Confession: up until four weeks ago, I’d never had Indian food before.

I know. For someone who prides herself on being as cultured and worldly as I do, this is unforgivable. I don’t exactly know why I’ve always been so averse to Indian food; I guess it can be blamed on some traumatizing childhood experiences where I encountered bad (by that, I mean poorly made and/or tasting) Indian food. Still, it was about time I finally caved and tried some.

My apartment in Beijing is near this really, really fantastic Indian restaurant. Indian food also happens to be my roommate’s favorite type of cuisine. When she discovered I’d never had Indian food before, she and my best friend decided to take me to the restaurant to try good, proper Indian food, whether I liked it or not. (I kid; I was very excited to go!)

And my God, it was delicious. It didn’t hurt that the restaurant is famous for top notch food, but I couldn’t believe that I had steadfastly avoided Indian food for so long when it tasted this good. I ordered chicken biryani and garlic naan and enjoyed every single bite.

I’ve been back at the restaurant since, always eager to appease new cravings for Indian food. However, I’ve run into a slight problem. I know nothing about Indian food, so I don’t know what new dishes to try out. I’ve read some descriptions of various dishes on the menu to try and get an idea of what I’d like to try, but I’m just so overwhelmed by the choices. Rice, curries, roti/naan, yogi diet… the different sections of the menu confuse me, let alone the contents!

Essentially, I’ve ordered the same thing every time I’ve gone back. While I still love chicken biryani and garlic naan, I want to try something new. Which is where you guys come in:

Question of the Week: Do you like Indian food? If so, what are some of your favorite Indian dishes?

Tags: recommendations