Best Indian Appetizers and Starters to Try

Starters are where Indian food is most immediately likeable. Fried, grilled, handheld, dipped — nothing here requires explaining.

Samosas

A pastry triangle filled with spiced potato and peas, fried until it shatters. Eat with tamarind chutney for sweet-sour, or mint chutney for sharp and herbal. Two per person is plenty.

Pakoras

Vegetables — onion, spinach, potato, cauliflower — dipped in a spiced chickpea batter and fried. Crisp on the outside, soft inside. Best eaten immediately, which is why we send them out first.

Chicken tikka

Boneless chicken marinated overnight in yogurt and spice, charred in the tandoor. The most ordered starter we make, and honestly the best introduction to this cuisine that exists.

Seekh kebab

Minced meat, hand-mixed with onion, green chili and coriander, packed onto a skewer and cooked over fire. Juicier than you expect. Wrap it in a piece of naan with onions and mint chutney.

Malai boti

Chicken in a cream-and-cheese marinade — mild, tender, faintly sweet. The starter for anyone who says they don't like spice.

Paneer tikka

Fresh cheese, bell pepper and onion, marinated and grilled. Substantial enough to be a main.

Chaat

Street food, and the most fun thing on the table: crisp bits, chickpeas or potato, yogurt, tamarind, mint, onion, and a sour spice mix. Sweet, sour, spicy and crunchy all at once. If you like bold food, order this before anything else.

How to order starters properly

• One fried, one from the tandoor. Contrast matters.
• Two pieces per person, not three — the mains are big.
• Chutneys are free and unlimited. Ask for extra.
• A mixed grill platter is the shortcut: several tandoori items on one plate, cheaper than ordering them separately.

Everything above is on our menu. If you're hosting, starters travel well and reheat in an oven — one reason they're the most requested part of our catering trays. Order pickup here and we'll have it ready in about 20 minutes.