Residents have the chance to taste a range of Indian dishes as part of a three-month food festival at Indigo restaurant.And although Indians like their food extra spicy and extra sweet, head chef Pradeep Singh promises he’s toned down the flavours somewhat for Bermuda residents.Mr Singh has worked at the restaurant for four years and is originally from New Delhi, India.“Indian food here is very mild,” said Mr Singh. “Bermudians seem to prefer it that way, but if a customer comes in and wants spicier food we can certainly accommodate.“In India, you cannot get mild food; everywhere food is very spicy. Sometimes foods in India are also more sour than you would find in Bermuda. We often serve a meal with Indian pickle, and use sauces that you don’t see here a lot, like mint sauce.”Mr Singh said he has been a chef for 17 years, but when he visits his family in India, the women still throw him out of the kitchen. Home cooking is still seen primarily as a woman’s territory in India.“Some of my favourite dishes are on the menu at Indigo including lamb rogan josh, butter chicken and chicken biryani,” said Mr Singh. “Many of our customers also like those dishes.”Rogan josh is an aromatic lamb dish hailing from the Kashmir region of India.In the Persian language, rogan means oil and josh means hot. The dish has a red colour from red chilli pepper powder used as an ingredient.Biryani which means “fried” or “roasted” in Persian, is a rice-based dish that has spices, rice and meat, fish, eggs or vegetables.Of course, no meal would be complete without dessert, and Indigo is offering several typically Indian desserts such as gulab juman, and boondi ladoo.“Indian dessert here is totally different,” he said. “We tend to make the desserts much sweeter in India.“I think it is because the food is hotter or more sour, so you need a sweeter dessert afterward. Also, people here tend to be more health-conscious.“They want to go for a morning workout, or run on the road, so they might avoid very sweet desserts the night before. That’s why we make it less sweet for Bermudians.”Gulab juman is made from dough mixed with milk and then deep fried.Often, it is dipped into a sugary syrup that has cardamom seeds, rosewater, and saffron. It is often eaten at weddings. Boondi ladoo are sweet dumplings.For more information, call the Flatts restaurant on 298-9800