Takeaway Menu Guide for Indian Curry

Any Indian takeaway menu contains a variety of dishes. You may be familiar with popular curries like Korma, Tikka Masala and Vindaloo but can you tell Balti from Bhuna and Rogan Josh from Jalfrezi? Read this Indian takeaway menu guide and order something different from your next visit to the curry house.

Indian Takeaway Menu

Indian takeaways usually consist of a meat or vegetable dish covered in curry sauce. The style of Indian cooking is diverse and can include oven baked, fried or marinated meat. The range of meats available from a curry house takeaway menu include chicken, lamb, beef and prawn. Most curries are served with rice or naan bread and some vegetables. Interestingly, the traditional cuisine is quite different to the popular Indian takeaway menu we see in curry houses today.

Balti House

Balti is a popular style of cooking whereby the curry is cooked and served in a flat-bottomed iron pot called a Karahi. The curry is typically stir-fried and medium-hot, served with fried green peppers and coriander. Balti food is a Punjabi recipe that combines the spices and ingredients of North Indian cuisine. Many Indian restaurants specialising in this curry have adopted the name Balti House.

Bhuna

Bhuna is a medium hot curry where spices are fried in oil. The meat is then added to the spices and cooked in its own fat to create a strong flavour. Often served with fried peppers, onions and a thick sauce.

Biryani

A dish of spiced rice garnished with almonds and sultanas. A Biryani is unique in that meat is oven baked together with the rice. Combining these ingredients allow flavours from the meat to infuse the rice. Biryani is a mild curry served with mixed vegetables.

Dhansak

Dhasak is a hot curry made with lentils, vegetables, spices, cumin seeds, ginger and garlic. Traditionally served with lamb and a hint of lemon juice. Variations of this dish can include other meats and the addition of pineapple.

Dopiaza

Dopiaza literally means “two onions” and is so-called because onions are served with the curry and used to add flavour during the cooking process. A Dopiaza is usually quite mild and can be cooked with any meat including chicken, lamb, beef or shrimp.

Jalfrezi

The Jalfrezi is a popular Indian takeaway cooked with peppers, onion, tomato and chillies to produce a spicy hot dish. The curry consists of marinated meat or vegetables fried in oil to produce a dry and thick sauce.

Korma

The Korma Indian meal is meat marinated in yoghurt or coconut milk. This very mild curry is a pale creamy dish, sweet in flavour and cooked with a choice of lamb, chicken or beef. Often served with almonds and cashew nuts. This is a popular Indian takeaway meal for those who do not like spicy food.

Madras

Madras is a spicy curry sauce containing lots of chilli powder and is not a traditional recipe. The Madras curry is very hot, red in colour and rich in tomatoes.

Moghlai

Moghlai curry is a dish influenced by the cuisine of the Mughal Empire. This mild Indian curry is rich and creamy. Often complimented by the use of ground spices and whole spices.

Pasanda

A north Indian meat dish, Pasanda is traditionally cooked with prime cut lamb. This mild dish is prepared in a marinade of yogurt, spices and garlic seasoning. Pasanda is served with tomatoes, onions, chillies and finished with black pepper.

Rogan Josh

Rogan Josh consists of meat cooked in butter at intense heat. A popular medium hot curry with a variety of spices and dried chillies. The Rogan Josh curry is traditionally cooked with lamb and served with red peppers and tomatoes.

Saag

Saag is a curry based on spinach and green leaves. It may be served plain or accompanied by other ingredients such as meat or cheese. Variations of the dish include Sarson Da Saag made from mustard leaves, Palak Aloo made with potatoes and Palak paneer containing cheese. Saag can be cooked with meat but is usually a vegetarian dish.

Tikka Masala

Tikka Masala is a mild curry usually made with chicken cutlets. Chicken Tikka is marinated chicken backed in an oven. The rich curry sauce consists of tomato coconut cream and some spices. The Masala sauce is made to appear dark red by food dyes. Chicken Tikka Masala is the most popular Indian takeaway meal on the menu!

Vindaloo

Vindaloo was originally a Portuguese dish made with pork, red wine and garlic. The curry house Vindaloo is similar to Madras but with lots more curry powder to provide a significantly hotter taste. This dish is cooked with meat and sometimes served with potato. Although Vindaloo is generally an unknown dish throughout India, it has become a famous hot Indian takeaway in the United Kingdom. Vindaloo was also a theme tune for the England football team during the 1998 World Cup.

Flaming Indian Takeaways

Try ordering a Tindaloo or Phall from the Indian takeaway menu if you want to try extreme heat. The Tindaloo typically just has more curry powder than a Vindaloo. The Phall curry is extraordinarily hot thanks to the use of hotter types of chilli such as the habanero or scotch bonnet.

Takeaway your Indian Curry Today

The “Eat It Now” online website store offers a wide selection of takeaway curries for nationwide delivery direct to your home. Visit the online takeaway to browse for an Indian takeaway in your area. Some people even try a different style of curry each week! Next time you read the takeaway menu, you will know exactly what to order.

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