# MMMM.....Indian food :) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [June 16, 2005, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591 "2005-06-16T18:34:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/41 "2005-06-22T15:04:32Z")
I just stumbled across this thread a few days late, but I have to mention that the place I used to work at had, across the street one way, a sweet shop with great samosas (nice chunky potatoes, peas, onion, and the perfect mix of spices) and two pretty good restaurants, and across the street the other way, a “California-influenced” place. (I think that last is just that they use avocado in some dishes.) There are more within a short drive, including an Afghan place that makes a great biryani, usually chicken but some days lamb, or even goat. I miss Vancouver food! ---
**Author:** ![Mycroft\_Holmes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a5b964/32.png) [@Mycroft\_Holmes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mycroft_Holmes)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/42 "2005-06-22T15:44:37Z")
My current favourite ethnic food is currently Surinamese. We have quite a few Surinamese restaurants here in the Netherlands (Surinam used to be a Dutch colony). It is a very interesting mix of Indian (there are a lot of Indians in Surinam), soul food (former African slave influence), carribean and other exotic cuisines. It is delicious! ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/43 "2005-06-22T15:46:51Z")
I like Indian food, but it disagrees with me somewhat so I really limit my intake. Certainly no more often than once a month, and more often it’s several months in between. Don’t know why, I like the flavors, but it gives me intense heartburn afterwards. This is not a problem at all with Thai, Mexican, Vietnamese or just plain American spicy foods. The best I’ve has was in Dhammam and Bangkok. I’d love to give it a try in India sometime but I’m sure I’d need a local guide (hint, hint, **Ana** 😉 ). I even balked a bit on a work assignment in India since I feared I’d end up with chronic heartburn or worse digestive issues. Kind of regret that now, I’m sure there would have been some way around it. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/44 "2005-06-22T15:59:49Z")
I’ve been eating at a Nepalese place that has a buffet, so I have no idea what I’m eating. But DAMN. Naan and Kheer, and I’m your best friend. What’s that spinachy stuff (not saag)? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/45 "2005-06-22T16:06:48Z")
I love Indian food. Lamb Vindaloo is my fave. Chicken Tikka Masala is great. Indian is one of the only things I’ll actually eat vegetarian and be happy. “Palak Paneer” is some of that “curd” stuff in a creamy spinach sauce. Delectable. A place in town makes this dish called “Bhindi Masala”. It’s an okra dish where the okra is kind of fried. Mind blowing. I tried and failed to make it several times. Anyway, because I love to cook, about a year ago (maybe less) I decided, “for all the Indian I eat, I sure would like to make it.” There’s an Indian grocery nearby that hooked me up with mustard seed, cardamom pods, cinamon sticks, garam masala, coriander powder. You can get pre-made curry pastes there, coconut milk. You can get lamb and goat from them. Anyway, I’ve started making some damn tasty indian dishes, lamb biryani, lamb malai kofta (or something like that). And, her recipe for “Dry Okra” approximates the one that I was getting at that restaurant and was worth the price of the book alone. It’s one of the books by Jaffrey, but I didn’t seen the specific one at [amazon.com](http://amazon.com). The dishes are somewhat complicated, but I was able to make some changes on my own for simplicity and to account for lack of ingredients. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/46 "2005-06-22T16:08:33Z")
The other night, I made my own version of chicken tandoori on the outdoor grill (I started a thread about it, thinking I made chicken tikka masala), and picked up some great naan from–of all places–the Super Target bakery! It was a bit pricey, at $3.99 for a bag of five, but well worth it as a rare treat when I can’t actually drag people out to an Indian restaurant. I fried it in a pan with some not-quite-butter and really thin-sliced onions, and it came out delicious. ---
**Author:** ![Girl\_From\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3da27b/32.png) [@Girl\_From\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Girl_From_Mars)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/47 "2005-06-22T16:22:23Z")
I’m having indian tonight too - making (for the first time) rajma with a side of jeera, pulled out of a recipe book as I had all the ingredients to hand - nice to have the time to cook this sort of thing from scratch! All it needs is naan (don’t have any sadly, and can’t be bothered to make that from scratch!) ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/48 "2005-06-22T16:45:02Z")
We haven’t actually made Naan from scratch but that’s next on my list. I’m ASSUMING that baking it on a pizza stone in an over at 525 ought to be good enough. ---
**Author:** ![dasgupta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e56c9b/32.png) [@dasgupta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dasgupta)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/49 "2005-06-22T16:55:00Z")
For something a little different and just as good, you could try to track down an Indian-Chinese resturant. There’s a great out of the way place in Jackson Heights (Indian Taj) for anyone in the area. Salt lassis - I salt almost anything, but my girlfriend orders these; I always give it a chance, but I still don’t see the appeal. It’s like a salt lick for humans. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/50 "2005-06-22T17:46:11Z")
Mmmmm! Onion bhajis, lamb pasanda, mattar paneer and naan - I think we’re going to visit Passage to India again this weekend! ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/51 "2005-06-22T17:57:17Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > There’s an Indian grocery nearby that hooked me up with mustard seed, cardamom pods, cinamon sticks, garam masala, coriander powder. You can get pre-made curry pastes there, coconut milk. You can get lamb and goat from them. What’s the name of the place and where is it? There’s one sort of near my house (on Harford Road right at 695). The people there are little standoffish, though, so they’re not very helpful. I tried making samosas a few weekends ago. The filling was really good, but I used a savory flaky pastry dough for the shell. I want something a bit more authentic. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/52 "2005-06-22T18:21:03Z")
I am so spoiled. Not only do we have several good Indian restaurants nearby, a few within walking distance, but my boyfriend regularly makes me Indian food from scratch. You name it, he can make it. Even naan comes out pretty well in a super-hot oven on a pizza stone (though not quite the same as done in a tandoor). ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/53 "2005-06-22T18:28:08Z")
> [@UrbanChic](#): > > What’s the name of the place and where is it? There’s one sort of near my house (on Harford Road right at 695). The people there are little standoffish, though, so they’re not very helpful. > > I tried making samosas a few weekends ago. The filling was really good, but I used a savory flaky pastry dough for the shell. I want something a bit more authentic. It’s called “Punjab”. It’s on 33rd St. about a block east of Greenmount. Tons of spices, jarred stuff, big bags of basmati rice. They’re friendly. I haven’t asked for very much actual cooking advice though. Sometimes they have samosas at the front counter. I don’t think I’ve eaten at Mughal Garden. I’ve been to the Bombay Grill down town. We got TERRIBLE service there. But good food. My two other faves are Akbar (great service, good prices for the food, which isn’t the best) and “The Ambassador”. They are definitely more expensive but the food is great as is the atmosphere and the service. ---
**Author:** ![UrbanChic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9dc877/32.png) [@UrbanChic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UrbanChic)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/54 "2005-06-22T19:06:00Z")
The Ambassador is, hands down, the best Indian restaurant in Baltimore. If you think the Bombay Grill on Lombard Street is good, you’re going to think Mughal Garden is nirvana. My friend and I refer to that Bombay Grill as ‘The Crappy Indian Place Across the Street’–the food and the service is terrible. I was in Waverly this past Sunday. I stopped by the new Giant and took a tour of the Y. I’ll swing by the Punjab Sunday after I go to the Farmers’ Market. Do you know if they’re open on Sundays? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/55 "2005-06-22T19:17:18Z")
not sure. I think they are, but they are right there near the waverly farmer’s market. wherever you park, it’ll be a short walk. that whole area is kicking some ass, isn’t it? some of my hampden friends shop at the waverly giant just because they think it’s so nice. they’re joining the Y, too. if you’ve been around that area, when you see Punjab, you’ll go, “I can’t believe I haven’t noticed that before.” It’s tucked back a bit. I THINK that the Papa Johns is right next to it. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2005, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/56 "2005-06-22T19:23:29Z")
I’m Indian and lived in the US for almost all my life. The thing is, most of the food that people call “Indian food” is Punjabi food. This includes Tandoori chicken, chicken tikka masala, saag paneer and naan. The other food that people call Indian are the dosa and idli, which are South Indian. However, many of the other parts of India also produce great food. Unless you go looking for one, you’re not likely to see many Gujarati restaurants (except in places like Edison, NJ or Jackson Heights, NY). But as a lover of all types of Indian foods, Gujarati food is my favorite. Of course, I’m Gujarati so that might explain why. I guess the point of this post is that, IMHO, describing food as “Indian” is like calling food “European”. It really doesn’t mean much unless you are more specific. Also, the best Punjabi food that I’ve ever had was in Bombay (Mumbai). For all lovers of this food, I promise you that no matter how good you think that the Punjabi food was that you ate in the US, it is better in Bombay. I went there in 2002 for the first time since I was a kid and I’m convinced! Of course, I’ve never been to Punjab. ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/57 "2005-07-21T17:59:34Z")
Well, placed another order this afternoon, giving some other items a try per reccomendations here… Vegetable Samosa, Chicken Tikka, and Garlic Naan, probably order a Lassi when i go to pick it up… updates after i eat it, mouth is watering already… ---
**Author:** ![MacTech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MacTech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacTech)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2005, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/58 "2005-07-21T21:24:14Z")
Veggie Samosa- MMMM…crispy, spicy (not the _hot_ kind of spicy, the _yummy_ kind of spicy) potatoey goodness Chicken Tikka- dear Og, is it _possible_ for chicken to taste this _good_? on a scale of 1-10, it’s a 12 Garlic Naan- MMMMMM…fresh bread, indescribably delicious side question though, typically what’s the green salty-savory-sweet condiment called, i could eat that stuff just by itself… ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/59 "2005-07-22T02:53:44Z")
There is only one Indian restaurant in town and it’s about 20 miles from me. Never been there, but damn if this thread hasn’t sent me on a mission. The city of Toledo is touted as having the most restaurants per capita in the U.S. yet we have exactly one Sushi restaurant and one Indian restaurant! Go figure. Guess that shows exactly how “Wonder Bread” we really are. Luckily I live fairly close to one of the best kept secrets here, a tiny family run Thai restaurant with incredible authentic food at bargain prices. Love their red curry! I will be careful if I request extra hot (spicy) again. I love it that way, but I had a hard time with the last curry I had… it introduced me to an entirely new style of fiery mouth! ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591/60 "2005-07-22T03:11:33Z")
Since I have never been to an Indian restaurant and am only passingly familiar with the dishes mentioned here from your descriptions, what would some of you reccommend I order when I go? Consider that the restaurant is called Tandoor Cuisine of India, and I imagine it is a typical American/Indian restaurant. What is the penultimate Indian menu? What should I start with? What sides should I make sure to try? Beverages? I like most everything and have no restrictions, the hotter the better. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mmmm-indian-food/308591.md?page=4)