Understanding Indian Restaurant Menus: A Quick Reference

Most Indian menu names describe either the style of gravy or the way it's cooked. Learn about a dozen words and the whole menu opens up.

Cooking styles

• Tandoori — cooked in the clay oven. Dry, smoky, no gravy.
• Karahi / kadai — seared in a wok-style pan with tomato, ginger and green chili until the sauce clings. Spice-forward.
• Bhuna — the masala is fried down hard before the meat goes in. Thick, intense, minimal sauce.
• Handi — slow-cooked in a clay pot. Deeper, rounder flavor.
• Dum — sealed and steamed in its own moisture. Classic biryani method.
• Tawa — cooked on a flat griddle.

Gravy styles

• Masala — the everyday tomato-onion base. Chicken tikka masala is tandoori chicken in that base.
• Makhani — "buttery." Tomato, butter, cream. Butter chicken and dal makhani.
• Korma — mild, thick, enriched with yogurt, cream, cashew or almond. The sweetest of the gravies.
• Saag / palak — greens. Saag is mustard greens or mixed greens; palak specifically means spinach.
• Vindaloo — Goan-rooted, vinegar and chili. The hot one.
• Achari — cooked with pickling spices. Tangy and sharp.
• Saalan / shorba — a thinner, soupier gravy.

Ingredient words

• Paneer — fresh unaged cheese. Firm, mild, doesn't melt.
• Dal — lentils, and also the dish made from them.
• Chana — chickpeas. Aloo — potato. Gobi — cauliflower. Baingan — eggplant. Bhindi — okra. Keema — minced meat. Boti — boneless chunks. Malai — cream.
• Raita — yogurt with cucumber or onion. A cooling side, not a sauce.
• Ghee — clarified butter.

Bread and rice

• Naan — leavened, tandoor-baked. Roti — whole wheat, unleavened. Paratha — layered and flaky. Kulcha — stuffed naan. Bhatura — deep-fried and puffed.
• Biryani — spiced rice cooked with the meat layered in. Pulao — rice cooked in seasoned stock, milder.

Reading the heat

Terms that usually mean hotter: karahi, vindaloo, chili, achari, Chettinad. Terms that usually mean milder: makhani, korma, malai, saag.

Now go read our menu again — it should make a lot more sense. Anything still unclear, just ask us. We're at 848 Willow Ave, Hercules, closed Mondays.