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: Hyderabadi Biryani · Vegetable Biryani · Vegetable Keema Biryani.
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 & Kebabs · Vegetable Tandoor · Mushroom Tandoori.
Indo-Chinese: Manchurian & chilli chicken: The Chinese cooking of Kolkata's Hakka community as adapted to Indian tastes: battered cauliflower or chicken tossed in a garlicky, soy-and-chili "Manchurian" sauce, chilli chicken or paneer with green chili and peppers, Hakka noodles and "Schezwan" fried rice. A cuisine of its own, and a fixture of most Indian restaurants' appetizer pages. On this menu as: Chilli Paneer · Baby Corn Manchurian · Paneer Schezwan Dry.
Garam masala: "Masala" simply means a spice blend, or the sauce built on one. Garam masala ("warm blend") is the finishing mix of cardamom, cinnamon, clove, cumin, black pepper and other whole spices toasted and ground, added at the end of cooking for aroma rather than heat. Every region and household has its own proportions. On this menu as: Butter Masala · Kadai Masala · Tikka Masala.
Kebabs: seekh, boti, shami: Seekh kebab is spiced minced lamb or chicken pressed around a skewer and grilled; boti is marinated cubed meat; reshmi ("silky") is chicken mince or breast in a cream marinade; shami is a pan-fried patty of minced meat and chana dal; galouti is Lucknow's melt-in-the-mouth version; chapli is the flat, coriander-seed-studded patty of Peshawar; bihari kebab is thin strips of marinated beef. On this menu as: Tandoori & Kebabs · Paneer Tikka Kebab · Achari Kebab.
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: Kulcha · Tandoor Naan · Garlic Naan.

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

Salt N Pepper Gourmet Indian Fare on our other sites

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Salt N Pepper Gourmet Indian Fare

Menu

Appetizers

Savory Chaat

Tandoori & Kebabs

Soup

Hyderabadi Biryani

Indo-Chinese Dishes

Entrees - Popular

Entrees - Vegetarian

Entrees - Non Vegetarian

Tandoori Breads

Extras or Sides

Dessert & Drinks

How these dishes compare

Salt N Pepper Gourmet Indian Fare on our other sites

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