# Those who dislike indian food. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 1, 2010, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064 "2010-11-01T06:31:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/21 "2010-11-01T13:54:13Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Point two: I’ve had several people say to me, apropos of curries, that they associate thick or heavy sauces with disguises for bad meat/base food, and the trend even in Western/European cuisine has been away from heavy sauces to sort of minimalist presentations of the base ingredient. For me this is part of it. I don’t _hate_ Indian food – I’m not that much of a food person, and I don’t often have strong feelings about one cuisine over another anyway. But when I do really enjoy food, it’s when I can really taste the steak or the vegetable or whatever it is, with minimal seasoning. Indian food tastes at times like everything has been drenched with a bizzaro world ketchup – not that the ketchup tastes all that bad, but who wants to drench everything in ketchup in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/22 "2010-11-01T13:59:04Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > And yes, a lot of Indian places use bad meat. I mean, low grade meat, not meat that’s gone rotten or anything. Of course, this is true of pretty much all inexpensive “formula” restaurants–Chinese, Mexican, whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/23 "2010-11-01T14:00:27Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > What’s the incentive to like it? Agreed, I am against the “but you **have to** like . . .” sort of food fascism. Exception: if in some weird hypothetical my doctor or someone told me (a big carnivore) that I **must** become a strict vegetarian (not vegan, that’s just crazy) – I could **just about** do it with Indian food. ---
**Author:** ![StuffLikeThatThere](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc8723/32.png) [@StuffLikeThatThere](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StuffLikeThatThere)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/24 "2010-11-01T14:58:28Z")
> [@indian](#): > > Is it that there is spice in almost everything? Or is it the amount of spice per dish? Or is it any particular spice? Yes, all of these. I generally prefer less spice in my food. At an Indian restaurant, everything is very heavily spiced. In addition, I do not like the taste of curry, or of coriander. I grew up on cheesy hamburger casserole in the Midwest, so I did have some experimenting to do. But I now like Thai food and Ethiopian food and just about everything else I’ve tried. So far, Indian food is the only kind that I just … don’t like. I will go to an Indian restaurant if pressed, and have butter chicken and a mango lassi. But honestly, the smell kind of ruins that for me anyway. It’s not usually an issue unless I’m with my oldest brother, who _does_ see dislike of any kind of ethnic food as a moral failing. Oh well. ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/25 "2010-11-01T15:15:20Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Point three: the steam tables. A lot of the first generation Indian offerings in the U.S. and U.K. have been . . . not that well presented, dumbed down, and of variable quality. Indians brag about how they don’t have recipes per se, they rely on the “hand” of the cook – which is great if you have an Indian mom doing home cooking, not so great when it’s hapless FOTB guys who never cooked until they emigrated, or Oaxacan paisans, in the kitchen trying to replicate what that mom would do. This. I personally don’t have a problem with it, but the complaint you hear from a lot of people is that it looks like glop. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/26 "2010-11-01T15:17:29Z")
> [@StuffLikeThatThere](#): > > It’s not usually an issue unless I’m with my oldest brother, who _does_ see dislike of any kind of ethnic food as a moral failing. Oh well. I would say disliking every kind of ethnic food on some principle might be a moral failing. As in, “I only eat good old American food!” Which gives me pause, anyway. Did you mean Southwestern? BBQ? Lobster from Maine? Chitlins and Southern food? Creole? New England Clam Chowder? I mean, we’re not all hamburgers and fries, no matter what the haters say. But I don’t like Thai food. That doesn’t make me morally repugnant! ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/27 "2010-11-01T15:35:27Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > BTW, these are usually the same people who think all Mexican food starts with jalapenos and adds chili peppers before coating it with paprika. Paprika? Paprika isn’t hot. In fact, so far as I can tell, paprika has no flavour whatsoever. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/28 "2010-11-01T15:36:32Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > \Exception: if in some weird hypothetical my doctor or someone told me (a big carnivore) that I **must** become a strict vegetarian (not vegan, that’s just crazy) – I could **just about** do it with Indian food. Most doctors are hesitant about demanding that big carnivores give up meat. :eek: The Indian food I’ve tried hasn’t been very interesting and curry, while tolerable, is not a favorite spice. I might try Indian food again but there are lots of other things to eat. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/29 "2010-11-01T15:38:39Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > I would say disliking every kind of ethnic food on some principle might be a moral failing. As in, “I only eat good old American food!” Which gives me pause, anyway. Did you mean Southwestern? BBQ? Lobster from Maine? Chitlins and Southern food? Creole? New England Clam Chowder? I mean, we’re not all hamburgers and fries, no matter what the haters say. > > But I don’t like Thai food. That doesn’t make me morally repugnant! Wait, yes it does. Everybody likes Thai food. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/30 "2010-11-01T15:40:22Z")
FYI, curry is not truly an Indian spice. Curry is something the Brits came up with. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/31 "2010-11-01T15:41:29Z")
Curry isn’t “a spice.” It’s a saucy dish, a stew. There are various kinds of spice mixes _for curry_, but they aren’t all the same – every place makes curry powder with varying combinations of different spices, and any good restaurant will use a different spice mix for each dish. There is something called a “curry leaf” (sweet neem leaf), which is very popular in Kerala, but it is rarely used in Indian restaurant food. ---
**Author:** ![sqweels](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f19dbf/32.png) [@sqweels](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sqweels)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/32 "2010-11-01T15:41:34Z")
It’s the combination of sweet and spicy that I don’t like. Also there’s too much goopiness. But it’s that green sauce that tastes like it’s made from lawnmower clippings that I really can’t stand. ---
**Author:** ![pbbth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f9ae1b/32.png) [@pbbth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pbbth)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/33 "2010-11-01T15:57:27Z")
It seems overly spiced. It has the strongest smell I can possibly imagine from a foodstuff and it seems like they emptied the last half a jar of every possible spice from their spice rack into a pot and then called it dinner. It is all just too much! I might like it if there were a very lightly flavored version. ---
**Author:** ![janis\_and\_c0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/janis_and_c0/32/21_2.png) [@janis\_and\_c0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/janis_and_c0)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/34 "2010-11-01T16:00:40Z")
My ex and I went to an Indian restaurant once, and for him, this was quite a stretch (as he was somewhat picky) , but I’d been trying to prod him to broaden his horizons a little. The food was good, and he really liked the appetizer (kinda of a pastie with veggies and spices in it.) He was munching away happily until he stopped and said with a suspicious glance. “Wait…are those peas?!” “Nope, I said… some kind of Indian vegetable, I forget what It’s called.”" OK." and he polished it off… Yeah, they were peas 😃 ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/35 "2010-11-01T16:01:47Z")
I’ve never bothered to try Indian food because I don’t trust that it won’t be too spicy for me. People I know that do like Indian food like it because it’s spicy. I’ll never trust anyone who likes spicy food to tell me that something “isn’t that spicy” because they can’t comprehend the level of spice I can tolerate (nor can I comprehend their tolerance). I have a stupidly low heat tolerance where anything crazier than ketchup can really leave my mouth and face burning (yes, really) so it’d just be embarrassing and wasteful for me to try to enjoy Indian food. IF there exists a dish in Indian cuisine that is, say, like a burrito with no salsa and no sauce then I’m up for it. But then, would I really be eating Indian cuisine? ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/36 "2010-11-01T16:09:55Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Curry isn’t “a spice.” It’s a saucy dish, a stew. There are various kinds of spice mixes _for curry_, but they aren’t all the same – every place makes curry powder with varying combinations of different spices, and any good restaurant will use a different spice mix for each dish. There is something called a “curry leaf” (sweet neem leaf), which is very popular in Kerala, but it is rarely used in Indian restaurant food. I was too lazy to explain the whole thing. 🙂 Plus, I didn’t remember all the details. BTW, I agree that some Indian foods are spiced too highly. My solution? Make it at home. Spice to desired degree. But on the other hand, it took me forever and a day to get used to blander foods, or, as my SO says, who is a GREAT cook, more “subtly flavored foods”. I was so used to everything tasting so strong I didn’t like things that didn’t have strong flavors. Now as an adult my tastes have broadened greatly but sometimes I still get a hankering for that old heavily seasoned taste. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/37 "2010-11-01T16:22:37Z")
> [@sqweels](#): > > It’s the combination of sweet and spicy that I don’t like. Legit I think – the modern Western palate doesn’t deal well with this combination (only time I’ve ever puked from alcohol was mulled wine, and I didn’t drink that much). That’s why Cincinnati style chili is so divisive. > [@](#): > > But it’s that green sauce that tastes like it’s made from lawnmower clippings that I really can’t stand. I think what you’re thinking of is a condiment, not a sauce. The little cups they bring out with the pappadum? Just don’t eat it, then. I don’t eat the brown sauce, which tastes like HP or something to me, though I don’t mind the green chlorophyll sauce. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/38 "2010-11-01T16:27:26Z")
The green sauce is pudina ki chutney, or mint chutney. This varies from divine, orgasm-inducing chutney, to nasty crap. Most restaurants have the nasty crap. Sometimes it can be so hot your tongue is like to burn off. I don’t see the point of this. IMO mint chutney is meant to cool the palate not sear it. The brown chutney is imli, or tamarind. It is supposed to be semi-sweet. What is HP? As for the combination of sweet/spicy, that’s mainly Gujrati food. Their main courses often call for sugar. Punjabi food very rarely mixes sweet with spice. Good Punjabi food can rock your world, though. The appetizer with the peas is a samosa and even people who claim to HATE Indian food will eat one with first suspicion and then yumminess. A samosa is delicious. Funny story on samosas: I remember being at a party years and years ago, in the temple, for Holi. I was dancing in the crowd with everyone else, when suddenly the girl next to me got smacked in the head with a samosa. And then I stepped on one. Turns out one of the uncles (everyone is an uncle or an aunty) was THROWING samosas into the crowd. This is the temple, no alcohol, so he wasn’t drunk. Someone had to take the tray away from him! I never did figure out why he thought chucking samosas into the crowd was the right thing to do. ---
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/39 "2010-11-01T16:34:43Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > What is HP? Ha – includes tamarinds: > **[HP Sauce](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Sauce)** > > HP Sauce is a British brown sauce, the main ingredients of which are tomatoes, malt vinegar and molasses. It was named after London's Houses of Parliament. After making its first appearance on British dinner tables in the late 19th century, HP Sauce went on to become an icon of British culture. It was the best-selling brand of brown sauce in the UK in 2005, with 73.8% of the retail market. The sauce was originally produced in the United Kingdom, but is now made by Heinz in the Netherland HP Sa... ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064/40 "2010-11-01T16:43:39Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > Ha – includes tamarinds: > > [HP Sauce - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HP_Sauce) Aha! I see. I don’t think ours has malt vinegar in it, but to be honest when I make it at home I just buy tamarind paste and add water. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/those-who-dislike-indian-food/559064.md?page=3)