Only for my awesome Indians

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

I am a South Indian. I have no idea what an "orthodox South Indian" is. Garlic is common in all foods except desserts.

There are certainly many families who don't eat onion or garlic. You may not know that, PP, but there are plenty. OP, I would say that if your friends are in that group, they would have let you know and not accepted a dinner invite blind. My family in India is like this. They don't eat at many people's houses, for various reasons. My parents started eating onion and garlic when they came here, so they're more flexible as long as it's vegetarian. Anyway, I would not worry about that, but PP just doesn't know (which is fine, lots of diversity in S India; I'm sure I don't know the traditions of certain groups). It really comes down to family traditions. My in laws (also South Indian) use garlic in everything, but my family definitely does not. They use onion in their own cooking, but I don't recall a time they have put garlic in anything.

Perhaps they are jain? If that is the case, then yeah, they don't eat anything that grows in the ground (garlic, onion, potatoes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m South Indian and know a large group of aunties and uncles who are also immigrants from South India. Most of them drink alcohol. Aunties love margaritas, sangria and wine (though some only like sweet wines, some only red etc) and uncles love whiskey. Most of them like chaat, and standard North Indian fare like dal makhani and butter paneer. Some of them don’t like garlic so I’d use it sparingly so that it doesn’t dominate. Many of them don’t eat mushrooms.
I’ve been to many of their parties and have noticed that most of them don’t know how to make good chai either as South Indians are primarily coffee drinkers.

Yes!
Aunties drinking margaritas make me laugh.

Where can you get good South Indian coffee around the DMV?

Tamarind margaritas, baby! I use tajin seasoning to dip the glass rim. And feel free to use any tamarind chutney from the Indian grocer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

[Anonymous]

This thread is three years old. Pretty sure the dinner already happened.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

I am a South Indian. I have no idea what an "orthodox South Indian" is. Garlic is common in all foods except desserts.

There are certainly many families who don't eat onion or garlic. You may not know that, PP, but there are plenty. OP, I would say that if your friends are in that group, they would have let you know and not accepted a dinner invite blind. My family in India is like this. They don't eat at many people's houses, for various reasons. My parents started eating onion and garlic when they came here, so they're more flexible as long as it's vegetarian. Anyway, I would not worry about that, but PP just doesn't know (which is fine, lots of diversity in S India; I'm sure I don't know the traditions of certain groups). It really comes down to family traditions. My in laws (also South Indian) use garlic in everything, but my family definitely does not. They use onion in their own cooking, but I don't recall a time they have put garlic in anything.

Different PP. They aren’t Jain. It doesn’t matter for this discussion, as I doubt it’s an issue. But India is incredibly diverse. Just because you don’t know something happens, doesn’t make it not true. For that matter, this discussion is about South Indian and each state is incredibly different (and within that vegetarians vs non, etc). Not important for this but just FYI.

Perhaps they are jain? If that is the case, then yeah, they don't eat anything that grows in the ground (garlic, onion, potatoes).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

I am a South Indian. I have no idea what an "orthodox South Indian" is. Garlic is common in all foods except desserts.

There are certainly many families who don't eat onion or garlic. You may not know that, PP, but there are plenty. OP, I would say that if your friends are in that group, they would have let you know and not accepted a dinner invite blind. My family in India is like this. They don't eat at many people's houses, for various reasons. My parents started eating onion and garlic when they came here, so they're more flexible as long as it's vegetarian. Anyway, I would not worry about that, but PP just doesn't know (which is fine, lots of diversity in S India; I'm sure I don't know the traditions of certain groups). It really comes down to family traditions. My in laws (also South Indian) use garlic in everything, but my family definitely does not. They use onion in their own cooking, but I don't recall a time they have put garlic in anything.

Perhaps they are jain? If that is the case, then yeah, they don't eat anything that grows in the ground (garlic, onion, potatoes).

Different PP. They aren’t Jain. They are Hindu. It doesn’t matter for this discussion, as I doubt it’s an issue. But India is incredibly diverse. Just because you don’t know something happens, doesn’t make it not true. For that matter, this discussion is about South Indian and each state is incredibly different (and within that vegetarians vs non, etc). Not important for this but just FYI. Your experiences don’t cover everything.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Brahmins. Many Brahmin South Indian families don’t eat garlic or onion.

[Anonymous]

Even Hindus from Bengal (notoriously lax!) will fast from garlic and onion on special days. And these people are not Brahmins.

[Anonymous]

There is such a huge amount of variations in our dietary habits. I am Brahmin and eat everything. Sometimes non-Brahmins are more stringent about rituals. A social process termed "Sanskritization" by Indian sociologist M N Srinivas. People from lower castes can assume a higher caste status in a new place by becoming more stringent about ritualistic observance of religion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Orthodox South Indians are people like my late Tamilian grandmothers and our family priests and other religious people. They follow strict religious and dietary traditions in even their everyday life. This exists in practically every community throughout the length and breadth of India. Not sure why you think it’s only Jains.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Brahmins. Many Brahmin South Indian families don’t eat garlic or onion.

DP. Your comment has opened a whole world for me. It is very interesting that the population a specific group is avoiding both garlic and onions. Garlic and onions are notoriously harmful to people who need to avoid high-FODMAP foods. FODMAPs are short chain carbs that poorly absorbed in the intestine and cause great and harmful intestinal distress for people who are susceptible to high-FODMAP food items.

I realize Brahmins is the largest caste in India. I wonder if northern Brahmins do eat garlic and onions? And I wonder about the background of the Brahmin South Indian families, like is it for religious reasons OR is it because of a genetic/natural general need of that populace to avoid high-FODMAP foods? Do they use a lot of tomatoes? That is another high-FODMAP food.

Anyway, those are my random musings. Thank you so much for your post above! I am in Google right now trying to figure it out. Our daughter must avoid high-FODMAP foods so she generally avoids Indian foods because our perception has been that most Indian dishes contain garlic and onions. Now we will need to rethink that and perhaps focus on foods from the Brahmin South Indian family recipes and region.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Brahmins. Many Brahmin South Indian families don’t eat garlic or onion.

And even people who are not Brahmin will refrain from meat, onion and garlic during festivals and many other religious days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Brahmins. Many Brahmin South Indian families don’t eat garlic or onion.

DP. Your comment has opened a whole world for me. It is very interesting that the population a specific group is avoiding both garlic and onions. Garlic and onions are notoriously harmful to people who need to avoid high-FODMAP foods. FODMAPs are short chain carbs that poorly absorbed in the intestine and cause great and harmful intestinal distress for people who are susceptible to high-FODMAP food items.

I realize Brahmins is the largest caste in India. I wonder if northern Brahmins do eat garlic and onions? And I wonder about the background of the Brahmin South Indian families, like is it for religious reasons OR is it because of a genetic/natural general need of that populace to avoid high-FODMAP foods? Do they use a lot of tomatoes? That is another high-FODMAP food.

Anyway, those are my random musings. Thank you so much for your post above! I am in Google right now trying to figure it out. Our daughter must avoid high-FODMAP foods so she generally avoids Indian foods because our perception has been that most Indian dishes contain garlic and onions. Now we will need to rethink that and perhaps focus on foods from the Brahmin South Indian family recipes and region.

I don’t think Brahmins are the largest caste in India any more. The ones who don’t eat onions or garlic do it mostly for religious reasons. I never heard of any diet-related reasons for doing this, at least in my large extended family and social circles. This is largely becoming a relic though. The last people I knew who strictly adhered to the no onion-garlic diet were my late grandmothers and women of their generation. Even my grandfathers were not as strict. My parents generation mostly eats everything vegetarian, though my mom has now become more austere in her diet as she has become increasingly religious with age. We are Tamil Brahmins. Many of the Jain families we know follow even more strict dietary rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Brahmins. Many Brahmin South Indian families don’t eat garlic or onion.

DP. Your comment has opened a whole world for me. It is very interesting that the population a specific group is avoiding both garlic and onions. Garlic and onions are notoriously harmful to people who need to avoid high-FODMAP foods. FODMAPs are short chain carbs that poorly absorbed in the intestine and cause great and harmful intestinal distress for people who are susceptible to high-FODMAP food items.

I realize Brahmins is the largest caste in India. I wonder if northern Brahmins do eat garlic and onions? And I wonder about the background of the Brahmin South Indian families, like is it for religious reasons OR is it because of a genetic/natural general need of that populace to avoid high-FODMAP foods? Do they use a lot of tomatoes? That is another high-FODMAP food.

Anyway, those are my random musings. Thank you so much for your post above! I am in Google right now trying to figure it out. Our daughter must avoid high-FODMAP foods so she generally avoids Indian foods because our perception has been that most Indian dishes contain garlic and onions. Now we will need to rethink that and perhaps focus on foods from the Brahmin South Indian family recipes and region.

A great Indian cookbook without garlic or onions is Lord Krishna’s Cuisine, by Yamuna Devi. She was a Western woman who became an early follower of Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna movement. The recipes don’t lack for taste.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Agree with others - find out about food restrictions and otherwise do what you're good at. Agree on avoiding too much garlic.

What are you talking about? Garlic and ginger are the basis of most South Indian cooking.

Ginger, yes, but not garlic. Many orthodox South Indians don’t eat onion or garlic.

What's "orthodox south Indian"?

I think you may be thinking of Jains, who are not usually in the south.

Brahmins. Many Brahmin South Indian families don’t eat garlic or onion.

DP. Your comment has opened a whole world for me. It is very interesting that the population a specific group is avoiding both garlic and onions. Garlic and onions are notoriously harmful to people who need to avoid high-FODMAP foods. FODMAPs are short chain carbs that poorly absorbed in the intestine and cause great and harmful intestinal distress for people who are susceptible to high-FODMAP food items.

I realize Brahmins is the largest caste in India. I wonder if northern Brahmins do eat garlic and onions? And I wonder about the background of the Brahmin South Indian families, like is it for religious reasons OR is it because of a genetic/natural general need of that populace to avoid high-FODMAP foods? Do they use a lot of tomatoes? That is another high-FODMAP food.

Anyway, those are my random musings. Thank you so much for your post above! I am in Google right now trying to figure it out. Our daughter must avoid high-FODMAP foods so she generally avoids Indian foods because our perception has been that most Indian dishes contain garlic and onions. Now we will need to rethink that and perhaps focus on foods from the Brahmin South Indian family recipes and region.

I don’t think Brahmins are the largest caste in India any more. The ones who don’t eat onions or garlic do it mostly for religious reasons. I never heard of any diet-related reasons for doing this, at least in my large extended family and social circles. This is largely becoming a relic though. The last people I knew who strictly adhered to the no onion-garlic diet were my late grandmothers and women of their generation. Even my grandfathers were not as strict. My parents generation mostly eats everything vegetarian, though my mom has now become more austere in her diet as she has become increasingly religious with age. We are Tamil Brahmins. Many of the Jain families we know follow even more strict dietary rules.

Thank you so much for replying! It is so interesting to hear about changes in foods and recipes as the cultural landscape changes. We have seen it a lot in the US but I haven't thought about it as much in other countries. You have given me a lot to think about!