peas. Packed with flavour! 🤤
Tandoori
Probably one of the most popular dishes in any Indian restaurant is Tandoori Chicken. The name comes from the clay oven that the dish is usually cooked in: a tandoor. The chicken (or any other protein) is marinated in a number of spices and yoghurt (dahi or curd) which makes the meat tender and flavourful. The traditional recipe also uses a stand-out ingredient: mustard oil. 🤩
The tandoori has a distinct fiery reddish colour which comes from a red chilli powder used in the marination process. To prepare this dish, the meat is marinated twice; first, in some spices for 45 minutes to 1 hour, and second, in the yoghurt and more spices for at least 8 hours. So much dedication! 💪
Matar Paneer
Paneer is probably one of my favourite Indian foods. It is similar to cottage cheese, so it’s soft but still has a bit of bite to it. 😎
Matar Paneer is a vegetarian dish made from paneer and peas cooked in a tomato-based creamy sauce and a number of Indian spices, including garam masala, coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder. This dish originates from the northern parts of India and is typically served with rice or naan bread. This one’s definitely on my must-try list. 😌
Do you want to know more about Indian food? Which Indian dish is your favourite? Let us know in the comments! 😏
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