I was growing up in India, the preferred alcoholic drinks were scotch or beer. Drinking was a pre-dinner activity, though drinks were usually paired with freshly made snacks such as spicy kebabs and papadams. To this day, I still prefer a chilled glass of beer when choosing an alcoholic beverage to pair with an Indian meal. Many Indian restaurants will carry beer on their menu, including Indian beers (especially Kingfisher). The best beers to pair with Indian food are relatively light beers—that is, pilsners, lagers and ales. Dark or strongly flavored beers such as stouts, porters and bocks should be avoided.
For wine lovers, pairing wine with Indian food is complicated and challenging, as there are a lot of competing spices and seasonings to contend with. The complex layering of spices and chili heat in Indian dishes makes it tricky. The traditional method of pairing lighter food with whites and heavier foods with reds does not necessarily hold true in Indian cuisine—for example a heavy dish such as creamy lamb curry or beef korma will pair well with whites and a flavorful seafood dish can go well with reds.
The important rule to remember is that there is no rule!!
After consulting several wine experts and master sommeliers, I’ve come up some general tips to help you make good wine selections:
Here are some specific suggestions—but they are suggestions only. Following the basic tips above, other wines may be chosen.
Gewürztraminer: Since “gewürztraminer” literally means “spicy grape” in German, this wine can pair perfectly with the spices and seasonings in Indian cuisine, especially ginger and cardamom. And since many bottles have a bit of residual sugar, gewürztraminer will tame the heat in curries and other spicy dishes.
Riesling: With aromas and flavors of crisp apple and peach, good acidity, and often a hint of sweetness, Riesling is a match made in heaven for Indian cuisine. Try a glass or a bottle the next time you have a curry dish made with fruit like peaches or apricots. And, as with gewürztraminer, the touch of sugar in the wine will counter the heat in chili peppers and other spices.
Sauvignon Blanc: Sauvignon Blanc’s enticing flavors of lime, grapefruit, gooseberries and herbs make it a food-friendly choice for any cuisine, as the bracing acidity wakes up your taste buds and makes you want to go back for another bite of whatever you are eating. Try it with dishes that include tomatoes, lemons or limes, which will match the wine’s acidity. With coconut milk–based curries and other rich dishes, sauvignon blanc will cut some of the richness and taste extremely refreshing.
Rosé: Not to be confused with white zinfandel, rosé wine is completely dry. It has some of the complexity and weight of a red wine (think red berries and spice), as well as the acidity of a lighter white. Rosés can hold their own next to a lot of Indian dishes, including those made with lamb. Since rosé tends to be drier I suggest not pairing it with some of the spicier Indian dishes like vindaloo or murg kali mirch since it doesn’t have the sugar content that helps counter chili heat
Sparkling wine: Often underrated as a food wine, and saved for special occasions, Champagne and other sparkling wines can be enjoyed with many different kinds of food. The refreshing bubbles and palate-cleansing acidity would especially work with Indian dishes that have heavy sauces. When choosing champagne to accompany Indian dishes with a lot of chili heat, choose a sweeter champagne as its higher sugar content works well with spicy foods. Also, a chilled glass of Prosecco, with its sweet, rich and complex flavor, works very well.
Pinot Noir: Crave a bottle of red wine with your Indian food? Pinot noir is a smart choice, as it offers lots of fruit (cherries, raspberries, cranberries,) but typically has silkier, smoother tannins than more full-bodied red wines such as cabernet sauvignon or merlot, so it won’t dry out your mouth or fuel the fire of a spicy dish you are enjoying. If you are serving a variety of Indian dishes at your next dinner party pinot noir is a great selection. It can pair with everything from tandoori chicken, to khadai stir-fried shrimp and palak paneer kofta.
A Few Simple Techniques
The heart and soul of Indian cooking is to be able to master the unique and imaginative use of spices, seasonings and flavorings and learning the nitty-gritty of Indian cooking techniques. You will already be familiar with many of the Indian cooking techniques from your own everyday cooking. The main techniques are steaming (dum), tempering (tarhka), roasting (bhunnana), frying (talna) and sautéing (bhunao). Other common techniques are roasting and grinding of spices, browning onions, garlic and meats and handling sauces. Each of these “methods” or a combination of two or three or even all may be necessary to prepare an Indian dish. They are not hard to master, but is important to understand the basic principles of each.
SAUCE TIPS Unlike in western cooking, flour is almost never used to thicken Indian sauces. The dark thick sauces in Indian cooking are achieved by a proper balance of the ingredients and the use of the correct cooking techniques. For example, the body of the Indian sauces very often comes from onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes, which may be chopped, creating a textured sauce, or made into a paste in a food processor or a blender. Once a paste has been made, it is then cooked or browned in oil. The sauce is allowed to cook further until it is reduced and has become thick. Sometimes cream, yogurt, coconut or nut pastes, such as almonds and cashews, are added to Indian sauces, which give a creamy texture.
ROASTING AND GRINDING OF SPICES Roasting is the key to bringing out the flavor of spices. Roasting spices removes the raw smell that untreated spices tend to have and intensifies their flavors by heating up the essential oils. All you need is a small, heavy bottomed skillet (cast iron works great). No oil is used when roasting spices. Whole spices are put in a dry skillet and roasted over medium heat until the spices turn a shade or two darker and become aromatic. The spices are then immediately removed from the hot skillet to avoid over-roasting.
In my kitchen I generally buy the spices whole and then grind them myself as I need them. Because spices retain their flavor and aroma much longer in their whole form than when ground, grinding roasted spices in small batches is the ideal way to use spices, and gives the greatest possible flavor to dishes. Traditionally,
