Glossery of Indian Restaurant Curries

Balti - Medium Hot

Balti is more a style of cooking than one particular curry.
The word Balti can be translated as 'bucket', e.g. a cooking pan.
Others say that the style of cooking is indigenous to the area of northern Pakistan known as Baltistan.
A Balti pan is basically a Karahi, which has the shape of a Chinese Wok, but with 2 small round handles on either side of the pan instead of one long handle.
In specialist Balti Houses, the Balti is a meal in itself which contains both meat and vegetables and is eaten straight from the Karahi using pieces of Nan Bread.
In standard Indian Restaurants the Balti is more of a stir-fry Curry containing plenty of fried green peppers and fresh coriander.

Bhuna - Medium Hot

Bhuna is first and for most a cooking process where spices are gently fried in plenty of oil to bring out their flavour.
The dish Bhuna is an extension of the process where meat is added to the spices and cooked in their own juices, which results in deep strong flavours but with very little sauce.
The Restaurant Bhuna is a well spiced curry with a thick sauce. It is often garnished with fried green peppers and shredded onions.

Biryani - Mild

Biryani originated in Persia, and simply rice and meat cooked together in the oven.
The cooks to the Moghul Emperors took the Biryani and transformed it into a Court delicacy by adding aromatic spices and other exotic ingredients.
Traditionally, Biryanis are baked in the oven for a long time so the aromatic spices and juices from the meat, permeate the rice.
In the Restaurant, all Biryanis are made to order.  So the Restaurant Biryani is often just Pilau Rice, stir-fried with chicken or lamb which has already been cooked as a Bhuna, then garnished with almonds and sultanas and sometimes accompanied by a Vegetable Curry to add a little extra juiciness to the rice.