Beginner’s Guide to Indian Restaurants

Want the Best Indian Food in Ottawa? Here’s Where to Start

Before you seek out the best Indian food Ottawa has to offer, you’re going to want to know what you’re ordering. An Indian restaurant has a menu full of new and exciting dishes with names that may be very unfamiliar to you, and if you are very particular about the food you like, how spicy it is, and what’s in it, then this can quickly become frustrating. Fortunately for you, here’s a quick rundown of some of the most popular items. Behold, a beginner’s guide to Indian food:

Samosa

Every region of the world needs a tasty, portable snack, and the Samosa is India and South Asia’s. It has a flaky shell on the outside with vegetables and spices inside. Potatoes and peas are both common, and some are even made with meat. These delicious pastries can be either baked or fried and have a distinctive triangular shape.

Naan

Think pita bread, but thicker and more savoury. Naan is a flatbread available at any Indian restaurant, and it’s perfect for dipping into chutneys and curries, or for shovelling food onto like an edible spoon. This bread is best served hot!

Curry

If you’re looking for the best Indian food in Ottawa, you could spend a lot of time exploring nothing but curries. A curry is meat or vegetables marinated in a sauce, which itself is made up of a variety of spices and can often include yogurt as a base. Some are creamy, some are savoury, and some are spicy, and no two versions of the same dish are exactly alike. Take butter chicken, which is marinated in yogurt and served in a thick tomato-based sauce, spiced with cardamom, garlic, and more. This famous dish is sweet with a hint of spice, compared to chicken or beef curry, which are often spicier. Then there is saag paneer, made of spinach and melted cubes of soft cheese, which is mild, or rogan josh, a braised lamb curry with garlic, turmeric, and other aromatic spices.

Tandoori Chicken and Chicken Tikka

A tandoor is a traditional clay oven from India, and tandoori chicken or chicken tikka (its boneless equivalent) is a beloved chicken recipe that is cooked in this oven. It has a distinctive fiery red colour, derived from the spices it is marinated in—particularly cayenne pepper or Kashmiri red chili. The clay of the oven also gives the chicken a smoky flavour, and it can be served with rice and vegetables, in a soup-like dish (chicken tikka masala), or in a wrap. Chicken tikka is a popular menu option at many Indian restaurants.

This is just a sample of the cuisine India has to offer, and a great place to start exploring. If you really want to discover the best Indian food in Ottawa, the best thing you can do is just go out there and explore.