Catering Indian Food

How to Find a Good Indian Restaurant?

Everytime I check it seems like Indian food is only growing in popularity! Those that have tried it are hooked by its exotic and intricate flavors and those that haven't are eager to sample them. The question uppermost in the minds of most first-timers is "What shall I order when I get to the restaurant?". This is only natural since names are unfamiliar and you can end up ordering too much or getting stuff that is simply more than you bargained for! People are also keen to know how they can tell a good restaurant from a bad one, how spicy should they order their food, what those seemingly elaborate names mean and what goes with what.

The delicate balance of spices
There is a common misconception that all Indian food is drowned in spices and every dish contains at least 8-10 of them. This is not true! Thousands of delicious Indian dishes are subtly flavored with just one or two key spices that are meant to enhance the main ingredient. Some fine (and very popular) examples are Baingan Ka Bharta, Baigun Bhaja, Lehsuni Daal, Upma....

Indian Food Lunch

South Indian Recipes

By and large, South Indian cuisine is the hottest of all Indian food. Meals are centered around rice or rice-based dishes. Rice is combined with Sambaar (a soup-like lentil dish tempered with whole spices and chillies) and rasam (a hot-sour soup like lentil dish), dry and curried vegetables and meat dishes and a host of coconut-based chutneys and poppadums (deep-fried crispy lentil pancakes). South Indians are great lovers of filter coffee. Here is a small sampling from the delicious and exotic treasure house that is South Indian cooking!

Idli
No longer just a South Indian favorite, Idlis are loved and can be found just about anywhere in India. Try them and you'll see why. The batter for Idlis needs to be fermented overnight, so prepare ahead of time.

Dosa
Dosa (crispy savory pancakes) from South India is a staple food in its home region. In the rest of the country too, Dosas are hugely popular and Udipi restaurants serving them and other South Indian foods can be found in almost every suburb! Learn how to make them with my easy recipe.

Appam
Appams or Hoppers are great for mopping up delicious South Indian curries! Though easy to make, they take a little practice to perfect. The ingredients for Appam batter need to be soaked overnight so factor in the time to prepare ahead.