Gluten-Free Indian Food in Denver: What to Order and What to Skip

If you avoid gluten, Indian food is one of the easiest cuisines to eat out. Most curries get their body from onions, tomatoes, nuts, yogurt, or lentils rather than flour, and rice is the default side. The trick is knowing the few things to skip.

Why most Indian food is naturally gluten-free

A classic curry starts with onion and tomato cooked down slowly, then gets finished with cream, yogurt, ground cashews, or blended spinach. Tandoori dishes are meat or seafood marinated in yogurt and spices and roasted in a clay oven. Lentils and chickpeas are gluten-free, and fritters like onion bhaji are traditionally made with chickpea flour instead of wheat.

Gluten shows up mainly in bread (naan is wheat), pastry (samosas), dumplings, and noodle dishes.

What you can order

We mark gluten-free dishes with GF on our menu. That includes:

• Most curries: butter chicken, tikka masala, vindaloo, korma, rogan josh, saag, the Indian classic curry, Jamaican goat curry, seafood coconut curry, and mahi moilee.
• Every dish in our vegan section, plus vegetarian curries like paneer makhani, malai kofta, and dal makhni.
• The whole tandoori grill: chicken tikka kebab, lamb tikka kebab, tandoori chicken, lamb rack chops, tiger shrimp, and the mixed grill.
• House specials: Colorado lamb chops, lamb shank, and rainbow trout curry.
• Biryani, plus plain basmati, brown, or jasmine rice.
• Starters: onion bhaji, chicken choila, lamb pepper stir fry, tandoori jerk mushroom, and wings with the Manchurian, hot masala, or Kathmandu dry rub.

What to skip

• All naan. Order rice instead.
• Samosas and samosa chat, because of the pastry.
• Momo, because the wrappers are wheat.
• Nepali chowmein and pad thai.
• Anything without a GF mark. Assume it has gluten and ask.

If you have celiac disease

The GF mark tells you about ingredients. It doesn't mean the kitchen is gluten-free. We bake naan and fry wheat-based snacks in the same kitchen. If you have celiac disease or a serious sensitivity, tell your server when you order, and they'll check with the kitchen about fryers and prep for the dishes you're looking at.

An easy gluten-free order

For two: onion bhaji to start, butter chicken and chana masala, a side of basmati, and mango kulfi. For a group, add a mixed grill and a biryani.