The Indian option in the MDR.

[ampaisley]

It's not widely advertised. It's mainly for the crew, many of whom are Indian.

 

 

Thanks for the info! Great to know...:)

[Liffey]

Some photos to go with the OP's post (as I was sitting right across from him :D) -

 

Chicken Makhani, Mutter Paneer, Salad, Pickled Mango, and Rice Pilaf:

 

 

Mutter Paneer, Navratan Korma (nice sauce but a bit heavy on gobi/cauliflower), and Rice Pilaf:

 

 

Sides of pappadums, dal, and tortillas (tortillas?):

 

 

It was all soooo good, although I do prefer the rice that comes with the regular MDR Indian Vegetarian Dinner on the first night. (I'm a sucker for caraway.)

[Rosefloater]

Does the menu for the Indian meals have explanations as to what they are? I know what some of the items are, but I wouldn't have a clue what "Navratan Korma" is without an explanation.

[firefly333]

Does the menu for the Indian meals have explanations as to what they are? I know what some of the items are, but I wouldn't have a clue what "Navratan Korma" is without an explanation.

 

You are given the choice of vegetarian or meat (both times the meat was chicken) .. that's all the explanation. They decide what to make. Im guessing the folks who added names of foods knew it .. as both times I did it, I had no idea what I was eating.

[Nemspy]

Does the menu for the Indian meals have explanations as to what they are? I know what some of the items are, but I wouldn't have a clue what "Navratan Korma" is without an explanation.

 

No, it's just a list of what is available each night.

 

We knew what all the things available our night were, but they (not knowing we knew) wrote it all down for us, so I assume if you ask what the things are they will be able to let you know.

 

What you could also do is check the menu someone posted above and look up all the dishes on Wikipedia.

Edited January 9, 2011 by Nemspy

[Nemspy]

You are given the choice of vegetarian or meat (both times the meat was chicken) .. that's all the explanation. They decide what to make. Im guessing the folks who added names of foods knew it .. as both times I did it, I had no idea what I was eating.

 

Yes, except that what they are making is set for the specific night, so you'll be able to ask as to what is available for vegetarians and non-vegetarians on any given night.

[firefly333]

No, it's just a list of what is available each night. You have to remember that this isn't really intended for passengers.

 

We knew what all the things available our night were, but they (not knowing we knew) wrote it all down for us, so I assume if you ask what the things are they will be able to let you know.

 

What you could also do is check the menu someone posted above and look up all the dishes on Wikipedia.

 

Iv never been offered a list .. even our waiter was clueless, he told me it would just be one entree .. and I said well we got a whole dinner last time and he didnt believe me, so I ordered some stuff from the regular menu and ruined my appetite last time.. turns out I was right, our waiter was clueless.

 

maybe on other ships, they offer a list.. on Triumph both times, you only got the choice, do you want meat or not.

[Nemspy]

Iv never been offered a list .. even our waiter was clueless, he told me it would just be one entree .. and I said well we got a whole dinner last time and he didnt believe me, so I ordered some stuff from the regular menu and ruined my appetite last time.. turns out I was right, our waiter was clueless.

 

maybe on other ships, they offer a list.. on Triumph both times, you only got the choice, do you want meat or not.

 

All you have to do is ask the host or hostess. They were the person we had to talk to in order to find out what options were available each evening. Someone posted the exact list we were shown on page one of this thread.

[firefly333]

All you have to do is ask the host or hostess. They were the person we had to talk to in order to find out what options were available each evening. Someone posted the exact list we were shown on page one of this thread.

 

Oh I did, and the maitre d' and people would say oh go ask this or that person. I almost didnt get it done trying to find the right person .. and no they did not offer or have a list for the following night to choose from.

 

As I said, maybe Triumph is different. Its the ship I did it on twice, because I knew it would be good. .. but heck they couldnt even tell me what meat would be cooked the next night.... let alone what dishes.

[golfadj]

I will try this later this month on the Miracle and will report back what happened.

[cdiver]

Just a note here for anyone who has been scared off my the mediocrity of the "Indian taste of nations" and the tandoor on Splendor. The Indian meals you can pre-request in the MDR are the real deal - not tweaked for people who don't generally eat Indian food.

 

The wife and I just returned from the NYE Mexican Riviera cruise down on Spirit. With her being a vegetarian and me a little fussy about what meat I eat (I don't eat seafood or lamb or anything cooked below medium-well) the menu got a little old for us after four cruises in less than two years and we found ourselves ordering the same things every cruise. This time after some encouragement from a head waiter we decided to try out this option we had only previously heard about. Apparently you only need to give them 24 hours notice rather than the longer heads-up others have suggested.

 

For the last night the MDR menu didn't thrill us (it would have been a flat iron steak for me) so we ended up with Chicken Makhani (substitutes for Navratan Korma for my wife's vegetarian needs) and Mattar Paneer for me with sides of dahl, basmati rice, and pappadums as well as some little salads and other fixins.

 

I found it all absolutely delicious, as good as I've had in quality Indian restaurants on land and while my wife found her korma a little cauliflowertastic for her taste, she still had more than enough delicious fare to mean we both skipped dessert and waddled out to our next engagement.

 

This was NOT the dry, gravy-bereft fare they serve up on the buffets but is really delicious Indian food. Don't be afraid to give it a try. The hostess was able to show us a little binder showing what was on offer for each night of the cruise and it was all so easy.

 

Great info!! I never knew you could request Indian food in the MDR!! Indian is one of my favorite food groups ;) and will be pleasant break from the typical fare. Is this available on all the ships??

[riffatsea]

Thankyou for posting this! Will definitely try it on our next cruise.

[Nemspy]

Just looking at the photos make me want to eat it again right now. I really wish they would put this sort of stuff on the Indian taste of nations. Do they think everyone is afraid of the gravies? Everything's so dry in the TON. A huge part of the joy of Indian food is mopping up all the wonderful sauces :)

[SMSACE6]

I must say that I do like Indian food very much, though Vindaloo is not for me, just too "hot..hot..hot!!!" but I do know that a lot of Indian dishes are not that hot. I love the Indian vegetarian dinner the first night in the MDR. I also did very much enjoy the Tandoor Grill on the Freedom last September. More than enough options there for lunch. But I wish I had known about this option being available in the MDR, I would have loved to enjoy some of these Indian dishes during the week. Maybe next time, though I wont be travelling on Carnival this year. :)

[skittl1321]

Oh man- I wish I knew it only needed 24 hours notice and not before your cruise like the website says. There were 2 nights I didn't order a main dish at all because nothing appealed to me, and 2 nights were I only picked at what I got (I'm not really a meat fan, but don't like cheese either, which is relied on heavily in their veg options- I'm not a vegetarian though). The Indian plate on the first night was the highlight of my cruise.

 

I asked about these before my cruise, but people kept refering to the first night meal or the Lido- no one really answered about this option. Thank you so much for posting- I'll remember it for next time!

[Nemspy]

There were 2 nights I didn't order a main dish at all because nothing appealed to me

 

Yeah there's a few nights like this for me too. I guess I'm just fussy lol. This made a wonderful change from yet another flat iron steak or rack of ribs.

[Nemspy]

I will try this later this month on the Miracle and will report back what happened.

 

Take photos!

 

I'd love to see what some of the other night's offerings look like.

[kparker]

I know that Indian food is generally spicy. Will they done this down for you?

 

If so will definitely give this a try on our upcoming cruise later this month.

 

Hi Stu,

 

Just happened to notice your post. We are sailing with you on the Miracle. My DH Gary loves Indian food. In fact, he ordered it on the Miracle several years ago every night. We are hoping on this upcoming cruise, the chef is as good as several years ago! You will have company for sure....Tonie who is sailing with us also loves it! See you Sunday!

Edited January 27, 2011 by kparker

[LHP]

On the Elation earlier this month, they made some wonderful authentic Indian dishes for us one night.

 

They offered to do it more than one night, but we did not want to put them to the trouble....although it was delicious.

 

We also had something made with tofu (which I thought I would hate) and I LOVED IT !!

[golfadj]

Hi Stu,

 

Just happened to notice your post. We are sailing with you on the Miracle. My DH Gary loves Indian food. In fact, he ordered it on the Miracle several years ago every night. We are hoping on this upcoming cruise, the chef is as good as several years ago! You will have company for sure....Tonie who is sailing with us also loves it! See you Sunday!

 

I will sure try it.

 

DW has a bunch of food allergies and does not like anything remotely spicy so generally I do not have opportunity to have Indian food.

[kparker]

I will sure try it.

 

DW has a bunch of food allergies and does not like anything remotely spicy so generally I do not have opportunity to have Indian food.

 

I don't have food allergies but tend to stay away from Indian food. Gary makes up for my shortcomings though! See you soon!

[LaurieHoffman]

I know we will try it on our Dream cruise.. I will order it for the 4 of us and if we don't like it we can always order another meal from the regular menu..

[amcankid]

Is Indian the only ethnic food that you can request. My wife is Filipino, and all my kids grew up eating Filipino dishes. I know that a good number of the chefs in the cruise ship business are Pinoy, so logic says that if the Indian cooks are allowed to cook their specialties apon request, the Filipino cooks should also be allowed.

[MOMtoTwins]

how do you all decide what night to request the indian meal in advance? is there a way of seeing the nightly menus ahead of time?

 

and if you order hteindian food for hte night is it a complete meal or do you order soups and apps off the regular menu?

[Nemspy]

how do you all decide what night to request the indian meal in advance? is there a way of seeing the nightly menus ahead of time?

 

and if you order hteindian food for hte night is it a complete meal or do you order soups and apps off the regular menu?

 

 

Sorry for the late reply.

 

Someone's linked the menus here on the first page of this thread.

 

If you ask for the Indian you can ask for a vegetarian meal or a non vegetarian and you get a whole spread - see the photos also on the first page of the thread.

 

You can also order stuff off the regular menu.

 

What I'm not curious about is what will happen if I just ask for ONE thing because I LOVE chicken tikka masala and that's really the only thing that turns me on for the first night. I wonder if I can ask for a big serving of it and forget about the rest of the stuff lol.