Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Indian Food

Behind music, food is definitely my second passion. There are so many different styles and flavors, it’s exciting to see what all is out there in the way of food. But my favorite, hands down, is Indian food. Many people have probably never tried or even know what Indian food is.  I’m here to help the common “foodie” by sharing some of my favorite food and informing them where to get the best of the best.

Introduced to me a couple of years back, Indian food still makes my mouth water just thinking about it. The main staples of Indian food are beans, rice, flour, and especially lentils. Chicken and other meats play huge parts in Indian cuisine. Spices like cumin, cardamom, ginger, cloves, and saffron are all key components in giving Indian food its unique taste. Traditionally one table orders multiple dishes then each person takes a little portion from each dish.

Now in Peoria there are some excellent restaurants to try some Indian cuisine. Khana Khazanah, recently renamed to “Masala Café” is a small Indian restaurant located off of N. Knoxville. They have a killer lunch deal for around seven dollars that will leave you full. The building itself may look a tad shady but the food inside is second to none.  “Puran Indian Restaurant” off of Pioneer Parkway is another great choice. It’s a larger restaurant with ten buck lunch buffet. Saving the best for last, Rasoi has the best Indian food that Peoria has to offer. On the corner of Knoxville and Pioneer Parkway in the Mt. Hawley Court shopping center, "Rasoi" simply has the best Indian food in Peoria.

Just knowing where these restaurants are probably isn't enough; you should probably have some sort of idea of what you want before you go. Every menu at an Indian restaurant can be very daunting. If you’re just going for your first time to try it out I would suggest the following.

Chicken Saag – Large chicken pieces in a sort of spinach puree
Chicken Tikka – Basic chicken pieces rubbed with seasons
Palak Saag - Pureed Spinach Spiced with Vegetables or Mushrooms or Chickpeas or Cauliflower & Potatoes

Now I encourage everyone to go out and try it at least once. Who knows you might fall in love.

*Below are the links to the restaurants*

1 comment:

  1. Hey I was wondering if you make any Indian food at home? I don't really go out to eat very often and am looking for something easy to start off with.

    ReplyDelete