Classic Indian Dishes You Need to Try

There are so many Indian dishes and cuisines that everyone should get to experience. These dishes can be cooked using traditional recipes that try to keep them as authentic as possible, or they can be prepared with modern twists to appeal to a broader customer base. There are some Indian dishes you should try regardless of how they are made, and we will look at those below. 

Biryani 

This is perhaps the most popular Indian dish outside of India. It is not originally from India as it was brought there by the Persians, but it has become so ingrained that people just assume it originated there. 

Rice, meat and sometimes vegetables are prepared separately – which can vary depending on what the chef prefers – and then later combined and cooked slowly in an oven. This dish is different from many other Indian dishes in that there is no gravy or sauce which makes some people feel the dish is too dry. 

The rice of choice is typically basmati as it produces the aromas typically associated with biryani. The meat used, which can be mutton, chicken or goat, is also marinated in yoghurt before the preparations begin. The spices typically used include cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon, although other spices are used depending on personal preferences. 

Chicken Masala 

Apart from biryani, chicken masala is perhaps the most popular Indian dish outside India. There are many ways to make chicken masala, but the original recipe includes chicken, spices, onions, tomatoes and accompaniments like rice.  

Chicken masala is often confused with chicken curry which contains cooked vegetables while masala consists mainly of chicken and masala spice. You can find amazing Bristol curry at the best Indian restaurant in Bristol, but note that it will be very different from the original or even modern chicken masala. 

You can also find grilled chicken that is then cooked using masala spices in some restaurants, although that is typically seen as a deviation from the original recipe. 

Also, you can find butter chicken masala which is a modern take on the original recipe. All these recipes have come about as people have experimented with and changed the original chicken masala recipe to suit different types of customers. 

Madras Curry 

This is a dish from Southern India which is made with chicken. For this reason, you might see it called madras chicken or chicken madras. Madras chicken is a flavourful curry and the spices used to make it can sometimes be too hot for some people.  

The dish’s red colour comes from the chillies used to make it, so this should give you an idea of how hot it can be. It is often less creamy than tikka masala and butter chicken, but it is still a curry so you can expect it to be creamy. 

Tikka Masala 

Tikka masala is prepared using pieces of chicken that have been marinated in spices and yoghurt, and garam masala. The chicken is then roasted in a tandoor oven, mixed with red chilli, paprika and tomatoes and served with rice to make tikka masala. 

India is a country full of culture, and one of its greatest exports to the world is its food. There are too many dishes to mention here, but every Indian dish is well-thought-out and created perfectly to appeal to people from different parts of the world.