# Can Someone Explain Indian Food For Me? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 12, 2010, 7:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636 "2010-01-12T07:28:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/cc9497/32.png) [@Capt.Ridley\_s\_Shooting\_Party](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capt.Ridley_s_Shooting_Party)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/21 "2010-01-13T16:46:30Z")
As a general rule: Dansak, bhuna, daal, butter chicken and chicken tikka massala are all moderately spiced. Korma is very lightly spiced and sweet, whilst vindaloo, Madras and rogan josh are all hotter. The dreaded phaal is the hottest of them all. ---
**Author:** ![zweisamkeit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zweisamkeit/32/4360_2.png) [@zweisamkeit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zweisamkeit)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/22 "2010-01-13T19:16:21Z")
I love Indian food, but I hate when I go to buffets because a lot of the time, they either aren’t labeled (esp if I go to Indian restaurants where I’m usually the only non-Indian there) or I try a bunch of stuff and can’t remember what each thing is called. ☹ I also, being in the Midwest, have gotten waiters who will say I won’t like something. I hate this SO FREAKING MUCH. I know that most honkies here probably have hated it, so I understand his attitude, but I hate confrontation. How can I politely say that I know I’ll like it? And how do I avoid getting Whitespiced[sup]TM[/sup]? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/23 "2010-01-13T19:24:12Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I love salty lassi. Sigh. But no, none of my friends like it one bit. I love it, too. But my special favorite is cardamom lassi. I made it at home once and it was ridiculously easy. I do love the flavor of cardamom! ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/24 "2010-01-13T19:40:19Z")
LOVE butter chicken. Really - so, so good ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/25 "2010-01-13T19:50:02Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > How can I politely say that I know I’ll like it? And how do I avoid getting Whitespiced[sup]TM[/sup]? Big smile, conspiratorial waggle of the finger, then words to the effect of “ah ha ha ha… I promise you - I like it _a lot_, and I like it Indian style too”, then wink. The happy approach usually works. To be honest though, most of my Indian friends complain about too much chilli in anything. They think us Brits are insane for liking stuff so spicy hot. (The Thais that I know, however, are a different story.) ---
**Author:** ![scule](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@scule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scule)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/26 "2010-01-13T19:53:16Z")
If you actually are in Winnipeg now, I can make this very, very easy for you. Go to 349 York Ave, to the East India Company. Have the buffet there and never look back. I love Indian food, and that place is hands down the best I’ve ever had. It’s in the same building as a hotel, I think, but I don’t live in Winnipeg so I can’t remember for sure. Try a bit of everything, but my personal favourite is lamb masala. I’ll just say your welcome now and save you the trouble of thanking me later. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/27 "2010-01-13T19:58:56Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > And how do I avoid getting Whitespiced[sup]TM[/sup]? Whitespiced. I love it! Years ago a found a rib place, 100% owned and run by black people. I ordered the Oink Ribs. The woman at the counter asked me if I mild or spicy BBQ sauce with it. I said I wanted spicy. She asked “Are you sure? It’s really hot.” Yes, I was sure. I took it home and tried it. It was yummy but hardly spicy. Pfft. Wimps. A few weeks later I went back and the same thing happened. But this time I said “I’ve had the spicy sauce before.” The woman at the counter gave me a look of awe and filled my order. Well apparently, the first time the woman was saving from myself and gave me the mild sauce. Because the hot was really, well… Nom nom nom HOLY SHIT I’M DYING nom nom nom nom. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/28 "2010-01-13T20:01:34Z")
> [@teela\_brown](#): > > I love it, too. But my special favorite is cardamom lassi. I made it at home once and it was ridiculously easy. I do love the flavor of cardamom! i like cardamom in my coffee, and occasionally in iced tea. got a recipe for the cardamom lassi? ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/29 "2010-01-13T20:07:56Z")
Last year I made cardamom ice cream. It was fantastic. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/30 "2010-01-13T20:09:02Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Last year I made cardamom ice cream. It was fantastic. Wow, that sounds _good_. ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/31 "2010-01-13T20:39:35Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > i like cardamom in my coffee, and occasionally in iced tea. got a recipe for the cardamom lassi? Here ya go. 2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt 3 tbsp. sugar 1 tsp. ground green cardamom seeds 1. Put yogurt, sugar, and cardamom into a blender and purée until well combined. Divide lassi between 2 glasses and chill for 30 minutes, until cold, or serve at once. ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/32 "2010-01-13T20:51:49Z")
Maybe someone can help me. Every time I’ve had Indian food, I haven’t liked it. Everything I’ve had has had a lot of spice in it, and has had stuff like cardamom and curry powder, and just stuff that tastes really bad. Are there any Indian foods that aren’t like that, that I might actually like? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/33 "2010-01-13T20:57:27Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Beer is the usual accompaniment for people who drink booze. There are two popular Indian lagers designed with curry eating in mind - Kingfisher and Cobra (which is actually a UK invention). Cold lager goes sooo well with this stuff. [MICRO-UBER-LISTER: Of course! Lager! The only thing that can kill a vindaloo!](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_(Red_Dwarf)) ---
**Author:** ![Mtgman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Mtgman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mtgman)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/34 "2010-01-13T21:02:12Z")
> [@zweisamkeit](#): > > How do I avoid getting Whitespiced[sup]TM[/sup]? I’ve found a few ways. The first is to order things that they can’t Whitespice. [Mirchi-bajji](http://www.nandyala.org/mahanandi/archives/2006/07/31/mirchi-bajji-hyderbadi-style/) is a good example. They’re chili peppers battered and fried. Here in Texas I’ve found a place that make them with Jalepeno peppers, and they’re very good. Hard to whitespice a pepper. Another way is to go with Indian friends/co-workers and let them order for you. A friend of mine and I would sometimes laugh about how different the dishes were when he called in the order and when I called it in. When he called it in the biryani would arrive with chunks of peppers mixed in and with more spices. When I did there were almost never chunks of peppers, even if I asked for “spicy”. Maybe the best is to learn about the cuisine and be able to converse intelligently about it. Saying “extra mirchi” when you order is a general signal that you know what you’re asking for(as long as peppers are an ingredient in what you order, otherwise you just look stupid). I’m a regular at the local Indian market(they have great prices on a lot of stuff) and they’ve actually added items to the menu in their cafe because I used to ask for off-menu stuff often enough. If you order something off-menu odds are they’ll make it the way mama did. Knowing enough about the cuisine to ask for some special dish in a way which shows you know what you’re asking for can win you into some people’s hearts. Enjoy, Steven ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/35 "2010-01-13T21:03:01Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Stay away from the beef. For some reason it just doesn’t translate into Indian very well. Chicken, lamb, and shrimp are the prefered meats. Also, for some reason, I have never, ever seen pork on an Indian menu. Perhaps that’s because cows are sacred to Hindus and pigs are unclean to Muslims. (See the [Sepoy Rebellion.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Indian_Rebellion_of_1857#The_Enfield_Rifle)) ---
**Author:** ![truthbot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@truthbot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/truthbot)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/36 "2010-01-13T21:07:49Z")
Does anyone have a recipe for saag? I’ve tried googling; but nothing comes close to the saag I adore at my local India Palace. I’ve bugged the owner for years for even a hint; but he just smiles and tells me “You have to come here to get it!” It’s very creamy and has no discernable lumps of ginger, onion or whatever. I make saag at home that is tasty, but not dreamy-creamy like the restaraunt. If I could nail it, I’d be eating by the gallon! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/37 "2010-01-13T21:32:19Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Also, for some reason, I have never, ever seen pork on an Indian menu. > > Perhaps that’s because cows are sacred to Hindus and pigs are unclean to Muslims. (See the [Sepoy Rebellion.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Causes_of_the_Indian_Rebellion_of_1857#The_Enfield_Rifle)) I’ve never seen pork either, but I’ve seen beef. Weird. And what’s bad about it is that for some reason it gets really tough. I don’t know if it’s the cuts they use or the cooking process. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/38 "2010-01-13T21:37:46Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > Maybe someone can help me. Every time I’ve had Indian food, I haven’t liked it. Everything I’ve had has had a lot of spice in it, and has had stuff like cardamom and curry powder, and just stuff that tastes really bad. > > Are there any Indian foods that aren’t like that, that I might actually like? Probably not. Indian food is meant to be heavily seasoned - we think most American food is pretty bland. As for beef, generally it’s the cuts they use. They skimp and use the cheap, fatty beef too often. Lamb \_\_\_\_ is delicious, but then I love lamb. And I never eat Indian food as HOT as English people do. I have said this before, but most of my Indian friends don’t even eat vindaloo. It’s for Crazy White People. 😉 Although my dad and my half-brother do eat whole chili peppers. ---
**Author:** ![vifslan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/f4b2a3/32.png) [@vifslan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vifslan)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/39 "2010-01-13T21:40:26Z")
> [@truthbot](#): > > It’s very creamy and has no discernable lumps of ginger, onion or whatever. I make saag at home that is tasty, but not dreamy-creamy like the restaraunt. If I could nail it, I’d be eating by the gallon! I’d guess that the garlic, ginger and onion have been mashed into a paste before being added to the frying pan, that’s a pretty common technique in cooking Indian. Just chop them up coarsely, put them in a blender and perhaps add a little water. Now I’m upset with myself for using up all my Crimini mushrooms in a stuffing for buckwheat pancakes instead of making Madhur Jaffrey’s black-eye bean and mushroom curry, which is to die for. Not to mention hungry. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2010, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/40 "2010-01-13T22:10:16Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > Probably not. Indian food is meant to be heavily seasoned - we think most American food is pretty bland. I’ve read that Mughal cuisine is comparatively mild; is that true? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636.md?page=3)