List Of Indian Dinner Dishes

Dinner

In India Dinner usually refers to the main or largest meal of the day. However, depending on your culture, that could well be the second, third, or even fourth meal.

It can also refer to a formal meal where all social parties involved are formally dressed and employ a wide variety of utensils in their dining habits. In cases such as this, the meal is served in three courses: Appetizers, the Main Entree, and Dessert.

Raat Ka Khana ( Night’s food )

Indian families gather together for dinner, their main meal of the day, quite late into the evening. The course usually includes curry, rice and chapati or naan.

When it comes to food, Indians are a most gracious lot. They believe in sharing their food. In fact, in Indian restaurants, it is common for two people to buy different dishes and share both dishes between the two of them.

Etiquette for the occasion tends to vary from region to region. One agreed upon custom is the use of the left hand, which is to be avoided at all costs because it is deemed uncleanly.

List Of Indian Dinner Dishes

For the purpose of this article, I’m going to focus on the Main Entrees and Side Dishes that make dining on Indian Cuisine such a pleasure.

Rice Dishes

India is the world’s second largest producer of rice. It is the staple of most Indian dishes and has been a cornerstone of their culture, diet and economy for many years.

It’s also incredibly easy to make while also being both pleasing to the taste buds and stomach. There is a strong preference for Basmati rice (literally means “Queen of Fragrance” or “The Perfumed One”) because of it’s pleasing aroma and taste, which can be aged for up to 15 years for it to acquire. Also popular is Patna, a variety of rice with long, fat, starchy grains. When cooking rice, it is advised to wash them thoroughly to remove the husks.

Biryani is an Indian rice dish that usually contains some from of meat and/or vegetables and is considered a full meal. (Not to be confused with Pulao, which is generally seen as a side dish.) Meat commonly used in Biryani dishes can range from mutton to chicken, but every Biryani dish is unique in and of itself.

Recommended Biryani Recipes:

• Lamb Biryani

• Chicken Biryani

• Chicken and Vegetable Biryani

• Vegetable Biryani

Roti

As far as I’m concerned, no Indian Main Entree is complete without the addition of these sweet and sometimes spiced flat breads. Rotis are typically made from ground whole wheat and the addition of either millet or sorhum.

There are at least four different types of rotis: Chappatis, Parathas, Puris and Naan. They all make for excellent dipping, but are very much dependent on your own taste.

Chappatis, for example, are light and waifer-like while Parathas are kneaded shallow and then fried. Puris are deep fried, and Naan-my personal favorite- is baked.

Some Indian dishes will in fact favor Roti over the addition of rice, this is more common in North India where curries are drier.

Recommended Roti Recipes:

• Chappati

• Parathas

• Puri

• Naan

Curries

For this subsection of the article, I will be sticking mainly to the traditional Non-Vegetarian variety of curries.

These curries are most popular in North India, where the Tandoori and Moghlai dishes hail from. However, South India reigns as the region with the hottest variety of curries.

The Bengali region in particular is in a league of its own when it comes to its culinary methods. Curries are simmered slowly and for long periods of time to best extract the natural flavors and juices from the meat.

When dealing with Poultry, the older the better as older chickens possess more flavor and they can be used for long slow cooking. Caution is advised as over-cooking poultry can completely ruin the dish. Fish offers lots of possibilities preparation wise and due to it’s natural tenderness, it is very easy on the digestive system.

Recommended Chicken Curry Dishes:

• Butter Chicken

• Chicken Chettinad

• Chicken Curry

• Chicken Korma

• Chicken Masala

• Saag Chicken

• Tandoori Chicken.

Recommended Lamb Dishes:

Lamb Curry

Lamb Rogan Josh

Lamb Keema

Lamb Korma

Lamb Seekh Kebabs

Saag Gosht

Recommended Fish and Seafood Recipes:

• Coconut Mussel Curry

• Fish Curr y

• Fish Amirtsari

• Goan Shrimp Curry,

• Madras Mackerel Curry

• Shrimp Jalfrezi

• Tandoori Shrimp.