For beginners, eating an Indian meal might be somewhat of problem let alone cooking a balanced Indian meal. Indian food is designed to be eaten with the group. Unlike western food, Indian food cannot be eaten or served without a combination. Thus, even though you like that curried vegetable or chutney, try not to eat it by itself. Combine it with rice or Indian bread or with other dishes. This will help you enjoy the meal more and will not give any digestion problems later.

There is basic rule about how to combine dishes to make a complete Indian meal. Each Indian meal should consist of starch (for example: rice and/or Indian bread), one or more main dishes (for example: meat dish or fish dish, or a lentil and vegetable combination) and some kind of chutney. Usually two vegetables and/or lentil dish will be served with meal; one ‘wet’ with lots of soup and one ‘dry’. For a simple meal there will be only few varieties of dishes while for an elaborate parties or festivals, more variety of them are prepared.

Indian Main Dish
Indian food is as diverse as many ethnic and cultural groups in India. Tradition, ethnicity, geographic location, religion or individual preference defines a typical meal Thali (a large plate with small bowls dishes). A typical Indian meal consists of starch, lentils or beans, and vegetable. Non-vegetarians have meat in moderate quantity.