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.

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

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!

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!

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.

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

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.

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.