Given the high price of food (in general) in London, I am considering trying Indian food. It seems to be popular with lots of people.

After reading several posts and searching the Internet, I am still baffled by this cuisine. (We don't have a lot of Indian restaurants in my area of Connecticut I might add.)

So, how does a novice try Indian food? The food recipes seem to be northern, southern or some other geographical location.

Can anyone recommend a starter meal that won't be terribly hot or have exceptionally strong spices?

I am kane - the classic starter menu for novices is to start off with some poppadums (similar in style to prawn crackers) with a variety of chutneys then to go on to Chicken Korma (the mildest curry and creamy) and plain boiled rice with a Cobra beer. You can be really brave and try a vegetable with it - spinach (or saag) is the safest

Just don't go for a Vindaloo, Madras or Faal curry if you don't like them hot

We just got back from London. Stayed in S. Kens and enjoyed dinner at Kyber Pass on Bute St. I would not describe this restaurant as a curry house but a somewhat typical (but much better) Indian restaurant that we would find here in Atlanta. With wine the bill ran about 40 pounds.

Has anyone been to Shikara on Sloane Avenue? Seems to get good reviews.
They serve this;
"Shikara Akayla Special (for one) £16.95
Starter: Onion Bhajia, Seekh Kebab. Main Course: Karahi Gosht, Vegetables, Pilau Rice & Naan"
Which I thought sounded not too expensive for that area.

london england, Thanks for recommending a meal, but what is a poppadum (similar in style to prawn crackers)? Shrimp on a cracker?

As you can see, I need some help here.

Popodoms are like big crisps. They are made of flour and fried. They’re very nice. They don’t taste of much themselves which is why they come with a tray of pickles to eat with them.

Thankfully we don't have to explain bombay duck anymore (it's actually a fish)

Audere has described it far more eloquently than I could have done but yes a big crisp (or what you call a potato chip) is close

...and when they say big, they mean big - the size of a dinner plate.

Actually, Audere-that's not true-poppadums DO have a taste, it depends on what seasoning they've been made with.

I make them at home all the time (like they're so hard to make!) You just buy the poppadums in a box, I like the caraway seed/garlic flavor, fill a skillet with oil, pop them in for a minute, and voila! they're done (you need to drain them for a minute or two on paper towels). Poppadums, which you can then serve with Patek's or Major Grey's chutneys, or make your own chutney. (You should try my dry veggie curry, I make it with beer, instead of water-it's so hot, it puts a vindaloo to shame!)

And no, pappadums are not usually the size of a dinner plate-they're large, but not THAT large.

Indians call the pappadum the "Indian potato chip" that's a good description-but I like them more than most potato chips. Of course, I like my onion bhajias, my naan, (I make both of these at home as well)

Indian food is not at all hard to do. You just go to an Indian food store and get the chutneys, curry base sauces, and breads (you can buy good kulfi, which I like-kulfi-the creamy pistachio ice cream-soo good!) at an Indian food shop as well.

And Tulips-thank you- the price of that Indian meal is far more in line with what I pay, without drinks.-and I agree it sounds quite reasonable.

girlspytravel

are you for real or taking the p!ss?
i havent read such a load of rubbish for a long time

BTW im Indian

nixx????...elaborate please.

I'm not so sure Girlspytravel deserved that.
please explain !
Muck

Muck-nixx is obviously a troll, who probably wouldn't know a poppadum from a pixie

You can also put popadums in the microwave, without oil or anything. It only takes a short time to heat them up.

As for restaurants, I second the suggestion of the Woodlands near Marylebone (there are a few - I had a great sag paneer there), and Ravi Shankar on Drummond Street. Ravi Shankar isn't trendily decorated or anything, but the food is fantastic.

<b>i am kane</b>, I'm not sure where you are in Ct. but if you're in, or near, Fairfield County I can recommend these restos for good Indian:

Coromandel, Darien
Thali, New Canaan (expensive)
Bombay Bar and Grill, Westport

ok maybe i was a bit harsh but i read the thread and GirlSpy is disagreeing with many other people's views when in my opinion it is her info which is incorrect

firstly Ive never heard any Indian call a poppadom 'the indian potato chip' - since its not made out of potato its not a very good description

plus poppadoms can be made in any size you want but the vast majority of restaurants do indeed serve large (dinner plate size), unseasoned (no flavour) ones

also to say that 'indian food is not at all hard to do' and then talk about buying ready made sauce base is a joke - its like saying making indian food is easy, all you do is goto Tesco buy a tikka massala and stick it in the microwave!

plus (as others have said already) she is picking restaurants in pricey areas of West London and trying to say they are an example of average prices

also just to confuse all the nonBrits out there even more - about 90% of what are called 'Indian' restaurants in the UK are not actually Indian at all (usually bangladeshi or pakistani)!

mvor,

I just picked up your post (I was in Florida on vacation).

Yes, I live in Fairfield County, and thanks for the restaurant recommendations. I'll try to get to one of them before I leave for London.

topped for JES

We all know Indian foods reputation for being hot, but who knew just talking about it could get so heated?
BTW, IamKane, to add to your list of &quot;first try&quot; Items, I would add Samosas, Na'an Bread, Butter Chicken, Chicken/beef Tandoori, Biryani Rice and Aloo Ghobi. Most restauants will serve a mild version of dishes if you explain your novice status: they want you to like the food!

Thanks LJ,

I will definitely bring this information with me. In fact, I just had lunch with a friend today, and she assured me that the wait staff in the Indian restaurants will recommend mild versions of their popular dishes.

She was a novice at one time, and she and her friends were so grateful for the wait-staff's understanding and patience. She said the food was great!

According to the Zagat survey:

1. Rasoi Vineet Bhatia
2. Quilon
3. Vama
4. Amaya
5. Zaika

Note that all these are estimated to cost 43 to 63 Pounds per person! These were not ranked by cost but by food score.

Most affordable in the top 53 Indian restaurants rated was the 3 different locations of Masala Zone at about 19 Pounds per person for dinner, one drink and tip.

For much less than this, you can buy the complete Zagat guide for London and read the full reviews. http://www.zagat.com