Indian food...I don't get it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: ... If your palate is not used to them and not able to properly discern the flavors then it does become overwhelming and can be too much. Especially so if you didn't grow up with these flavors. ...

No, the problem is I can discern all of them and there are way too many.

Again, this is YOUR palette. Not everyone is YOU. It's way to many for YOU.

To me it tastes like the perfect blending and harmony of spices. To you, it overwhelms. Get it? We're all different.

Exactly. This is about everyone's individual tastes. Not liking Indian food -- or any other food -- doesn't mean that therefore the cuisine is bad. Just means it's not for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since when does everyone have to like the same kinds of food?

I also love Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Lao, Persian, Filipino, Greek, some Japanese and some Caribbean cuisines.

I don't like French, Italian, Scottish, Nordic cuisine, and honestly not American food either. Not a fan of the standard British and Irish foods either. To me, there is not enough flavor and not enough vegetables. Too bland and I would never spend money at a restaurant for American food. So simple to make and overpriced.

When I eat meat, it should have the taste and aroma of a proper blend of spices. I don't like the taste of just meat/flesh, nor do I like the texture of big hunks of it. It should be marinated properly or cut into small pieces.

With Indian food, you need to understand the subtleties of the different spices that you are eating. Sometimes they are in the food for flavor, other times certain spices pair well with certain foods because it aids in the digestion process of that particle food item or the enhances the nutritional profile. Spices are some of nature's most amazing food items because they have so many variables to them. Nutrition, flavor, digestion, color, etc.

If your palate is not used to them and not able to properly discern the flavors then it does become overwhelming and can be too much. Especially so if you didn't grow up with these flavors.

So everyone is different. If you don't like a type of food, then don't eat it. Why do you think you have to like something just because others do? Some introspection might be needed.

Agree! I don't go out for American food. What I can make at home is better. To each his own.

I have never heard of anyone who doesn't like Italian food. The best cuisine in the world. I guess there is a first time for everything.

I would really, really love to hear what some of your favorite Italian dishes are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since when does everyone have to like the same kinds of food?

I also love Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Lao, Persian, Filipino, Greek, some Japanese and some Caribbean cuisines.

I don't like French, Italian, Scottish, Nordic cuisine, and honestly not American food either. Not a fan of the standard British and Irish foods either. To me, there is not enough flavor and not enough vegetables. Too bland and I would never spend money at a restaurant for American food. So simple to make and overpriced.

When I eat meat, it should have the taste and aroma of a proper blend of spices. I don't like the taste of just meat/flesh, nor do I like the texture of big hunks of it. It should be marinated properly or cut into small pieces.

With Indian food, you need to understand the subtleties of the different spices that you are eating. Sometimes they are in the food for flavor, other times certain spices pair well with certain foods because it aids in the digestion process of that particle food item or the enhances the nutritional profile. Spices are some of nature's most amazing food items because they have so many variables to them. Nutrition, flavor, digestion, color, etc.

If your palate is not used to them and not able to properly discern the flavors then it does become overwhelming and can be too much. Especially so if you didn't grow up with these flavors.

So everyone is different. If you don't like a type of food, then don't eat it. Why do you think you have to like something just because others do? Some introspection might be needed.

Agree! I don't go out for American food. What I can make at home is better. To each his own.

I have never heard of anyone who doesn't like Italian food. The best cuisine in the world. I guess there is a first time for everything.

I would really, really love to hear what some of your favorite Italian dishes are.

Ha! That's funny-I'm an Asian and know a people who don't like Italian food, because they don't like cheese. Presumably you would say, but there is plenty of Italian food that doesn't have cheese. Only an ignorant person would equate Italian food with pizza. And that's how I feel reading this Indian food thread!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Since when does everyone have to like the same kinds of food?

I also love Mexican, Indian, Vietnamese, Lao, Persian, Filipino, Greek, some Japanese and some Caribbean cuisines.

I don't like French, Italian, Scottish, Nordic cuisine, and honestly not American food either. Not a fan of the standard British and Irish foods either. To me, there is not enough flavor and not enough vegetables. Too bland and I would never spend money at a restaurant for American food. So simple to make and overpriced.

When I eat meat, it should have the taste and aroma of a proper blend of spices. I don't like the taste of just meat/flesh, nor do I like the texture of big hunks of it. It should be marinated properly or cut into small pieces.

With Indian food, you need to understand the subtleties of the different spices that you are eating. Sometimes they are in the food for flavor, other times certain spices pair well with certain foods because it aids in the digestion process of that particle food item or the enhances the nutritional profile. Spices are some of nature's most amazing food items because they have so many variables to them. Nutrition, flavor, digestion, color, etc.

If your palate is not used to them and not able to properly discern the flavors then it does become overwhelming and can be too much. Especially so if you didn't grow up with these flavors.

So everyone is different. If you don't like a type of food, then don't eat it. Why do you think you have to like something just because others do? Some introspection might be needed.

Agree! I don't go out for American food. What I can make at home is better. To each his own.

I have never heard of anyone who doesn't like Italian food. The best cuisine in the world. I guess there is a first time for everything.

I would really, really love to hear what some of your favorite Italian dishes are.

Ha! That's funny-I'm an Asian and know a people who don't like Italian food, because they don't like cheese. Presumably you would say, but there is plenty of Italian food that doesn't have cheese. Only an ignorant person would equate Italian food with pizza. And that's how I feel reading this Indian food thread!

I don't like Italian food because I had a stuffed crust pizza at Pizza Hut. So oily!

[Anonymous]

I love Indian food. I prefer Southern Indian. It does have a lot going on, which is why I think most like it.

[Anonymous]

DW is a cardiologist and she has a LOT of Indian patients. A lot of heart issues due to diet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DW is a cardiologist and she has a LOT of Indian patients. A lot of heart issues due to diet.

Indian here. If you control the ghee in Indian cooking then it's the healthiest cuisine in the world. A regular Indian meal is dal ( protein), a vegetable, yogurt, salad and a small roti. You have to control the carbs and fats and it's the healthiest out there, you mess with that and it can quickly turn pretty unhealthy, To be the real deal in Indian cooking is the vegetarian cooking, meats are delicious but they are not the reason I eat home cooked Indian meals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DW is a cardiologist and she has a LOT of Indian patients. A lot of heart issues due to diet.

Is your DW a cardiologist in an area with a high concentration of Indians? Or one of only a few in a smaller area? Clearly, that would skew the average. I'm sure she has no lack of white American patients either.

Of course Indians are not exempt from heart problems nor are they all amazingly healthy eaters. Plenty of too much snacking on sweets and fried snacks amongst Indians, just like amongst lots of other groups of people. Plenty of overeating too. Food is a major part of the lifestyle culturally.

Men nor women are expected to remain slim and fit as they may have been in their youth, it is accepted if not expected for their bodies to change as they age. This is especially so with the 1st generation, that have never stepped foot in a gym or gone for a run. Exercise is severely lacking. Most think going on a walk in their neighborhood is exercise and then feel like they can eat whatever they want.

I'd say this is the biggest problem. Exercise is not something they grew up with, there was plenty of laborious tasks incorporated as part of their daily life and unfortunately when you compound the food consumption that they are used to with the sedentary middle class American lifestyle, it doesn't work.

Finally, the traditional Indian diet is also very different depending upon the region, so there is no one singular diet that can be the attributor to all heart problems of all Indians.

Now remember this is explaining the situation of some but not all Indians. Not a monolith.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DW is a cardiologist and she has a LOT of Indian patients. A lot of heart issues due to diet.

Is your DW a cardiologist in an area with a high concentration of Indians? Or one of only a few in a smaller area? Clearly, that would skew the average. I'm sure she has no lack of white American patients either.

Of course Indians are not exempt from heart problems nor are they all amazingly healthy eaters. Plenty of too much snacking on sweets and fried snacks amongst Indians, just like amongst lots of other groups of people. Plenty of overeating too. Food is a major part of the lifestyle culturally.

Men nor women are expected to remain slim and fit as they may have been in their youth, it is accepted if not expected for their bodies to change as they age. This is especially so with the 1st generation, that have never stepped foot in a gym or gone for a run. Exercise is severely lacking. Most think going on a walk in their neighborhood is exercise and then feel like they can eat whatever they want.

I'd say this is the biggest problem. Exercise is not something they grew up with, there was plenty of laborious tasks incorporated as part of their daily life and unfortunately when you compound the food consumption that they are used to with the sedentary middle class American lifestyle, it doesn't work.

Finally, the traditional Indian diet is also very different depending upon the region, so there is no one singular diet that can be the attributor to all heart problems of all Indians.

Now remember this is explaining the situation of some but not all Indians. Not a monolith.

+1 The amount of ignorant generalizations on this thread is amazing.

[Anonymous]

I thought I disliked Italian food until I went to Italy.

OMG. I've never eaten my way through a country like I did that trip.

Totally incomparable to Italian food in American restaurants! The quality, the freshness of the ingredients, was mind blowing.

That said, I don't notice a massive difference in taste between, say, paalak paneer from a good Indian place in the US and the same dish in India. And the best dosa I've ever had was actually in San Francisco, go figure...