Indian food...I don't get it

[Anonymous]

Didn't your mamas teach you any manners? It is perfectly fine not to like certain cuisines (I can think of quite a few I am not crazy about), but just keep it to yourself. And keep in mind, there are a lot of people out there who probably can't stomach your favored cuisine!

[Anonymous]

I have travelled to India twice (once North India, the other to South India). I lived in Dubai and Dubai possibly has the best Indian on the planet due to the robust and influential Indian community, with multiple restaurants covering every region of India. I've eaten Indian home cooking. I've enjoyed what I've eaten but there is a certain sameness to the pervasiveness of certain spices. Overspiced brown muck is perhaps a bit harsh but there's an element of truth to it. Once the heat dominates the dish, it does seem meaningless what you're eating other than the texture. I don't think it's just a question of base sauces some poster referred on here, as the restaurants I went to in Dubai and India were packed with Indian families, gleefully eating the same curries.

Biryanis are probably my favorite Indian dishes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Didn't your mamas teach you any manners? It is perfectly fine not to like certain cuisines (I can think of quite a few I am not crazy about), but just keep it to yourself. And keep in mind, there are a lot of people out there who probably can't stomach your favored cuisine!

+1. Half the people on this thread seem to be people who went to a buffet and decided that buffet represents all of Indian cuisine. That's a little like going to saying I don't like American food because I don't like Golden Corral.

[Anonymous]

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.

+1. If you're posting on this thread, you're probably over trying age of 6. Which is over the age of understanding that not everyone likes the same thing. I don't much like sushi or other raw foods But that doesn't mean that I don't get that millions of others love it. Everyone has a different palate.

[Anonymous]

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.

Agree completely. I like highly spiced food and food with lots of spices and flavors going on, so Indian and Thai are among my favorites. Obviously if you like very simple preparations you may not be a big fan. (Though, OP, if you go out for Indian with friends, try the tandooris with no sauces -- might be more your thing. My picky FIL who hates sauces adores tandoori. It's basically a different way of grilling meet and the flavors are much more delicate than a curry.)

When I traveled extensively in Britain I ate largely Indian or other ethnic foods. However, I did eat British food in a few high end places, and while I found the flavors boring (except for a lamb stew in Wales) I was impressed by the high quality of the ingredients. Locally raised everything, before local was a thing in the US.

I never eat "American" food if I can help it, unless it is a "New American" place aka influenced by French, Italian, or some sort of Asian cuisine. The only Asian cuisine I have tried that I don't adore is Burmese, and only for the sauce dishes. The Burmese salad-y dishes I've had have been out of this world. The ones with sauces seem like pale imitations of Thai or Indian.

[Anonymous]

I love Indian food for all of the reasons you dislike it. Savory and delicious!

[Anonymous]

This thread makes me long for Indian food.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't your mamas teach you any manners? It is perfectly fine not to like certain cuisines (I can think of quite a few I am not crazy about), but just keep it to yourself. And keep in mind, there are a lot of people out there who probably can't stomach your favored cuisine!

+1. Half the people on this thread seem to be people who went to a buffet and decided that buffet represents all of Indian cuisine. That's a little like going to saying I don't like American food because I don't like Golden Corral.

Spot on.

[Anonymous]

I like middle eastern food (especially afgani) but do not care for Indian. The smell is always offputting to me.

[Anonymous]

I don't think OP was claiming we all have to like the same things, or that all Indian food is identical. And I doubt that any of us are rude about it when our hosts are good enough to cook for us or take us out to eat.

I interpreted her question as wondering why she doesn't enjoy it, when so many do. If you're a supertaster, maybe you taste those many complex spices at a level 11, when an average taster tastes them as a level 5. So of course you find it overwhelming, when others find it delicious. That's my guess, as a supertaster who grew up all over the world and loves trying new and complex flavors, but still finds many Indian dishes too intensely spiced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Indian here - this thread is hilarious. People are so ignorant!!!

how so? What specifically?

India is a huge country with a wide variety of cuisine. Its funny to blanket say "I don't like Indian food" when you've only tried a few things. Like saying you don't like American food when all you've ever had is Chicago-style pizza.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Indian here - this thread is hilarious. People are so ignorant!!!

how so? What specifically?

India is a huge country with a wide variety of cuisine. Its funny to blanket say "I don't like Indian food" when you've only tried a few things. Like saying you don't like American food when all you've ever had is Chicago-style pizza.

I watch a lot of travel tv and none of the food I see in India looks appetizing, ever. Sorry.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm also not a fan of Indian although I will have it on occasion when we go out with friends and they elect to have Indian.

It really is, to put it crudely, overspiced brown mush in varying guises for the most part. I can recognize and appreciate the culinary heritage built around spices and the use of spices as the flavors that dominate and enhance the dish, whereas the raw ingredients of the meats or vegetables or grains are far less important other than a vehicle for the spices. It's different from the traditional European culinary heritages where the success of the dish is based on enhancing the flavors of the raw ingredients and spices are only subtle enhancements to strengthen the original flavors.

Really? Brown mush sums up the totality of Indian food? If you don't like the cuisine that's fine, but your description and criticism of the cuisine is ridiculous to say the least.

OP, I get what you are saying. I have eaten Indian foods many times (in India; north and south) and it does seem to be many variations (and not that varied) on the same thing. It's not as varied as say, "American" where the range is a Caesar salad all the way to fries and burgers all the way to pork chop with applesauce and green beans. I was a fan of some creative preparations of paneer in the south, and the tandoor is a slight variation, but Indian in general was all the same theme. And that's OK and it's delicious when you are in the mood, but there you go.

If you think Indian is not that varied, you must be going to the wrong places. South Indian restaurants don't do paneer, unless they are truth to offer North Indian food to unfamiliar diners who may be wary of trying South Indian dishes.

There are so many regions in India, each with its own cuisine. Meat, fish, vegetarian (lentils, flatbreads, salads, pickles).

The best thing to do is try to eat at someone's house. Older Indian women who cook at home from scratch. Night and day between that delicious food and the overly creamy, oily food at many popular restaurants.

Try caterer Rupa Vira in Fairfax--a woman who does a lot of homestyle cooking from various regions in India.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Didn't your mamas teach you any manners? It is perfectly fine not to like certain cuisines (I can think of quite a few I am not crazy about), but just keep it to yourself. And keep in mind, there are a lot of people out there who probably can't stomach your favored cuisine!

+1. Half the people on this thread seem to be people who went to a buffet and decided that buffet represents all of Indian cuisine. That's a little like going to saying I don't like American food because I don't like Golden Corral.

Thank you. People who think they have had Indian food have no idea of the diversity and vastness of the food. And I will say that I tend to not like Indian restaurants, but that is because I know home cooked tastes about 1,000x better.

[Anonymous]

Im indian, ad my mom was a genius of south indian vegetarian. But ive got to agree with the pps who said, if you dont like it, no biggie. Lots of other cuisines to enjoy. I prefervariety, but know the food i grew up with was heslthiest.