“Authentic” might be the most used word on restaurant menus, and the least explained. Nearly every curry house claims it. So how can you tell, before the first bite or just after it, whether you are sitting in a genuine authentic Indian food restaurant or somewhere that has simply learned the vocabulary?
At Shah Jahan, we are a family-owned Indian restaurant that has been serving the community for more than 20 years from Eerste Anjeliersdwarsstraat in the Jordaan. Over those years we have learned what guests notice, and what really separates one kitchen from another. Below are ten signs we look for ourselves, with the facts behind each one, so you can read any menu with confidence.
1. The Menu Knows Where Its Dishes Come From
There is no single “Indian food”. SBS Food points out that there is no one agreed Indian cuisine, only regional cooking as varied as the people who make it, and that the North Indian style is the one most often found in restaurants abroad. The same source traces classics such as dal, korma and paneer dishes to the north.
A kitchen that respects authentic Indian cuisine will be honest about which tradition it cooks from, rather than pouring everything into one generic sauce. Our cooking is rooted in the north, with the tandoor at its centre. If you want the background, our guide to Punjabi food and its regional roots explains the land behind many of the dishes on our menu, and our North Indian food section gathers related reading.
You should also see variety within one menu. Our lamb curry guide compares a Kashmiri-style Rogan Josh with a Goan-rooted vindaloo, two dishes with very different histories.
2. An Authentic Indian Food Restaurant Has a Real Tandoor
Encyclopaedia Britannica describes tandoori cooking as cooking over a charcoal fire in a cylindrical clay oven, with meats marinated in yoghurt and spices and threaded onto long skewers. That intense, dry heat is very hard to copy with a grill pan or a standard oven, which is why proper tandoori chicken arrives with charred edges and a juicy centre.
Any authentic Indian food restaurant should have a dedicated tandoor section on its menu. Ours, From the Tandoor, lists eleven dishes, from tandoori chicken, lamb tikka and seekh kabab to fish tikka and tandoori lamb chops, all served with rice and a vegetable curry sauce. To see how this clay oven shapes traditional Indian cooking, read our tandoor-to-table guide, or our round-up of authentic tandoori food in Amsterdam.
3. The Bread Is Shaped by Hand and Baked to Order
According to Britannica, naan dough is rolled flat and pressed against the inside walls of a tandoor, which can reach 480°C, and it bakes in just a few minutes, browning in spots from the heat. That is why fresh naan has blistered patches and a soft, puffed middle. Bread that arrives pale, even and floppy has usually been reheated.
In our kitchen, every naan is shaped by hand and baked on the wall of the tandoor, and naan comes with each of our set menus. Not sure which bread suits your curry? Our explainer on naan, roti, paratha and kulcha breaks down the differences.
4. The Spices Are Tempered, Not Just Stirred In
One of the clearest marks of traditional Indian cooking is the tadka, also called tarka or tempering. As NPR explains, whole or ground spices are heated in hot oil or ghee and the mixture is added to a dish, either at the start of cooking or as a final flavouring. The hot fat pulls the aroma out of the spices and carries it through the whole dish. Often you can smell it before you taste it.
The technique even gives some dishes their name. Tarka dal shows the method at its simplest: lentils, fat and spices, with nowhere for a shortcut to hide. Our Tarka Dal is made with Indian lentils cooked with butter, and it is one of the best dishes to order when you want to judge a kitchen.
5. The Flavour Has Depth, Not Just Heat
Garam masala is a good example of why no two Indian kitchens taste the same. Gulf News notes that garam masala varies from region to region and from cook to cook. The Punjabi-style blend common in North Indian homes uses coriander, cloves, cumin, fennel, dried fenugreek leaves, cardamom and cinnamon, and every household mixes its own proportions.
So a sign of authentic Indian cuisine is a sauce where you can pick out warmth, fragrance, sweetness and tang, rather than a single wall of chilli. We cook with traditional spices and our own family recipes, and our guide to bhuna, dhansak and saag shows how much a cooking style changes the character of a curry.
6. Heat Levels Are Explained and Adjustable
Authentic does not mean painfully hot. Many classic dishes are mild and creamy, while others are meant to bite, and a good kitchen tells you which is which.
On our menu, curries carry a star rating from one star (mild) to five stars (very hot). Our Lamb Kurma sits at one star, while our Lamb Vindaloo sits at five. Most dishes can be made milder or hotter, and our team is happy to guide you. If you are torn between styles, our comparison of korma, madras and vindaloo is a good place to start.
7. Vegetarian Dishes Get a Full Menu, Not a Token Corner
India has one of the deepest vegetarian food cultures in the world. In a Pew Research Center survey based on 29,999 face-to-face interviews, 39% of Indian adults described themselves as vegetarian, and about eight in ten limited meat in some way. A restaurant that treats vegetarian food as an afterthought is leaving out a huge part of Indian food.
Our menu covers vegetarian, vegan and meat dishes. Even our tandoor section includes meat-free options such as Tandoori Paneer Tikka and Tandoori Soya Chaap.
8. The Paneer Tastes Fresh
Paneer is a fresh, acid-set cheese made by curdling milk with an acid such as lemon juice. It is not aged and it does not melt, so good paneer is soft and milky but still holds its shape in a hot sauce or on a skewer.
Our paneer dishes, including palak paneer, paneer makhani and matar paneer, are built around homemade cheese. If you have a dairy allergy or lactose intolerance, our guide to eating Indian food with allergies explains where dairy appears on our menu.
9. The Staff Can Tell You What Is in Your Food
Ask a question about a dish. In an authentic Indian food restaurant, the answer should be specific: what the sauce is built on, whether it contains nuts, how hot it really is. That knowledge matters most when allergies are involved. As we explain in our allergy guide, restaurants in the Netherlands must be able to tell guests about 14 major allergens.
Our team helps with dietary requirements every day, so ask before you order, whether you are dining in or using our online ordering.
10. The Recipes Have a Story Behind Them
Authentic dishes usually have a history you can trace. Butter chicken is a famous example. National Geographic Traveller reports that the Gujral family credits Kundan Lal Gujral with inventing it, along with dal makhani, a slow-cooked buttery black dal. The Jaggi family maintains that its own relative was the true inventor, and in January 2024 the dispute reached the Delhi High Court. Whoever deserves the credit, both dishes grew out of a working tandoor kitchen. Our post on butter chicken vs chicken tikka masala explains how two similar-looking dishes ended up so different.
The best restaurants have a story of their own too. Ours is a family one: Shah Jahan is family-owned, cooks from family recipes, and has been part of the Jordaan for over two decades.
A Quick Checklist for Choosing an Authentic Indian Food Restaurant
- Does the menu explain which regional tradition it cooks from?
- Is there a real tandoor section, and does the naan come out blistered?
- Can you smell tempered spices when the dal arrives?
- Are heat levels clearly marked, with room to adjust?
- Are there proper vegetarian dishes, not just one token curry?
- Can the staff answer questions about ingredients and allergens?
For more on choosing where to eat, see our complete guide to finding the best Indian restaurant in Amsterdam.
Frequently Asked Questions
What makes an Indian restaurant authentic?
An authentic Indian food restaurant shows clear regional roots, a working tandoor, bread baked to order, spices tempered in hot oil or ghee, clearly explained heat levels, a strong vegetarian menu and staff who can explain every dish.
Is authentic Indian food always spicy?
No. Many traditional dishes, such as kurma, are mild and creamy, while others, such as vindaloo, are very hot. At Shah Jahan, each curry is star-rated for heat, and most dishes can be made milder or hotter.
What should I order to judge an Indian restaurant?
Try three simple things: something from the tandoor, a plain naan and a dal. These dishes rely on technique more than heavy sauces, so they show quickly how well a kitchen cooks.
Do authentic Indian restaurants offer vegetarian food?
They should. According to the Pew Research Center, 39% of Indian adults describe themselves as vegetarian, so vegetarian cooking is central to Indian food, not a side option.
Taste the Difference at Shah Jahan
The best way to test these ten signs is to try them for yourself at an authentic Indian food restaurant. Visit us at Eerste Anjeliersdwarsstraat 18, 1015 NR Amsterdam, browse our full menu, or call us on 020 624 0122. You can contact us to reserve a table, or order online and enjoy our food at home. If you are ordering for a group, our guide to set menus vs individual dishes will help you choose.
Want to know why so many guests return? Read what makes an Indian restaurant in Amsterdam worth visiting again and again, then come and see the tandoor in action.