Indian food

Some is delicious, but there's also meh dishes and dishes I don't like at all.

I like the eggplant dish, Bengan barta, however you spell it

Some. I like spicy food but a lot of Indian dishes are very oily. I can’t stand seeing a puddle of grease floating on top of a dish.

I only like snake surprise and chilled monkey brains.

Curry ruined me!

No. It tastes like poor, hot, and dirty.

I enjoy so much about Indian food, but wish there was a bit more variety in the textures. Many dishes are almost puréed or like dips. Not keen on alot of chutneys, but have ny faves.

Love curries.

I love it. But the smell lingers on your clothes which is annoying.

Oh hell yes I love Indian food. It's funny at one place I worked one of my co-workers was Indian. He was heating up some Lamb Vindaloo and I commented I loved the dish. He gave me a portion of it - it was awesome.

I love curries too, but prefer Japanese style or Thai to Indian ones. R8

The food's an Indian giver, like it's taken back --- one hour after consumption, there's a shootout.

Yes, good restaurant Indian food has been my favorite for many years.

It's not an easy cuisine for us lazy cooks, though. When I have the craving at home, there are some passable Trader Joe's items.

I think it's wonderful, and not everything is spicy. Lamb vindaloo, chana masala, raita, naan, biryani, chicken tikka, all so good. The lime pickle is so weird and addictive. I make a lot of dishes from Indian Cooking by Madhur Jaffrey. Once you buy your basic spices, it's not as complicated as you might imagine. During lean times I have survived quite well on her Lentils with Garlic and Onion. She does delightful things with vegetables and rice, too.

Most dishes are delicious, but most are also fattening. Lots of butter and oil. We don't cook it at home due to the lingering odors which actually seem to penetrate the walls. But it's nice to dine out for it every couple months.

I agree with R11

You need to get an Instant Pot, R13. You can have Indian in 5-10 minutes.

"Indian food" covers too many cuisines to comment on, except to say that most of it can be delicious and some of it requires an acquired taste. For me, it depends on my mood, and I like the fusion and emigre dishes, too. Mostly Goan, Punjabi and Bengali, but the Puducherry French is wonderful. Well, all of those carry the results of migration and colonial influences, I guess.

It's not all Tandoori chicken from a frying pan, pita renamed nan, and commercial garam masala in lentils and rice with onion and a yellow turmeric wash.

Plus everyone should have kedgeree for breakfast and good Mulligatawny once in a while to combat the notion that English food is boring.

I love it but don’t have it that often. It’s heavy food. Most average Indian guys seem to be slightly pudgy as a result of their diet.

Insta-G/I distress.

I love the smells and flavors, but my body protests every single time.

Thanks for that R17. One more reason to finally get an instant pot, I'd say.

R18 naan is not ‘renamed’ pita. They are very different.

This woman's Instant Pot Indian recipes were apparently so popular that she got a cookbook deal. This butter chicken recipe is supposedly the best on the web.

I just had the best Indian food I ever had tonight . Saag paneer, dal and garlic naan.

Yessss. The best Indian food I've had is in London. It's so funny to see it part of the bar food in pubs there.

What is the difference between saag paneer and palak paneer?

Strictly speaking, palak is spinach while saag can be different greens (including spinach). Practically speaking, palak seems to have much more garlic, in my experience.

Love their food but not that many decent places to get it in my area.

Thanks, R27.

Some is terrific, I have realized that in many spices the central ingredient is salt as the base. Over that.

I’m meh - I’ll eat it if friends want to an Indian place / but have it only 2 or 3 times a year.

R25 Whatever is funny about it? India was once the jewel in the crown of the entire British Empire! One of the national dishes of Great Britain is Chicken Tikka Massala . Curry is a national dish as well, even Her Majesty The Queen eats it, despite her avoidance of spicy foods.

^^^Chicken tikka masala was invented in Glasgow, Scotland.

For R25, We must remind him Scotland is in Great Britain.

Just finished some Chicken Tikka Masala. So delicious...

PMBT thread

I don't think that you know what "funny" means, R10.

[quote]Scotland is in Great Britain.

Not for much longer.

[quote]^^^Chicken tikka masala was invented in Glasgow, Scotland.

So say the British anyway! No one knows for sure where it’s from. It’s as likely as not that it originated in the Punjab.

R37, I Don't ; I'm English.

R25 doesn't know what funny is either.... I still don't see the irony.

I like the naan bread but otherwise it is way too oily.

I lived in Silicon Valley for 16 yrs and was outnumbered by Indian people in the hi-tech companies I worked at (89-05). They would order Indian food for lunch, or if we stayed late, for dinner. There was an Indian restaurant on every other corner in the area I lived in. And still I never came to really like the food. It was too spicy for me. The pureed vegetables reminded me of when I helped my sisters steam and strain fresh vegetables for my nieces and nephews (back in the 80's) when they were babies. I did like the Tandoori chicken but just couldn't get used to the other foods probably due to growing up in a NY ethnic Italian family. The whole time I was there I missed the Italian food that I grew up on.

The biryani is pretty good too for quick lunch or dinner.

Indian food is a misnomer as each region of India has its own unique cuisine and specialties.

r32- not funny per se, but amusing. As an American, we're completely ignorant of India's role in British history, and our pub food is pretty much burgers and fried anything. Indian food is exotic to us, so it's interesting when it's so commonplace in a place like a pub. I was ording curries all the time when I was there!

Biryani, I've been told is originally a Persian dish, brought to India....

R46, You seriously were not aware India was a British Colony? They never taught you in school about the British East India Companiy? Ever wonder why Indian people speak English, and with a British accent?

Love it. Don't eat it that often, since it's pretty rich and caloric. South Indian makes more use of wheat, as for croquettes called Idli.

Pakoras are good too.... Usually not greasy, though fried. Mmmm

Love it. Live in NYC so I could happily eat it every night of the week.

It's only an occasional treat, though. They use so much clarified butter.

Now I want a mango Lhassi

I worked and lived in Surrey, British Columbia for five years. I miss my weekly Indian buffet. I now live in a bean and rice country, and there are maybe 2 Indian restaurants in the country, neither of which I have tried.

One of the things I look forward to on my trips up to Vancouver is getting my fill of Indian food. Have never tried the very popular Vij's - I won't stand in a line for anything.

....

I miss the Indian food in London; I live in the states now. Indian is good in NYC, but as good.

r48- yes I know it was a British Colony, as were other places. But that's it. They don't teach us that Indian food is prevalent in pubs.

Come to Chicago, we do here!

R56 We eat chutneys too, and mix them in non-Indian foods, have very popular curry ketchups, and curry HP sauce, curried chips, but generally our British-style curries are not as spicy as those made by Indian people.

If you insist upon eating it, I’ll go to a restaurant with you, but I hate stinking up the house cooking it. I know there are people who insist it doesn’t all smell the same, but my nostrils are not that finely tuned.

R22, you silly thing. I meant that people take pita and call it naan.

My post should have indicated to you that I know the subject, you dullard.

I love Mulligatawny soup and I do like the taste of fresh coriander, cumin, cardamom and lemongrass.

So yes I like Indian food a lot.

Their sweets are pretty good as well

R60 your post was singularity uninformative and frankly a mess so no, your “knowledge” is not obvious.

Our supermarket has some Indian dishes which are probably not close to authentic, but really good nevertheless. They cost too much to buy on a regular basis.

I've recently started getting cravings for Indian food like I used to for sushi

The Saffron Road frozen biryani can be good on sale, it's far too expensive to buy a regular price. I add some frozen peas as a side item with it, and it's plenty for dinner.

I'm disappointed when I go to a buffet that has very watery greens. Chicken tikka I think as of as boring white people's food. I hate cauliflower, so that's the only thing at an Indian restaurant that I really refuse to eat.

From the article, I'm really considering getting an instant pot now, assuming that one should brown the chicken first before starting the curry?

"Indian food is a misnomer as each region of India has its own unique cuisine and specialties."

And, all of those regions are in India, so how is "Indian food" a misnomer? Vague, yes. A misnomer, no.

Indian food in London is like crack.

I swear they put drugs in it. It is just next level.

R68 Aye Aye Captain Curry!

Forget the name of the doughnuts swimming in syrup and cardomom in R62's pic, but am powerless over them!

I don't like vindaloo because I don't like foods that burn my tongue. I don't like coconut, so chutney or fishes with coconut are not my thing.

I like most other Indian food except desserts, but I'm not a big dessert person. If Indian food tastes bland, put condiments on it. There are tons of condiments. You'll like at least one of them.

[quotes] or fishes with coconut are not my thing.

Dishes with coconut.

Chutney does not need coconut as an ingredient to be chutney.... Wonder what you mean by that R71/R72?????

[quote] As an American, we're completely ignorant of India's role in British history,

Speak for yourself. I know all about the Raj and the British (and Russian) role in Central Asia.

Gulub jaman, R70. I prefer ras malai myself; not a fan of barfi.

When I lived n the city, eating Indian food inside the restaurant was affordable (especially on 6th Street, which is Pakistani), but Indian food takeout was ridiculously expensive.

I have a love/hate relationship with Indian food. I will go out and simply GORGE on it every 2-3 months, and then inevitably pay the price a few hours later, or the next day, lol.

Thx R75

Bangladeshi NOT Pakistani, R76.

I love Chicken Tikka Masala but only when it’s in a thick bhuna style tomato sauce. I hate the kind with cream in it.

Let's talk about the wonders of the C Programming Language!

Fuck Indian food, it's all about Sri Lankan food!!

There's definitely something to it. A billion and a half people can't be wrong.

Also, the restorative powers of curry, turmeric, cumin, etc. are amazing.

Plus, the vegetarian options are incomparable to virtually any other cuisine.

East 6th Street in NYC, unfortunately, no longer has as many Indian restaurants as it used to. There are more Indian restaurants concentrated in Curry Hill, around Lexington Avenue in the East 20s now.

I got into Indian food when I was a student in London, since there's only so much Steak pie, cornish pasty, roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, etc. that one can tolerate. Donner kebabs were cheap (I guess their U.S. equivalents are gyros) and wonderful, tasty Indian food (or curries served in more typical English restaurants) saved the day and enlivened my tastebuds, reminding me I had already eaten when I tried to live on 2 meals a day as I saved my money for theatre tickets.

Love chicken tikka masala, sag paneer, aloo gobi (potatoes and cauliflower), gulab jamin, ras malai, rose water or mango lassi, nann, poori, mango chutney, among other dishes. Just yummy!

I've never had Indian food in my life mainly because most of it is spicy and I suffer from acid reflux. So I try to stay away from foods that are too spicy. But my friend recently had a party and had ordered Indian food. I tried some of it that they said wasn't too spicy. It was okay but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat it again.

If you stay away from some curries and eat stuff baked in the Tandoor oven like Chicken Tandoori, that's not particularly spicy. Plus the desserts are very sweet.

This is making me incredibly hungry!

Aside from vindaloo, most Indian food served in restaurants is fairly middle of the road, not spicy.

Does anyone other than western white Scardy Cats actually eat, or particularly like, tandoori chicken that appears at every Indian buffet?

R84, do you have any favorite Indian restaurants in NYC?

When I lived in NYC decades ago, the best Indian was the Five Star diner in LIC, first stop in Queens on 7 train.

Tandoori chicken is fine. It's certainly no worse than buffalo wings or KFC

I hate Buffalo wings, haven't had KFC in years.

R89 There are always new ones popping up when others close in Curry Hill, so I'm not partial to any in particular, though some of the nicer-decorated buffets can be pretty nice at lunchtime. Used to have some faves down at East 6th (rumor was most of them were owned by a few brothers-in-law). This is R84.

I love samosas.

Here is the Punjabi eggplant dish, baingan bharta

If one likes Indian food, would you say they are likely to enjoy Ethiopian food?

Possibly r96 but it’s not the same even though they have some ingredients in common. What aspects / flavors / textures in particular a person likes about one cuisine may be absent in another that uses some similar ingredients.

Looks great R95.... Love anything with eggplant....

Ethiopian food has the fun factor of eating with your hands - you break off a piece if the spongy, delicious Injera bread and wrap it around some of the meat or vegetable dish and eat it . Some of the dishes can be spicy like Indian -- I love the berbere sauce, yummy!

You eat Indian food with your hands too r99 - that is what the naan / pita / roti is for.

They don't even give you cutlery when you go to an Ethiopian restaurant; you have the option to use forks, etc. with Indian or to sop up your curry with your bread.

I stay away from Pranna in NYC. The owner draws douche bros and douche bras into his restaurant with extreme alcohol brunches. Said douches then scream all day Saturday &Sunday and puke, puke, puke, making the neighborhood awful. The douche bro who claimed "my father owns half of NYC" was a Pranna regular.

Stay away.

R102 further to R102's words of warning: stay away from buffet only joynts too, or stick with vegetarian dishes there. Usualyy their best dishes are NOT in the buffet, order off regular menu whenever possible.

Pranna has been closed down, per an internet search.

Good. The owners can reopen in London, where that kind of behavior is standard.

I haven't had that many dishes but I've really liked what I have. I really loved chicken tikka masala; I decided to try to recreate the dish at home. It was a lot of work/steps and I had to buy various things that I usually don't pick up. However, the finished dish was delicious and made it worth the time. I also made pistachio kulfi a few years ago - yum!

I plan to try to make saag paneer myself as the packaged stuff sold in supermarkets is so expensive for the 10oz pouch they sell.

Just don't employ the "Campbells" in your attempt R106! Otherwise good luck! Don't forget to "bloom" your spices in oil, and grind 'em fresh!

R100 - I have never witnessed anyone, Indian or Western, eating with their hands at an Indian restaurant in the United States.

There used to be an Ethiopian restaurant with a lunch buffet near me. They would have a big bowl of white rice and a container of forks for Western visitors, as an injera alternative: SAD!

Then you haven’t eaten much Indian food r108. I’ve been to Mumbai where cutlery was rarely used.

R108, rarely saw non- Indian people do it in NY, sometimes in London and Chicago, but most incidents notice a combo of cutlery/hands. An old boss of mine had me to dinner in his home, his entire Indian family ate solely with their hands at home, but not while we were out usually.

Except for samosas, everything looks like vomit.

Pakora looks like poo -- and they are delicious!

R108 when you’re at these restaurants how do people eat naan or chapati? Do they cut a teensy tiny bit off with their knife, transfer it to a fork then pile a tiny bit of sauce on top and manoeuvre to their mouths or do they just rip a piece of bread off, wrap it around the morsel and eat it - like everyone else in the rest of the world?

As I said, bit of both.... Some cutlery & hand. Not every person who likes Indian food eats each and every bite w/a piece of naan, roti, or other such breads.... As you claim "Everyone else in the rest of the world" Not my experience living in London, NYC, and Chicago. Have had many Indian (British) friends growing up too, neighbours, and schoolmates.

Sorry 113, as I wrongly answered for R108.... My comments were R110... Got confused.

I have been to Mumbai several times myself. I understand that Indians eat with their hands at home, but I have never seen any in restaurants doing so.

I see a lot of north Indian dishes thread, so I'll give a shout out to my favorite south Indian foods - dosa, of course, idli and sambar, uttapam, pongal, mmm, hungry now for some chana poori....

I found sambar an acquired taste.

Nothing beats a good Gujarati thali though.

R108, I've been to a lot of Indian places in NYC over the years and have never seen anyone eat anything other than a papadum or nan with their fingers. Ethiopian injera is delicious, made from a fermented grain called teff and has a sourish taste I like.

I am having this for dinner! 😜

IT GIVES ME MASSIVE HEARTBURN AND WHEN I SHIT ITS LIKE FIRE

I don't find Indian food to be particularly heat-spicy, at least not the northern Indian/Punjabi fare Americans are most acquainted with. Not like Thai or Mexican spicy, at least.

It all tastes the same to me, but I like it enough to eat it occasionally.

I love Indian food. i want to find an Indian husband who knows how to cook.

I make my own Indian, everything from plain and vegetable pakoras/pakodas using oats rather than besan flour, to parathas, both plain and stuffed with potatoes and/or dahl, vegetable sambars, kitcharis/khichdis, vegetable biryanis/pulaos, dahl Bukhara/Mahkani, and various types of dahl/rice recipes from all over India. Indian cuisine is so varied that I can go a year and not prepare the same dish twice.

I used to eat at an Indian restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. I loved the food. In 1996 I took a couple of friends to their favourite Indian restaurant in Covent Garden. The food tasted like shite, it looked like the first person didn't enjoy it. I guess it's regional cuisine. But I wasn't impressed.

I like Indian Curries but have a preference for Chinese curried dishes.

Chinese and Japanese curries are horrid.

This is the first that I've ever heard of Chinese curry.

Good rice, good curry, good Gandhi, let's hurry