Popular Indian Dishes

Achar: Any kind of pickle
Aloo: Potato
Biryani: A fancy rice casserole, often containing meat, poultry, seafood or vegetables
Chapati/Roti: Thin bread cooked on the griddle
Dal: Any kind of legume--beans, peas, or lentils
Dosa: Crispy, crepe-like southern Indian specialty filled with potatoes or vegetables
Ghee: Clarified butter
Gosht: Meat
Korma: Braised meats in a thick, mild creamy sauce
Kulcha: Tender, pita-like bread cooked in the tandoor
Lassi: A refreshing, creamy yogurt drink that can be sweet or salty
Masala: Spice blend
Naan: Flat, oval bread cooked in the tandoor
Pakora: Fritter dipped in a spicy chickpea batter; can be made with vegetables, cheese, chicken or seafood
Paneer: Cheese
Pappadum: Spicy lentil wafers
Paratha: Flaky bread fried on the griddle
Poori: Airy, deep-fried bread
Pulao: An aromatic rice pilaf
Raita: A yogurt-based condiment usually containing vegetables
Rasam: A thin, spicy broth
Saag: Spinach, but can also refer to other greens
Sambar: An extremely spicy broth popular in southern India
Samosa: Flaky, pyramid-shaped pastry stuffed with potatoes or ground meat; a traditional Indian snack
Tandoor: A deep, clay oven that has very high temperatures
Tandoori: Any dish cooked in a tandoor
Vindaloo: An extremely spicy curry dish that's a regional specialty of Goa

A to Z Glossary

A Achar. Pickle.
Adrak. Ginger.
Ajwain or Ajowain. Lovage.

Aloo. Potato.

Alu chole. A vegetarian dish using chickpeas, potatoes and tamarind. Alur dom. A dish using whole potatoes.

Am. Mango.

Am chur. Mango powder. A very sour flavouring agent.

Aniseed. Sanuf.

Areca. Betel nut.

Asafoetida Hing. Gum obtained from root of giant fennel-like plant. Used in powder or resin form. A rather smelly spice. Aserio.

Aniseed.

Ata or Atta. Chupatti flour. Fine wholemeal flour used in most Indian breads. English wholemeal is a suitable alternative.

B

Badai. Aniseed stars.

Badam. Almond. Bargar. The process of frying whole spices in hot oil. Basmati. The best type of long grain rice. Bay leaf. Tej patia. This very well known leaf is used fresh or dried in certain Indian recipes. Besan. Chickpea flour. Bhajee or bhaji. Dryish mild vegetable curry. Bhajia. Deep fried fritter, usually onion. See pakora. Bhare. Stuffed. Bharta or Bhurta. Mash or puree. Bhoona or Bhuna. The process of cooking the spice paste in hot oil. A bhoona curry is usually dry and cooked in coconut. Bhunana. Roast. Biriani. A traditional dish. Rice baked with meat or vegetable filling. Black salt. Kala namak. Bombay Duck. A smallish fish native to the Bombay area known locally as Bommaloe Macchi. This was too hard for the British to pronounce so it became Bombay Duck. It is dried and appears on the table as a crispy deep fried starter or accompaniment to a curry. Bombay potato. Small whole potatoes in curry and tomato sauce. Boti kebab. Marinated cubes of lamb cooked in a tandoor oven. Brinjal. Aubergine. Burfi or Barfi. An Indian fudge-like sweetmeat made from reduced condensed milk in various flavours eg plain or pistachio. C Cardamom. Elaichi. Various types, notably green, white, and brown. One of the most aromatic and expensive spices. Cashew nuts. Kaju Cassia bark. A corky bark with a sweet fragrance similar to cinnamon and is used extensively in Northern Indian cookery. Although cooked in the curry the bark is too coarse to eat. Cayenne pepper. A type of chilli powder. Ceylon curry. Usually cooked with coconut, lemon and chilli. Chaamp. Chop. Chakla belan. Special rolling pin and board. Chamcha. Ladle. Chana. Type of lentil. Chawal. Rice. Chhalni. Sieve. Chilgoze or Nioze. Small long creamy nuts with brown shells used in cooking or eaten raw. Chilli. There are a great man species of chillies, which are the fleshy pods of shrub-like bushes of he capsicum family. Chillies range from large to small, and colours include green, white, purple, pink, and red. Curiously, although synonymous with Indian food they were only brought to the sub-continent from South America some four centuries ago. They are now the most important heat agent in Indian cookery. They vary in hotness from mild to incendiary-like potency. Most commonly, small green or red chillies are used fresh. Red chillies can be dried and used whole, and chilli powder is made by grinding dried chillies. Chimta. Tongs. Chirongi or Charauli. Small rounded nuts resembling Egyptian lentils. Used in puddings or pullaos. Chor maga. Melon seeds. Used as a thickener. Chupatti. A dry 6 inch disc of unleavened bread. Normally griddle cooked ,it should be served piping hot. Spelling varies eg Chuppati, Chapati etc. Chutneys. The common ones are onion, mango and tandoori. There are dozens of others which rarely appear on the standard menu. Cinnamon. Dalchini. The quill-like dried bark of the cinnamon tree. It is one of the most aromatic spices. Same family as cassia, it is generally used in dishes which require a delicate flavour. Cloves. Lavang. Coriander. Dhania. One of the most important spices in Indian cookery. The leaves of the plant can be used fresh and the seeds used whole or ground. Cummin or Cumin Jeera. There are two types of seeds: white and black. The white seeds are a very important spice in Indian cookery. The black seeds (Kala Jeera) are seldom used. Both can be used whole or ground. Curry. The only word in this glossary to have no direct translation into any of the sub-continent's fifteen or so languages. The word was coined by the British in India centuries ago. Possible contenders for the origin of the word are,Karahi or Karai (Hindi), a wok-like frying pan used all over India to prepare masalas (spice mixtures): karhi - a soup-like dish made with spices, chickpea flour dumplings and buttermilk; Kari - a spicy tamil sauce;Turkuri - a seasoned sauce or stew; or Kari Phulia, neem or curry leaves. Curry leaves.Also known as Kadipatha in Hindi, Small leaves a bit like bay leaves, used for flavouring. D Dahi. Yoghurt. Dahi wala. A meat dish cooked in a savoury yoghurt sauce. Dalchini or Darchim. Cinnamon. Degchi. Brass or metal saucepan without handles also called Pateeli or Batloi. Dewa. Lentils. There are over sixty types of lentil in the sub-continent. The most common restaurant types are masoor, channa and urid. Dhania. Coriander. Dhansak. Traditional chicken or meat dish cooked in lentil and vegetable puree. Dhungar. Applying the smoke of charcoal to ingredients. Do piaza. Traditional meat dish. Do means two and piaza means onion. It gets its name because onions appear twice in the cooking process. Doroo. Celery. Dosa or Dosai. A south Indian pancake made from rice and lentil flour. Usually served with a filling. Dum. Steam cooking. Long before the west invented the pressure cooker India had her own method which lasts to this day. A pot with a close fitting lid is sealed with a ring of dough. The ingredients are then cooked in their own steam under some pressure. E Ekuri. Spiced scrambled eggs. Elaichi. Cardamom. F Fennel. Soonf. Fenugreek. Methi. This important spice is used as seeds and in fresh or dried leaf form. It is very savoury and is used in many Northern Indian dishes. Foogat. Lightly cooked vegetable dish. G Gajar. Carrot. Garam masala. Literally 'hot mixture'. This refers to a blend of spices much loved in Northern Indian cookery. Garlic Lasan. Ghee. Clarified butter or margarine much used in Northern Indian cookery. Ginger. Adrak (fresh) Sont (dried); a rhizome which can be used fresh, dried or powdered. Gobi or phoolgobi. Cauliflower. Goor or gur. Jaggery (palm sugar) or molasses. Gosht Lamb. Gram flour. Chickpea flour (besan). Gulab jaman. An Indian dessert. Small 1-inch diameter balls of flour and milk powder deep-fried to golden and served cold in syrup. Cake-like texture. Gurda. Kidney. Gurda kebab is marinated kidney skewered and cooked in the tandoor. H Halva. Sweets made from syrup and vegetables or fruit. Serve cold in small squares. It is translucent and comes in bright colours depending on ingredient used; e.g. orange (carrot), green (pistachio), red (mango), etc. Has texture thicker than Turkish delight. Sometimes garnished with edible silver foil. Handi. Earthenware cooking pot. Hasina kebab. Pieces of chicken breast, lamb or beef marinated in spices and then skewered and barbecued with onion, capsicum and tomato. Of Turkish origin. Hindi. Hindi is the official language of India. Although there are fourteen or so other languages in India, only Hindi translations have been used in this glossary. Spelling of Hindi translations have been used in this glossary. Spelling of Hindi words can vary in English because 5they are translated phonetically from many Hindi dialects. Hing. Asofoetida. Hisa. Bill (account) Huldi. Turmeric. I Idli. Rice and lentil flour cake served with light curry sauce. South Indian. Imli. Tamarind. Isgubul. Vegetable seed. J Jaifal or Taifal. Nutmeg. Jal frezi. Sautee or stir fry Jalebi. An Indian dessert. A flour, milk powder and yoghurt batter pushed through a narrow funnel into deep frying oil to produce golden curly crispy rings. Served cold or hot in syrup. Javatri. Mace. Jeera or zeera. Cummin. Jhanna. Flat slotted spoon. Jinga. Prawns. K Kabli chana. Chickpeas. Kaddu kas. Grater. Kadhi. Yoghurt soup. Kaju. Cashew nut. Kala. Black. Kala jeera. Black cumin seeds. Kala namak. Black salt. Kaleji. Liver. Kalongi. Nigella, similar to wild onion seeds. Karahi Karai, korai etc. Cast iron, wok-like, frying pan. Karchhi. Metal flat spoon used for turning frying ingredients. Karela. Small, dark green, knobbly vegetable of the gourd family. Kashmir chicken. Whole chicken stuffed with minced meat. Kashmir curry. Restaurateurs creation. A sweetish curry often using lychees or similar ingredient. Kathal. Jack fruit. Katori. Small serving bowls which go on a thaali (tray). Kebab. Skewered food cooked over charcoal. A process over 4000 years old which probably originated in the Middle East. It was imported to India by the Moslems centuries ago. Keema. Minced meat curry. Kewra. Screwpine water. An extract of the flower of the tropical screwpine tree. It is a fragrant clear liquid used to flavour sweets. It is a cheap substitute for rosewater. Khalla musaria. Grinding stone or pounder. Khir. Technique of making a sort of cream. Milk is cooked with cucumber and pureed. Khurzi. Lamb or chicken, whole with spicy stuffing. Kish mish. Sultanas. Kofta. Minced meat or vegetable balls in batter, deep-fried, and then cooked in curry sauce. Kokum or cocum. A variety of plum, pitted and dried. Prune-like and very sour. Also known in Malayan as mangosteen. Korma. To most restaurants this just means a mild curry. Traditionally it is very rich. Meat, chicken or vegetables are cooked in cream, yoghurt and nuts, and are fragrantly spiced with saffron and aromatic spices. Koya Reducing milk to a thick sticky solid. Used for sweet making. Kulcha. Small leavened bread. Kulcha, stuffed. Stuffed with mildly spiced mashed potato and baked in the tandoor. Kulfi. Indian ice cream. Traditionally it comes in vanilla, pistachio or mango flavours. Kus kus. See cuscus. L Lasan. Garlic. Lhassi or lassi. A refreshing drink made from yoghurt and crushed ice. The savoury version is Lhassi namkeen and the sweet version is Lhassi meethi. Lavang. Cloves. Lilva. A small oval-shaped bean which grows in a pod like the European pea. Loochees. A type of bread made in Bengal using white flour. Lovage. Ajwain or Ajowain. M Macchi or macchli. Fish. Mace Javitri. The outer part of the nutmeg. Madras. You will not find a traditional recipe for Madras curry. It is another restaurateurs invention. But the people of South India do eat hot curries; some original chef must have christened his hot curry madras and the name stuck. Makhani. A traditional dish. Tandoori chicken is cooked in a ghee and tomato sauce. Makke. Cornflour. Malai. Cream. Malaya. The curries of Malaya are traditionally cooked with plenty of coconut, chill and ginger. In the Indian restaurant, however, they are usually mild and contain pineapple and other fruit. Mamra. Puffed basmati rice. Masala. A mixture of spices which are cooked with a particular dish. Masoor. Red lentil with green skin. Mathanni. Wooden whisk. Matka. Round earthenware pot used to freeze ice cream. It is filled with ice and salt. Mattar. Green peas. Meethi. Sweet. Melon seeds. Chor magaz. Methi. Fenugreek. Mirch. Pepper or chilli. Moglai. or moghlai Cooking in the style of the Moghul emperors whose chefs took Indian cookery to the heights of gourmet cuisine three centuries ago. Few restaurateurs who offer Moglai dishes come anywhere this excellence. True Moglai. dishes are expensive and time-consuming to prepare authentically. Mollee. Fish dishes cooked in coconut and chilli. Mooli. Large white radish. Moong. One of the more commonly used lentils. It has a green skin and can be used whole, split or polished to make various dhals. Mulligatawny. A Tamil sauce which has become well known as a British soup. Munacca. Raisins. Murgh. Chicken. Murgh masala. A speciality dish of whole chicken, marinated in yoghurt and spices for 24 hours then stuffed and roasted. N Namak. Salt. Namkeen. Salty. Nan or naan. Leavened bread baked in the tandoor. It is teardrop shaped and about 8-10 inches long. It must be served fresh and hot. Naan, keema Naan. bread stuffed with a thin layer of minced meat curry then baked in the tandoor. Naan peshwari. Naan bread stuffed with almonds and or cashew and or raisins and baked in the tandoor. Nargis kebab. Indian scotch egg spiced minced meat around a hard boiled egg. Naryal. Coconut. Neem. Curry leaf. Nigella. See Kalonji. Nimboo. Lime. Nutmeg. Jaifal. O Okra. Bindi. A pulpy vegetable also known as ladies fingers. P Pan or Paan. Betel leaf folded around a stuffing lime paste or various spices and eaten after a meal as a digestive. Pakoras. To all intents and purposes the same as the Bhajia. Palak or sag. Spinach. Panch phoran. Five seeds. A mixture of five spices used in Bengali vegetable cooking, comprising equal amounts of cumin, fennel, fenugreek, custard and wild onion seeds. Paneer. Cheese made from bottled milk which can be fried and curried (matter paneer). Papadam. Thin lentil flour wafers. When cooked (deep fried or baked) they expand to about 8 inches. They must be crackling crisp and warm when served. If not send them back. They come plain or spiced with lentils, pepper, garlic or chilli. Paprika. Mild red pepper made from capsicums. It originally came from Hungary and only reached India this century. Its main use is to give red colour to a dish. Paratha. A deep-fried bread. Pasanda. Meat, usually lamb, beaten and cooked in one piece. Patia. Restaurant seafood curry with thick, dark brown, sweet and sour sauce. Patna. A long grain rice. Pepper. Mirch. Has for centuries been India's most important spice, gaining it the title king of spices. It grows on vines which flower triennially and produce clusters of berries, which ar3e picked and dried and become the pepper corns. Green, black and white pepper are not different varieties. All peppercorns are green when picked and must be bottled or freeze-fried at once to retain the colour. Black pepper is the dried berry. White pepper is obtained by soaking off the black skin of the berry. Peppercorns are a heat agent and can be used whole or ground. Phal or phall. A very hot curry (the hottest) invented by restaurateurs. Piaz, peeaz or pyaz. Onion. Pickles. Pungent, hot pickled vegetables or meat essential to an Indian meal. Most common are lime, mango and chilli. Pistachio nut. Pista magaz. A fleshy, tasty nut which can be used fresh (the greener the better) or salted. It is expensive ad goes well in savoury or sweet dishes such as biriani or pista kulfi (ice cream). Podina. Mint leaves or powder. Poha. Pounded rice. Prawn butterfly or jinga praj patia. Prawn marinated in spices and fried in batter. Prawn puri. Prawns in a hot sauce served on puri bread. Pullao. Rice and meat or vegetables cooked together in a pan until tender. In many restaurants the ingredients are mixed after cooking to save time. Pullao rice. The restaurant name for rice fried with spices and coloured yellow. Pulses. Types of lentils. Puri. A deep fried unleavened bread about 4 inches in diameter. It puffs up when cooked and should be served at once. Q Quas chawal or kesar chaval. Rice fried in ghee, flavoured and coloured with saffron. R Rai. Mustard seed. Raita. A cooling chutney of yoghurt and vegetable, cucumber for instance, which accompanies the main meal. Rajama Red kidney beans. Rasgulla. Walnut-sized balls of semolina and cream cheese cooked in syrup (literal meaning juicy balls). They are white or pale gold in colour and served cold or warm. Rashmi kebab. Kebab minced meat inside a net-like omelette casing. Rasmalai Rasgullas. cooked in cream and served cold. A very rich sweet. Rhogan josh gosht. Literally means red juice lamb. It can be spelt dozens of ways. It is a traditional Northern Indian dish. Lamb is marinated in yoghurt then cooked with ghee and spices and tomato. It should be creamy and spicy but not too hot. Ratin jot. Alkanet root. Beetroot coloured , dried, wafer-thin bark of the root. It is used as a deep red dye to make-up, clothing and food. Traditionally the Northerners obtained their red tandoori and rhogan josh gosht colouring from it. Rosewater. Ruh gulab. A clear essence extracted from rose petals to give fragrance to sweets. Roti. Bread. Ruh gulab. Rosewater. S Sabzi. A generic term for vegetables. Saffron Kesar or zafron. The world's most expensive spice, saffron is the stamen of the crocus flower. It takes 70,000 stamens to give a recipe a delicate yellow colouring and aroma. Sag or saag. Spinach. Salt. Namak Sambals. A Malayan term describing the side dishes accompanying the meal. Sometimes referred to on the Indian menu. Sambar. A south Indian vegetable curry made largely from lentils. Samosa. The celebrated triangular deep fried meat or vegetable patties served as starters or snacks. Sarson ka sag. Mustard leaves Saunf or souf. Aniseed. Seeng Drumstick. A bean-like variety of marrow which looks exactly like a drumstick. Seenl. Allspice. Related to the clove family, the seed resembles small dried peas. Called allspice because its aroma seems to combine those of clove, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and pepper. used rather more in European cooking than Indian. Sesame. Til. Shami kebab. Round minced meat rissoles. Shashlik. Cubes of skewered meat. Sheek or seekh kebab. Spiced minced meat shaped on a skewer and grilled or barbecued. Sil batta. A pair of grinding stones: Sil, large stone, batta, small pounder. Sonf. Fennel seed. Sont or sonth. Dry ginger. Sorportel. A Goan pork dish with heart, liver and meat. Sub-continent. Term to describe India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma, and Sri Lanka as a group. Supari. Mixture of seeds and sweeteners for chewing after a meal. Usually includes aniseed or fennel, shredded betel nut, sugar balls, marrow seeds etc. T Taipal or jaiphal. Nutmeg. Tamarind Imli. A date-like fruit used as a chutney, and in cooking as a souring agent. Tandoori. A style of charcoal cooking originating in north -West India. Originally it was confined to chicken and lamb and naan bread. More recently it is applied to lobster etc. The meat is marinated in a reddened yoghurt sauce and placed in the tandoor. Taraazu. Weighing scales. Tarbooj ke beej. Watermelon seeds. Tarka. Garnish of spices/onions. Tarka dhal. Lentils fried and garnished with spices. Tava or tawa. Heavy steel shallow frying pan. Tej patia. Bay leaf Thaali. A tray which holds the complete meal served in individual bowls (katori). Used by diners in the South. Tikka Skewered meat, chicken or seafood, marinated then barbecued or tandoori baked. Til. Sesame seed. Tinda A vegetable of the cucumber family. Tindaloo. See vindaloo. Toor or toovar. Type of lentil. Tukmeria or tulsi. Black seeds of a basil family plant. Look like poppy seeds. Used in drinks. Turmeric. Haldi or huldi. A very important Indian spice, turmeric is a rhizome. The fresh root is used occasionally as a vegetable or in pickles. The ground spice is extensively used to give the familiar yellow colour to curries. Use sparingly or it can cause bitterness. Tusci. Basil. U Udrak Ginger. 

Urid. A type of lentil. Its husk is black and it comes whole, split or polished. Available as a dhal dish in some restaurants. V Vanaspati. Starch. Vark or varak. Edible silver or gold foil. Vindaloo. A fiery hot dish from Goa. Traditionally it was pork marinated in vinegar with potato (aloo). In the restaurant it has now come to mean just a very hot dish. Also sometimes called Bindaloo or Tindaloo. X Xacutti. A Goan dish using chicken and coconut. Y Yakni. Mutton. Z Zafron. Saffron. Zeera. Cummin.

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This work is dedicated to my mother Shanta who taught me the tenants of Ayurvedic Cuisine and Knowledge.

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