Indian food the whole family can enjoy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most Indian restaurants will let you dictate the level of heat.

They do, but the minimum level for many dishes is still quite spicy for some people.

At the South Indian restaurant that we order from, even their mildest versions of certain curries, like chana masala or bagara baingan are still fairly spicy. On the other hand, certain dishes are inherently mild, such as malai kofta, paneer butter masala, and palak paneer.

Some Indian restaurants will have non-Indian dishes on their menu to appease those who prefer more bland things. Ours includes a pseudo-Chinese menu with things like veggies noodles and veggies fried rice, as well as a "pizza dosa."

Indo-Chinese food is actually a type of cuisine very popular in India and it has a very different flavor profile than American-Chinese food or even Chinese food that is available in China, Taiwan or Singapore etc.

That's interesting and good to know. The veggie noodles and veggie fried rice taste similar to their Chinese restaurant counterparts, except that they do not include egg as it is a vegetarian restaurant. Other items could be more what you are talking about. Those other items are spicy though and would not help OP.

[Anonymous]

Biryani is another option that is typically not spicy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are Indian-American. Tolerance and taste for spices comes over time. When they were little, I was making fresh baby food for them (rice, lentils, veggies khichadi) that was mainly Indian but I was not going beyond a smidgen of turmeric, cumin and salt for their food. My kids were very reluctant to have spicy food that had heat in it, or that had a distinctive smell like asafoetida or fenugreek herb when they were younger. Obviously, we were making Indian food at least twice or thrice a week at home, so we had to really make sure that we were careful in what spices we were putting in em. Restaurant foods are oily and spicier. And even if they can adjust for hot spices, they very rarely will adjust the quantity of oil, ghee, butter and cream.

I would say that telling the restaurant that you need zero heat (no mirch, and no garam masala) will go a long way in cutting down the heat. They are used to non-Indians not being able to eat spicy food. Usual fare like Palaak paneer, butter chicken, palak-corn, butter paneer, shahi paneer, aloo-dum, baigan bharta, daal makhani etc will work. The raita given at most places are not to my kids liking. It should not be so sour or tangy. We make amazing raita at home.

Easy things to learn at home - daal, daal makhani, cholle, rajma, rice, peas pilaf (or any other veggi pilaf), raita, sauteed cauliflower (gobi bhujia), okra, eggplant bharta, gobi aloo. The base for most north Indian curries can be made by onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cilantro, deseeded green chillies, and for spices just have - turmeric, cumin, paprika, cardamom, coriander seeds. You can make seriously delicious food with just these spices.

I have converted many of my kid's friends to Indian food because they have had food at our house and experienced the "flavor explosion" of home cooked Indian food.

I am SO hungry right now. Yum. Especially for home made raita.

[Anonymous]

Haandi in Falls Church. Get the lamb korma. It has dairy in it. Cream sauce is your friend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Haandi in Falls Church. Get the lamb korma. It has dairy in it. Cream sauce is your friend.

I would add that the taste is complex, but not hot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are Indian-American. Tolerance and taste for spices comes over time. When they were little, I was making fresh baby food for them (rice, lentils, veggies khichadi) that was mainly Indian but I was not going beyond a smidgen of turmeric, cumin and salt for their food. My kids were very reluctant to have spicy food that had heat in it, or that had a distinctive smell like asafoetida or fenugreek herb when they were younger. Obviously, we were making Indian food at least twice or thrice a week at home, so we had to really make sure that we were careful in what spices we were putting in em. Restaurant foods are oily and spicier. And even if they can adjust for hot spices, they very rarely will adjust the quantity of oil, ghee, butter and cream.

I would say that telling the restaurant that you need zero heat (no mirch, and no garam masala) will go a long way in cutting down the heat. They are used to non-Indians not being able to eat spicy food. Usual fare like Palaak paneer, butter chicken, palak-corn, butter paneer, shahi paneer, aloo-dum, baigan bharta, daal makhani etc will work. The raita given at most places are not to my kids liking. It should not be so sour or tangy. We make amazing raita at home.

Easy things to learn at home - daal, daal makhani, cholle, rajma, rice, peas pilaf (or any other veggi pilaf), raita, sauteed cauliflower (gobi bhujia), okra, eggplant bharta, gobi aloo. The base for most north Indian curries can be made by onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cilantro, deseeded green chillies, and for spices just have - turmeric, cumin, paprika, cardamom, coriander seeds. You can make seriously delicious food with just these spices.

I have converted many of my kid's friends to Indian food because they have had food at our house and experienced the "flavor explosion" of home cooked Indian food.

We love taita and never new it was not supposed to be tangy. Please share your recipe!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are Indian-American. Tolerance and taste for spices comes over time. When they were little, I was making fresh baby food for them (rice, lentils, veggies khichadi) that was mainly Indian but I was not going beyond a smidgen of turmeric, cumin and salt for their food. My kids were very reluctant to have spicy food that had heat in it, or that had a distinctive smell like asafoetida or fenugreek herb when they were younger. Obviously, we were making Indian food at least twice or thrice a week at home, so we had to really make sure that we were careful in what spices we were putting in em. Restaurant foods are oily and spicier. And even if they can adjust for hot spices, they very rarely will adjust the quantity of oil, ghee, butter and cream.

I would say that telling the restaurant that you need zero heat (no mirch, and no garam masala) will go a long way in cutting down the heat. They are used to non-Indians not being able to eat spicy food. Usual fare like Palaak paneer, butter chicken, palak-corn, butter paneer, shahi paneer, aloo-dum, baigan bharta, daal makhani etc will work. The raita given at most places are not to my kids liking. It should not be so sour or tangy. We make amazing raita at home.

Easy things to learn at home - daal, daal makhani, cholle, rajma, rice, peas pilaf (or any other veggi pilaf), raita, sauteed cauliflower (gobi bhujia), okra, eggplant bharta, gobi aloo. The base for most north Indian curries can be made by onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cilantro, deseeded green chillies, and for spices just have - turmeric, cumin, paprika, cardamom, coriander seeds. You can make seriously delicious food with just these spices.

I have converted many of my kid's friends to Indian food because they have had food at our house and experienced the "flavor explosion" of home cooked Indian food.

We love taita and never new it was not supposed to be tangy. Please share your recipe!

Sorry PP here - I meant Raita. Sorry!

[Anonymous]

As an Indian American I will say that most of the Indian food served at restaurants is on the blander side--so if you consider this too much spice, than I think a better bet would be to make it at home so you can control the heat.

Some easier to make options may be:

1. Daal/lentils with rice
2. Tandoori chicken (buy a mix at the groceries, don't add any of your own things to eat except for more yogurt)
3. Buy frozen roti
4. egg curry

[Anonymous]

It'll be hard to find it in DC main but in the MD/VA suburbs, you'd be able to find plenty of Indian meal delivery services. They might make food to your preference. Additionally, if you want this regularly, you could go talk/ call a restaurant and ask them if they can make nonspicy dishes for you on the regular. Like most have said, the easiest would be to just make your own.

I am Indian, and this is the easiest way I think you can make 'curry' -

Saute a chopped medium-sized onion. When it's a bit translucent, add minced ginger-garlic. Let that cook on medium heat for a minute, then add a couple of chopped tomatoes. Let this cook for a while (15 minutes or so). Salt this to your taste. I would add some cumin powder, coriander powder, and some chili powder( which you can add some or totally skip). Turn the heat off and let it cool. Blend and store in a jar. This should stay ok for a while, especially if you really cook all the moisture from the tomatoes, which might take longer. Else, you can freeze this. You can easily double this or change proportions by adding more or less of the ingredients. Now whenever you want Indian, you can use this 'masala' and cook whatever veggie or meat you want in it. Adjust salt, add some curry powder or garam masala, some lemon juice, and chopped fresh cilantro. It would not be the best but still should be pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are Indian-American. Tolerance and taste for spices comes over time. When they were little, I was making fresh baby food for them (rice, lentils, veggies khichadi) that was mainly Indian but I was not going beyond a smidgen of turmeric, cumin and salt for their food. My kids were very reluctant to have spicy food that had heat in it, or that had a distinctive smell like asafoetida or fenugreek herb when they were younger. Obviously, we were making Indian food at least twice or thrice a week at home, so we had to really make sure that we were careful in what spices we were putting in em. Restaurant foods are oily and spicier. And even if they can adjust for hot spices, they very rarely will adjust the quantity of oil, ghee, butter and cream.

I would say that telling the restaurant that you need zero heat (no mirch, and no garam masala) will go a long way in cutting down the heat. They are used to non-Indians not being able to eat spicy food. Usual fare like Palaak paneer, butter chicken, palak-corn, butter paneer, shahi paneer, aloo-dum, baigan bharta, daal makhani etc will work. The raita given at most places are not to my kids liking. It should not be so sour or tangy. We make amazing raita at home.

Easy things to learn at home - daal, daal makhani, cholle, rajma, rice, peas pilaf (or any other veggi pilaf), raita, sauteed cauliflower (gobi bhujia), okra, eggplant bharta, gobi aloo. The base for most north Indian curries can be made by onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, cilantro, deseeded green chillies, and for spices just have - turmeric, cumin, paprika, cardamom, coriander seeds. You can make seriously delicious food with just these spices.

I have converted many of my kid's friends to Indian food because they have had food at our house and experienced the "flavor explosion" of home cooked Indian food.

We love taita and never new it was not supposed to be tangy. Please share your recipe!

Sorry PP here - I meant Raita. Sorry!

Not the PP you replied to, but raita can be done so many ways. One of my favorites is with grated cucumbers, mint, roasted cumin, and pink salt. This is somewhat like tzatziki but with more yogurt. Another one I like is very finely chopped tomatoes, onions, and fresh cilantro in yogurt, again with some regular or pink salt. A very popular one uses 'boondi' that you can get at indian grocery stores - its small fried crunchy chickpea flour balls, Some people soak them in water and then they are a very soft in raita and some people just add them as is to give its some nice crunch. Season this as per your taste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Biryani is another option that is typically not spicy.

I love spicy biryani. Our local place makes a vindaloo version. The best way to get a non-spicy dish is to ask, some places think Americans like spice and give everything a little heat

[Anonymous]

Growing up, my mom would just tell me to pick out the green chilies if any landed in my plate and made sure I had a big glass of milk with my dinner.

[Anonymous]

Naan - that's the only thing without spice in Indian cooking.
sorry

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Growing up, my mom would just tell me to pick out the green chilies if any landed in my plate and made sure I had a big glass of milk with my dinner.

yes! you can mix in yogurt with your curries to blunt the spiciness.

[Anonymous]

Raita is a matter of taste. We like it really tangy in our family. I always make it with old yogurt. Others might prefer it milder. There’s no rule set in stone.