If you've been entrusted with the responsibility of planning the menu for your next office dinner, choosing Indian food adds a layer of depth and exoticness to your evening. But if you're not familiar with the concept of Indian food, your job just got harder. Choosing the best Indian restaurant is not  just about finding one with the most expensive price tag or one that ranks high on your Internet search. Indian food is all about flavour and taste. This guide will familiarise you with Indian food so you can choose a great menu and restaurant for your next office dinner.

Spices Don't Overpower Every Indian Dish

There's a common fallacy that every Indian dish is submerged in a myriad of spices and pungency. This is simply not true. Plenty of Indian dishes have subtle spice flavours that are only meant to bring out the taste of the main ingredient. And not every dish will have you scrambling to ease the piquancy of your palate. For example, baingan bharta or fire-roasted eggplant is simply infused with cumin, turmeric and coriander to bring out the flavour of the roasted eggplant. Similarly, chicken korma uses turmeric, chilli and cardamom to enhance the taste of this mildly flavoured dish.

Indian Curries Are Diversely Cooked  

Curry is the pivotal centre of Indian cuisine, so it's natural to imagine that all Indian curries are cooked in the same manner. In reality, India is a large country, so every region uses different ingredients to cook their curries. For example, in North India, people use yoghurt, milk, saffron, cottage cheese and clarified butter for their curries. In South India, people love to incorporate tamarind, coconut and pepper into their curries. East Indians love to use mustard to flavour their curries. Good restaurants incorporate their own spices into dishes to give it a different taste from others. If you want to be sure about how the restaurant cooks their curries, pick up the phone and ask them before making a booking for your office staff.

Breads are Crucial to a Great Dinner

Indian breads are humble and delicious –– cooked in clay ovens to give it a delightful roasted flavour when dipped in curries and dishes. You can choose between plain naans and parathas cooked in ovens and served piping hot, or you can choose to have them stuffed with a meat or vegetable dish if you want to give them another dimension. Naans and parathas pair well with chicken tikka masala (orange chicken curry), lamb rogan josh (lamb red curry) and other dishes with thick gravies. A chapatti is a pancake-thin bread made from wheat that goes brilliantly with lighter curries like dal (lentils).

These Indian food basics will help you make an informed decision when choosing the menu for your next office dinner at an Indian restaurant, such as Royal India Restaurant.