# 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:** 11\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![King\_Bobo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@King\_Bobo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Bobo)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/61 "2010-01-15T00:19:57Z")
> [@needscoffee](#): > > A common Indian restaurant dessert in my city is Ras Malai, cheese balls served in half-and-half which has been flavored with rose or orange water and cardamom. It’s heavenly, and not particularly sweet. Must be a different Ras Malai than I have had. Most are tooth-achingly sweet. In fact, for my taste all Indian “sweets” are just too sugary for me. Barfis, kulfis, gulab jamuns and laddoos are all too sweet for me. Even traditional Kheer (rice pudding) is too sweet. I did however savour a mango ice-cream at the Holiday Inn in Surat that was to DIE for. Best ice-cream ever. I ate it every day for a month when I was working there. I am still trying to unload the calories from my rump!!! ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/62 "2010-01-15T01:25:12Z")
> [@King\_Bobo](#): > > Must be a different Ras Malai than I have had. > > Most are tooth-achingly sweet. […] These aren’t the ones in syrup. Just cheese balls in 1/2 & 1/2. ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2010, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/63 "2010-01-15T05:12:00Z")
Thanks, everyone, for the tips. I think maybe I’ll check out one of the restaurants around here this weekend. ---
**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 16, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/64 "2010-01-16T04:44:33Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > All Indian food (just about) is heavily seasoned. So, what’s not heavily seasoned? Is there anything? ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/65 "2010-01-16T05:14:59Z")
Imagine you grew up in the continent with the most singularly pungent, aromatic, spicy (spice is entirely Indian by climatology and fauna), and exotic plants, fruits and seeds. Grow your delicacies around this melangerie. The subcontinent is very interesting in an evolutionary-botanical sense. ---
**Author:** ![Indian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@Indian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indian)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/66 "2010-01-16T07:07:01Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > Half indian chiming in. > South indian food tends to be very vegetarian. Crepe-style thin pancakes are a staple, called [dosa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dosa). **Indian living in India here .** Dosa has been chosen as [India’s national dish](http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?263445)in a poll by a magazine last month. Like cricket , masala dosa is playing its part in national integration.😉 A link on the fantastic [non-veg dishes](http://mangaloreanfood.blogspot.com/2007/11/kori-rotti-chicken-rotti.html) in south India . Click on the links on top of the linked page for other regional dishes. There are many more south indian non vegitarian dishes apart from this . Will try to post some links when I get some free time. ---
**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 16, 2010, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/67 "2010-01-16T13:52:34Z")
I love south Indian vegetarian dishes; the one place I go to ([Udipi](http://udipirestaurantonline.com/) has amazing dishes. But I do believe they whitespice me. I think the problem is that it is in a very heavily-Indian area and I’d say there’s maybe one non-Indian (white, black, hispanic, east Asian) for every… 100-ish Indians I see there. I’m guessing a lot of the non-Indians really aren’t expecting such (deliciously) authentic food. I had a waiter tell me that I wouldn’t like that, what about trying this instead? ☹ I hate confrontation, so I sat there, humiliated and wanting to cry. ☹ I don’t blame them, but I haven’t gone back in months because I still feel weird. It’s like I’m not welcome, but dangit, I LOVE their food. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/68 "2010-01-16T14:47:26Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Eating Indian food differs by country, but in the UK, a typical Indian meal usually goes as follows: > > Papadam are brought to the table … pastry or coconut, soaked in syrup. > > Then some more beer. > > I have been salivating the entire time I’ve been writing this. I just wanted to say that this is one of the best posts, on any subject, that I’ve ever seen on the Dope. Highly informative, admirably succinct, accurate, and explains the subject with the true passion of an experienced devotee. Excellent stuff, **Jjimm**! (I’ve only had the great pleasure of meeting Jjimm once, but come to think of it, we _were_ in a curry house at the time!) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2010, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/69 "2010-01-16T20:58:24Z")
> [@In\_Winnipeg](#): > > \*\*Can Someone Explain Indian Food For Me? > \*\* My disciple, the Indian Food that can be explained is not the true Indian Food. ---
**Author:** ![LawMonkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@LawMonkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LawMonkey)\ **Post date:** [January 17, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/70 "2010-01-17T11:22:05Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Last year I made cardamom ice cream. It was fantastic. Mind sharing a recipe? I’d love to give this a try. ---
**Author:** ![maleinblack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e5b9ba/32.png) [@maleinblack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/maleinblack)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2010, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636/71 "2010-01-19T00:36:35Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > So, what’s not heavily seasoned? Is there anything? Dal (Lentils) is lightly seasoned, you can have that with Pulao (rice with vegetables, again lightly seasoned) and Papads. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-indian-food-for-me/524636.md?page=3)