The greatest way to include classic Indian comfort foods in your restaurant’s modern menu is to create visual appeal. Imagine a customer checking out an ala carte menu design with appealing food images. Doesn’t it work instantly?
Today, customers love to see visually appealing menu designs that reflect a restaurant’s image in terms of food taste, environment, and overall services. When choosing comfort foods, more things must be considered, such as the ones we will describe in this article.
So, get ready for the six top tips to incorporate classic Indian comfort foods into the modern menu while making your customers’ meals enjoyable.
1. Add High-Quality Images to the Menu
As we’ve mentioned earlier, adding high-resolution images of some of the featured classic Indian comfort foods to the menu can lure your customers into ordering them. It’s an easy but highly effective way to upgrade your menu design.
Images instantly draw customers’ attention to the particular food item you’re trying to sell. It’s a great method to help customers try out your top recipes when they’re particularly not sure of what to order.
Make sure to use original photos of your comfort dishes that are fresh and warm. The livelier the images, the better your traditional Indian comfort dishes will attract customers. Consider investing in professional menu design and printing to produce a high-quality menu for your restaurant.
2. Start with Top Flavourful Indian Items
If you’re operating your restaurant business in a non-Indian location while trying to promote your classic delicacies on the menu, go slow. The idea is to introduce your customers to Indian dishes first, not to overwhelm them with a wide range of items.
You must remember that people are accustomed to comfort foods differently. To some, it’s about eating healthy foods, while for others, it’s whatever rejoices their taste buds based on habits or nostalgia.
So, plan to prepare some notable Indian classic comfort dishes, such as Butter Chicken, for a specific time period, let’s say, the next two to three months. Add those dishes to the menu and inspire your customers to try them.
See your customers’ responses. If they love these items, continue with them for a while until you introduce your next batch of mouthwatering classic Indian courses.
3. Add Indian Beverages to the Menu
Traditional Indian beverages are one of the highlights of Indian comfort delicacies. Keeping them in the forefront of customers’ minds can be a nice trick to entice them to try more classic Indian dishes later on.
So, add some wonderful and tasty Indian drinks to your menu, such as lassi, chaas, nimbu pani (lime water), aam panna, mango lassi, and so on. Many of the Indian classic drinks, such as jaljeera, coconut juice, aam panna, etc. can work both as appetisers and coolers.
Customers will love to taste these wonderful drinks, which not only complement their lunch and dinner but also counterbalance the spices they consume with the food.
4. Flare Up Your Modern Menu with Culture
Bringing cultural diversity to your modern restaurant menu creates a unique identity for your culinary flares. To surprise your customers with an array of traditional and cultural Indian foods, organise classic Indian foods from different regions on your menu.
Add popular South Indian classic delicacies like Masala Dosa, Idli and Sambar, Biriyani, Pandi Curry, Shikampuri kebab, etc., to your menu. Complete the cultural diversity list and add some delicious North Indian classic dishes, such as Palak Paneer, Malai Kofta, Rajma Masala, etc.
Make sure you stay true to the original recipes of the cultural Indian dishes that you’re offering to your customers. Otherwise, the purpose of preparing and serving the comfort of Indian foods will be ruined. Also, you don’t want to let your competitors lure your customers in with more authentic recipes of these dishes.
5. Consider Eating Habits of the Locals
Although Indian foods have already championed their way into British culture for ages, you still need to consider the locality you’re operating in. Taste, preferences, and trends may vary from city to city and from time to time. The same goes for Indian comfort foods.
If your restaurant is located in a busy area filled with many working people, consider adding fast and yummy Indian food to the menu. Add items suitable for official meetings at breakfasts, dinners, or brunches. If there’s a constant demand for late-night dinner, ensure foods are available for serving around that time.
For a locality with more residential people, you may promote your top Indian classic foods among the people through online promotions, brochures, and modern takeaway menu designs. Observe their demand and add items to the menu as required.
6. Set Affordable Prices for Each Item
People would love to taste your traditional and cultural Indian food if you present them properly. However, if the prices are higher than usual, most customers would ultimately turn to the regular Western or European dishes or sneak out to another restaurant with better prices.
So, make sure your prices are affordable for customers from different walks of life. Besides, introduce various promotional or loyalty offers to serve a variety of Indian classic dishes on platters.
Moreover, offer discounts on festival packages, takeaways, or online ordering to increase the popularity of your classic Indian comfort foods. It’s essential to set competitive but affordable prices on the menu to keep your customers returning to your restaurant.
Final Thoughts
So, that’s all about including classic Indian comfort foods into a modern menu. It’s not about making a lot of noise and forcing your customers to order your traditional items. Instead, you do it by creating a demand for the comfort foods you’re offering.
Additionally, you must balance serving your restaurant’s traditional and regular dishes. Apart from adding these Indian courses to your menu, maintain a proper service, including timely serving, asking for feedback, improving service quality, etc.
