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Summary: Indian Food

Thanks for your many replies. This listserv is great!

here are some responses:

INDIAN FOOD IS ALWAYS A GOOD CHOICE.
THEY DO NOT USE WHEAT FLOWER IN ANYTHING EXCEPT THE BREAD.
AVOID FRIED APPETIZERS AS ALL FRIED FOODS ARE SUSPECT.
IF YOU ARE LACTOSE INTOLERANT ALSO ASK IF THERE IS ANY YOGURT 
IN THE DISHES.? ALL INDIAN FOOD IS WELL SPICED. ASK IF THE DISH IS HOT BEFORE 
ORDERING

I love Indian food and have been eating it without issue but maybe it's because I typically get biryanis and pappadum and not other dishes
I stay away from the Indian bread, naan.? I always ask about ingredients but I can pretty much eat anything else.
Hing is the common Indian spice that you need to watch out for in Indian restaurants.?
Also known as Asafoetida, it is a powdered resin that must be cut with some kind of flour to keep it from clumping. VERY OFTEN the flour is wheat. However, it can also be rice flour. Problem is, if the spice is imported from India, I've had problems in restaurants where they cannot tell me -- from the label -- if the spice is safe.?
And, if they use this spice and theirs does have wheat flour, it is used in a LOT of things -- possibly some prepared sauce bases, broths, etc. Also tell them no atta (wheat flour) or rawa (semolina flour).?
????? BUT, if you can sort out the "hing thing" with the manager and/or chef, there are many wonderful dishes to choose from. Just stay clear of the naan (their flat bread), and you should be able to eat many things. Also, just do check to be sure they are not thickening any of their sauces with wheat flour. I don't think that is common, though.?
?
Some dishes to consider: Tandoori, Biryani, Dal, Rajma, Vindaloo, Palak paneer, Raita, Tikka, Korma, Kabobs -- and be sure to consider vegetarian dishes in any Indian restaurant, as these are often extremely delicious.?

 avoid fried or battered - coated foods, don't let them bring me Naan, and I'm fine. I love Sag Paneer - the little cheese cubes and spicy creamed rice, rice pudding, Chicken Makhani (tomato-cream sauce), Tandoor chicken (baked in a clay oven), Rogan Josh (lamb dish - curry sauce), and more. 

The main thing is - ASK ingredients. Be very cautious. If you check if anything has flour in it or is fried, and avoid those things and avoid the Naan bread, and check ingredients on the Papadum, you should be OK. I dip the Papadum in Tamarind sauce, a fruit sauce. Again, check ingredients. 

Anything resembling dumplings should be avoided.

They claim that it's most common to use chickpea flour for breading/thickening (if needed). I've ordered the veggie pakora many times (battered and fried). I will say, that the last few times I've eaten it, I've had reactions. I'm not sure if wheat flour is being added to the chickpea flour batter or not, but since I've stopped eating the pakora, I've not had reactions.?All the other things I order I do fine with, including:

Curries, Masalas, and Vindaloos, and Bhartas. I cook Indian food myself, so I have a sense of what should go into these dishes, and all of them are fine. No wheat flour in sight.

I miss the breads, which I always loved, but I've been
ordering dosa to use as a bread.? Dosa is a crepe made with lentils and rice
flours.

?We eat at Indian restuarants often.? Mostly they use lentil flour

If you are in Manhattan, there's no better GF Indian food than at
Channai Garden.? They have 90 delicious things on the menu and all but a
few of the wheat breads are GF.? Check it out at 
http://www.menupages.com/restaurantdetails.asp?areaid=0&neighborhoodid=0
&cuisineid=39&restaurantid=5186




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