September 16, 2018
Many of the visitors through the doors here at Royal Nawaab have enjoyed Asian cuisine for years – and most of them already know exactly what food they’re going to try before they even sit down!
But we get lots of questions from people who want to try our food for the very first time and aren’t sure what to go for.
Will it be spicy? Will it be unhealthy? What does it taste like?
These are just some of the questions we get on a regular basis, so we’ve compiled an easy beginners guide to Pakistani cuisine for those first-timers out there to make your visit enjoyable and as relaxed as it can be – without any worrying about whether you’ll like it or not!
Starters
When choosing your starters, there’s a huge (and delicious!) range of dishes to try but if you’re uncertain about something, you can’t go wrong with a samosa.
We offer both meat and vegetable samosas to satisfy a range of tastes so you can try one or the other, or even both!
Samosas are a triangular savoury pastry fried in oil and containing a filling such as potatoes, onions or peas in the vegetable option or minced meat, with either lamb, beef or chicken, as the meat option.
The outer crust is flaky and breaks apart easily, as it’s deep fried, and it’s commonly compared to almost a Cornish pasty-type snack with a spicy filling.
Usually, it’s served with chutney but you can eat it just as it is, too and it can be eaten either hot or cold.
Another great option to try for a starter is a pakora. Again, this can be either vegetable or meat and is a type of savoury deep-fried fritter. They come in a range of options such as chicken pakoras, potato pakoras, onion pakoras and even spinach pakoras. The vegetable is coated in a gram flour and then fried to give them a crunchy texture and delicious taste – perfect for just about anyone!
Main Courses
Many of us know the most common types of curry associated with Indian takeaways and readily available at our local supermarkets. These include korma, rogan josh, jalfrezi, balti and biryani.
We make all of these dishes at Royal Nawaab and so, if in doubt, simply ask one of our team to advise you on the best one to go for according to your taste.
If spice isn’t your thing, then why not consider a korma? Chicken kormas are the mildest of our curries. A korma is a mildly spiced, creamy dish made from yoghurt or cream and spices such as coriander and ginger.
Biryani dishes are delicious options for those who still don’t want to go too spicy but want something with a little more kick than a korma. It’s a savoury dish that’s usually accompanied by flavour-packed saffron rice and includes a spicy marinated meat along with caramelized onions. It’s classified as a medium type of curry so shouldn’t blow your socks off – too much!
Desserts
If you’ve managed up until now then you’re doing great! We have a great range of desserts on offer too, if you’ve still got room, that is!
Our desserts cater to all tastes and so you can choose from something a little more well known such as a chocolate mousse or a fruit trifle or even go for a halwa dish.
Our halwa dishes are sweet dishes containing carrots or semolina that have been boiled with milk and almonds to give it an undeniable taste. Halwa can come in different types of flavouring such as pistachio, vanilla and chocolate.
Our sooji halwa dish uses semolina instead of carrots along with almonds and cardamom to give it a mellow and aromatic taste whereas our gajar halwa contains grated carrots.
Don’t forget all of the dishes we’ve mentioned can be ordered through our brand new takeaway delivery option and are all great for beginners venturing into Pakistani and Asian fusion cuisine for the first time. If you’ve got any questions on any of the ingredients or need allergy advice, just contact us and we’ll be happy to help.
