Indian with Child?

All,
I'm contemplating taking my 7 year old with me to Taj Palace sometime to start getting him introduced. While he is excellent in restaurants, he is not by-nature an adventurous eater. The indian dishes I order ( curry, beans, goat, etc with sauces) are not something he'll eat. Other than Naan and basmati rice, are there suggestions for what we could get for him? He's good about a variety of meats, but won't want it spicy ( he does however like garlic alot) or in a sauce. My only thought so far is Tandoori chicken.

Anybody have any ideas?


Deb

My 5 and 2 yo's do well in Indian, so we're lucky. Look to the appetizer menu. Pakoras are battered and deep fried whatever, sometimes chicken if your child likes chicken fingers, often vegetables. Most potato samosas are only slightly spicy. Some places have meat samosas. How about spinach? Sag paneer usually isn't too spicy and is basically braised spinach with butter and cheese curds. Most places you can specify less spicy, too.

He might like a mild biryani dish - it usually comes with raita (also awesome!).

We introduced our kids to Indian food early. They're now 25 and 30 and love it. We started with chicken pakora and tandoori chicken with copious amounts of basmati rice and naan. Next was butter chicken (murgh makhani) and kormas. As they got older and started to like spicier dishes, they tried more items. And of course we always finished with rasmali and gulab jamun, or as my youngest son called them, donuts in a bowl.

Thanks, guys, great suggestions!

Steve- I love your idea of slowly working up to more complex dishes. Sounds like a great idea with my son. Thanks for posting!

Deb

The butter chicken ordered mild should fit the bill along with naan and rice.

Chicken Tikka Masala.
If my wife (who isn't the most adventurous eater) eats it, then the most picky of eaters will. Not only will she eat it, she LOVES it.

Chicken Tikka Masala.
If my wife (who isn't the most adventurous eater) eats it, then the most picky of eaters will. Not only will she eat it, she LOVES it.

This. My tikka masala gets smiles from unadventurous grandmothers and native Indians alike.

Chicken Tikka Masala.

I also second this one. My wife liked this one, although she has tried many other things (on Taj Palace's lunch buffet) and enjoyed them. She refers to the sauce as "spaghetti o"-like.

I'd also suggest Tikka Masala. I have a lot of unadventurous eaters in my circles and when I can talk someone into Indian that's the dish I push them to and so far it's gone over well. However, some places make it with raisins in it so just be aware and ask if your son is in the very large anti-raisin crowd. Sag paneer (the spinach and cheese dish) is one of my favorite comfort foods.

When I saw the post topic I thought this is easy, recommend Chicken Tikka Masala. Guess I'm a little late with that advice. But I will also second "tandoori chicken with copious amounts of basmati rice and naan", with emphasis on the chicken. It is very close to good ol' chicken on the outdoor American grill. We started our 1-year-old grandson at Shalimar. He's five now, and they all know him when he comes in.