Aloo, gobi, bhindi, baingan, matar: The vegetable vocabulary of a North Indian menu: aloo is potato, gobi cauliflower, bhindi okra, baingan eggplant (bharta is roasted and mashed), matar peas, jeera cumin. Malai kofta are dumplings of paneer and potato in a creamy gravy. "Aloo gobi" is potato and cauliflower; "matar paneer" peas and paneer, and so on. The name is the recipe. On this menu as: Aloo Tikki · Aloo Tikki Chaat · Aloo Choley.
Naan: A leavened, teardrop-shaped bread slapped onto the wall of the tandoor, blistered and brushed with butter or ghee. Garlic, butter and cheese naan are standard; keema naan is stuffed with spiced mince, peshwari with coconut and dried fruit. Kulcha is the flakier, often stuffed (potato, onion, paneer) Punjabi relative. On this menu as: Naan · Garlic Naan · Aloo Naan.
Tandoori: Cooked in a tandoor, a deep, charcoal- or gas-fired clay oven that reaches very high heat. Tandoori chicken is bone-in pieces marinated in yogurt, lemon, ginger-garlic and spices (the red color is mostly Kashmiri chili or food coloring), skewered and roasted until charred. Naan is slapped onto the same oven's walls. On this menu as: Tandoori · Tandoori Chicken (Half) · Tandoori Chicken (Full).
Chaat: The tangy, crunchy, sweet-sour-spicy family of Indian street snacks: crisp bases (papdi wafers, puffed rice for bhel, potato patties for aloo tikki chaat) piled with chickpeas, yogurt, tamarind and mint chutneys, chaat masala, onion and sev (crunchy chickpea-flour threads). Meant to be eaten immediately, before it goes soft. On this menu as: Chat Papri · Chicken Chat · Aloo Tikki.
Saag & palak: Saag means cooked greens: spinach, mustard, fenugreek or a mix. palak is specifically spinach. Puréed and simmered with ginger, garlic and cream, then paired with paneer, chicken or lamb. Sarson ka saag (mustard greens) with corn flatbread (makki di roti) is the Punjabi winter classic. On this menu as: Chicken Saag · Lamb Saag · Shrimp Saag.
Biryani: Long-grain basmati layered with marinated meat, fried onions, saffron and whole spices and cooked "dum", sealed under a lid so the rice steams in the meat's juices. Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kolkata (with a potato and egg), Malabar and Sindh each have their own. Served with raita and often a thin gravy (salan). Pulao is the simpler, single-pot cousin. On this menu as: Vegetable Biryani · Chicken Biryani · Lamb Biryani.

How these dishes compare

Tikkatypically $15 across 366 menus
Biryanitypically $16 across 345 menus
Daltypically $11.99 across 344 menus
Naantypically $3.99 across 337 menus
Samosatypically $6.99 across 337 menus
Butter chicken (murgh makhani)typically $16 across 318 menus
Tandooritypically $11.97 across 316 menus
Roti, chapati & parathatypically $4 across 313 menus

Mela Modern Indian Cuisine on our other sites

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Mela Modern Indian Cuisine

Menu

Appetizers

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Seafood

Vegetables

Tandoori

Modern Indian Creations

Rice Dishes

Mela Special Dinners

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Desserts

Beverages

How these dishes compare

Mela Modern Indian Cuisine on our other sites

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