Laotian is pretty close to Vietnamese cuisine wise. Differences are there ofcourse.
Vietnamese cuisine has really picked up in India of late too.
Somehow Thai didn’t. I mean there are the regular green curry/red curry restaurants but nothing beyond that.
I just don’t think Indian restaurants in the US are worth the price.
In my limited experience in US (mainly Detroit/Chicago) , I found them in terms of value for money somewhat of a rip off. I was on a budget as I was deputed to work for a few months there so that may have played a part.
Found better value in other cuisines.
So I had an urge for a “south indian breakfast”. Basically made of rice+lentil dishes (either pancakes / crepes or steamed ones).
So went to a place in Chicago , trying to remember. Was called Udupi something. I think the dosa was around $8 there when it would barely cost 30 cents to make.
I think typically has been the case. Not only expensive, but modified so much to cater to an American market largely unfamiliar with it that it loses most of its soul. At least locally though we’ve seen big improvements over the past 10 years which I’d imagine were part of a food trend rather than being an Orlando anomaly
I felt the dishes were alright. I mean they were the basic stock restaurant fare. But indian restaurant food is like 3-4 base gravies and then minor differences.
Between yesterday’s loss, @Iftikhar’s care package, and all this food talk, I have heartburn.
I wanted to ask this for a while @Sithbare
What are the major distinctions between North Indian, South Indian, and West Indian dishes? I know the question is rather vague or open-ended.
For example, I know South Indians (Kerala) use coconut milk in cooking. I don’t think I have seen any dish (even in our adjoining regions of India) that looks like our curries.
Don’t ask him, Ifty. I will take you to a dhabba in Himachal Pradesh and explain. Make sure you have taken your tyephoid vaccine though.
There is a place in London called Punjab House generally regarded as being the first Indian restaurant in the UK. There we had a waiter chide one of the people I was with for asking the dish to be made spicy. He explained to her that the heat level is purposefully calibrated against the other attributes of the dish and you cannot turn that up or down on a whim and not lose the essence of the dish. So in short, go fuck yourself for insulting me and my cultural heritage
In the US dishes start with a no heat level and then get tailored to a mild/medium/hot on request
I know the answer. North Indian food comes from the North, South Indian food comes from the south and West Indian food comes from the Caribbean
Pretty tough to answer. Every state of India has its own cuisine.
But basically
South Indian - Rice and lentils are predominantly eaten here(often in some combo for all three meals). I don’t mean Basmati Rice , the short grain rices. more liberal with the spices and chillies (considering Spice trade in India basically was trade with Kerala) , Chillies are a relatively new addition to indian Cuisine as are Tomatoes and Potatoes but chillies are mostly consumed quite a bit in the southern states. Beef is consumed in some of the southern states on a more regular basis (amongst all communities) , it’s pretty much taboo to consume beef elsewhere but south India is more relaxed on those matters.
West India again has some similarities with Punjabi food. The typical wheat based diet , heavy on the ghee etc. Gujarati’s tend to favour a more sweet-spicy combination. Lentils and rice are eaten but not as how much South Indians eat.
Central India - heavily wheat based and probably the most similar to bangladeshi cooking (referring to the mughlai scene in Delhi / Lucknow minus the potatoes ofcourse). My exposure to individual states there has been limited though I think Bihar does make some good non veg dishes (those seem a bit rustic). Madhya Pradesh is more of a snacks kinda place , the haldiram’s etc being a noticable brand (which you might find in shops)
East India (you would be knowing about Bengali cuisine) but there’s the other cuisines of Manipur / Meghalaya / Assam etc which are again unique. Beef and Pork are widely consumed there itself as well.
There are again some cuisines like Hyderabadi , Goan etc which are a fusion of different cuisines (both Indian as well as Portugese (for Goa).
The word “curry” is actually misleading. It’s often linked to gravy based dishes. There are gravy based dishes down South though. But it’s not basically a roti - curry place.
South Indian foods have Rice and a Lentil based dish as staple requirements. Any other dishes are basically add-ons to those.
I had no idea about this until recently, we were invited to a birthday and discussing food. that’s when I found out that some countries in south caribbean (like Grenada) have a large indian population due to the spice trade of 200+ years ago.
side note… I try to master a new dish every year. this year, I’ve chosen oxtail with rice-and-peas.
Carribbean as well as South African have had quite a bit of Indian influences on their food. They’ve taken it to a whole new level though.
He’s a cunt, but about 10-15 years ago Gordon Ramsey actually did a nice series exploring the regional diversity of food in India.
I liked that though. Better than Floyd’s India series.
Trinidad is about 40-50% Indian heritage. Guyana is the other big one.
For people wanting to try out Indian cooking, look for places where they serve what’s called a thali.
