Spice 101

What am I eating?

New to Indian food? Here's a plain-language crash course. Ask us anything; that's the fun part.

MildestHottest

KormaAlmond, coconut and cardamom. Start here.

Butter MasalaTomato, cashew and cream. This is “butter chicken.”

Tikka MasalaCharred in the tandoor first, with more spice in the sauce.

Daal MakhaniBlack lentils cooked low overnight. Earthy.

HandiA creamy white curry with cashew and cardamom.

KadaiPeppers and onion. Thick, with a real kick.

Soft flatbread slapped onto the wall of a clay oven. Pillowy, a little charred and made for scooping.

Dough folded over and over with butter, then pan-fried. Flaky, a bit like a savoury croissant.

Deep-fried bread that puffs up like a balloon. Tear it and scoop up the chana.

Paratha wrapped around grilled meat and onion. India's answer to the burrito.

Street-snack style: crunchy and tangy, loaded with yogurt and tamarind. Messy on purpose.

Stuffed flatbread baked in the tandoor. The Amritsar version is crisp outside and soft inside.

A clay oven that runs over 400°C. Anything “tandoori” was charred in there on a skewer.

Boneless pieces, marinated and grilled. Tikka is the cut, not a sauce.

Fresh pressed cheese that holds its shape when cooked. Mild and squeaky, like halloumi.

Cool yogurt with cucumber. It puts out the fire better than water does.

One tray of small bowls: curries, daal, rice, bread, raita and a sweet.

A yogurt drink, sweet or salted. Mango is the crowd favourite.

One curry and one bread per person, one rice for the table, and something from the tandoor to share.

Tear the bread and scoop. Don't worry about being tidy. There's cutlery if you want it.

Every curry is made mild, medium or hot to order. Mild here really means mild.