Indian cuisine is listed as one of the delicious international cuisines. The authentic Indian cuisine features signature dishes which are very popular throughout the world. The real delicacies of Indian cuisine are prepared using rich spices and herbs. Each of these spices and herbs gives a different flavour when added to a dish. A unique blend of these spices enhance the aroma, colour and flavour of food. Though they make the Indian food spicy and hot, people relish it.
Many foreigners can’t handle the spice
Foreign tourists love to taste the spicy food of India. However, they find it difficult to handle the strong spicy flavour of the food. At times, consumption of spicy food may lead to upset stomach, indigestion and other health issues to them as they are not used to the food. Getting used to such food may take some time but if you really want to relish Indian cuisine, customize it according to your taste. Here are a few tips that could help you to have Indian cuisine and stay trouble-free.
Tips to handle spicy Indian cuisine
Order customized food – When ordering a dish in any Indian restaurant order less spicy food. Make sure that you are stressing the point while the order is being taken. You can equally enjoy India flavours even in less spicy dishes.
- Handling the spicy tandoori chicken (barbecue) – The Indian style tandoori chicken (barbecue) is hot, spicy, yet mouth-watering dish. To bring that spiciness to that dish chicken will be marinated with a variety of spices and herbs for a few hours before cooking.
- You cannot order a less spicy tandoori. But all you can do is that you can remove the top layer of the chicken, which carries rich spices, before eating and can enjoy the dish.
- The authentic and spicy Indian pickles and chutneys – In India, it is a tradition to start a meal with pickle or chutney. Almost every vegetarian restaurant in India or a typical Indian household will surely have pickle on the dining table. You will see a variety of pickles and chutneys made from vegetables mixed with lots of powdered spices like chilli powder, turmeric, mustard powder, fenugreek powder, etc. making them hot and spicy.
- So, you need to be careful while having them. If you are trying pickle for the first time, just dip your finger in the pickle and taste it. If you like the taste and fine with the spice, take small quantity and have it with rice or bread. You can also add ghee to it to reduce the hotness/spiciness of the pickle.
- Indian tea could be spicy – Standard Indian tea is not very spicy and you will enjoy it. But many hotels offer a masala tea with ginger or cinnamon (many places offer this tea) added to it. This tea tastes totally different as the spices give it a strong flavour and aroma. People who used to it enjoy that taste. But for you it may taste weird. Therefore, it is better to have a sip and decide yourself, whether you can handle the spicy tea or not.
Others tips to handle Indian cuisine
Besides knowing how to handle spicy Indian dishes it is also important to know a few other things related to Indian dinning etiquettes and handling Indian thali to get a better idea.
- Indian dining etiquette – In India, it is a tradition to eat food with hands – usually with right hand. In most foreign countries, people use spoon and fork while eating and are generally not aware of the Indian dinning etiquette and how to eat Indian dishes with hands. Some Indian dishes cannot be eaten with spoon or fork, you need to use your fingers to eat them effortlessly. If you really want to try out eating with hands, use your right hand fingers and not your palm, to mix the rice with curry and take small portions of food.
- Handling Indian thali – A typical South Indian or North Indian thali comprises many varieties, served in one big plate and on seeing the variety you may be confused which item to start first. You need to start with Indian breads (naan, puri or chapati) along with curry or dal, followed by rice, which can be mixed either with curry, dal or yogurt. Try out ghee with curry or dal with hot rice, it gives an amazing flavour to your taste buds, but avoid it with yogurt. And at the end of your meal have the sweet dish.
By knowing what to eat, what to avoid and how to handle spicy foods relish the Indian delicacies and make it a memorable experience.