Tamarind Chutney, Sabayon Sauce and More Unfamiliar Delights at an Indian Restaurant in Washington DC

by | Jan 15, 2018 | Restaurant

Search

Latest Article

Categories

Archives

People who are unfamiliar with Indian food may become passionate about the cuisine once they give it a try. Sampling several kinds of dishes with friends or choosing a sampler platter are the best options for quickly learning about the food at an Indian Restaurant in Washington DC. Authentic cuisine from India has certain similarities with other Asian food, but it also has its own unique characteristics.

Curry

The new customer at an Indian Restaurant in Washington DC is likely to encounter names of ingredients that he or she has heard of but may have never actually eaten. Curry is a prime example. This common component of Indian cuisine is a complex blend of spices, typically including chili peppers, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, and turmeric. Many U.S. residents have never eaten any food with coriander, fenugreek or turmeric, so this will be a delightful new experience.

Sabayon Sauce

Sabayon sauce is another component that is rare in American cuisine but somewhat frequent in Indian food. Egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine make up this light, sweet sauce that is whisked together. Additional flavors like lemon can be added. There is some dispute among food historians as to whether this sauce was invented in India or in Italy, as it also has been included in Italian meals for hundreds of years.

Breaking the Language Barrier

So many names of meals and individual food items on an Indian restaurant menu are foreign to U.S. residents because they aren’t immersed in this culture to any extent. Whereas they quickly recognize names like a burrito, lo mein, and lasagna, they’ve forgotten that those words are actually from other languages. Understanding this will make a menu from a restaurant like Heritage India seem less daunting.

Examples of Meals

That menu includes delicious items like samosas and aloo tikki chaat. Samosas are pastries filled with ingredients that may include chickpeas, green peas, potatoes and cauliflower, all favorites in this cuisine. Tamarind chutney, a sauce made with fruit and several spices, may be added. The potato patties known as aloo tikki chaat are very popular in India. Customers will savor the yogurt topping along with cilantro.

Related Articles