Indian food...I don't get it

[Anonymous]

I love all types of food, and I really like spicey food, but I gotta say, I don't quite get why people rave about Indian food so much. There's just WAY too much going on: spices, aromas, etc. I kind of like to taste the meat/protein/vegetables I'm eating, not just the billion spices it's drowning in. And speaking of drowning, I feel like the Indian food I've had was just smothered in sauces--not much texture.
Am I not trying the right things? Or maybe it's just not for me...? Any advice on what to try/order that may open my eyes?

[Anonymous]

It's okay to not like Indian food. It may just not be your thing. No need to bend over backwards to 'get it'.
At least a billion people still love it!

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's okay to not like Indian food. It may just not be your thing. No need to bend over backwards to 'get it'.
At least a billion people still love it!

I guess you're right. It's just that i always hear people talk about it like "oh man I am dying for some Indian" or " oh man I'm craving some (Indian dish)". People don't just like it, they love it. Makes me wonder if I'm not trying the right things or something...

[Anonymous]

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.

Absolutely. And I feel like a lot of the people I know who like it are amazed by it because, frankly, they grew up eating food where salt and pepper were the only spices they knew; the magnitude of the spices and flavors of Indian food blows them away.

[Anonymous]

I am in India now eating enough for both of us OP.
You might like tandoori style since it is akin to Indian BBQ.
Spiced but not in a sauce.

But as some PPs have mentioned it is Ok not to like it.

[Anonymous]

Most Indian restaurants use a base sauce, which is not anything like real Indian food with fresh spices etc. So chances are, OP has never eaten proper Indian food.

So you can't really dislike what you have never really had.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most Indian restaurants use a base sauce, which is not anything like real Indian food with fresh spices etc. So chances are, OP has never eaten proper Indian food.

So you can't really dislike what you have never really had.

+1

Real, well-prepared Indian food is beautifully and exquisitely balanced and nothing like the crap for passes as "Indian food" in 95% of US restaurants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's okay to not like Indian food. It may just not be your thing. No need to bend over backwards to 'get it'.
At least a billion people still love it!

I guess you're right. It's just that i always hear people talk about it like "oh man I am dying for some Indian" or " oh man I'm craving some (Indian dish)". People don't just like it, they love it. Makes me wonder if I'm not trying the right things or something...

Just move on. You don't like it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most Indian restaurants use a base sauce, which is not anything like real Indian food with fresh spices etc. So chances are, OP has never eaten proper Indian food.

So you can't really dislike what you have never really had.

+1

Real, well-prepared Indian food is beautifully and exquisitely balanced and nothing like the crap for passes as "Indian food" in 95% of US restaurants.

+1

[Anonymous]

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.

So basically we should open a bottle of Ragu and dismiss all of Italian Food too? Your criticism is ridiculous. Not every Indian restaurant is good. Look for Yelp reviews. Look for restaurants that critics give high praise to. Don't go to lunch buffets.

[Anonymous]

Before you give up try Raskia. PLEASE! It could change your life.

[Anonymous]

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.

You have clearly never had real Indian food, so your comments are ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Damn it I should have know better than to read this thread at 7:20 in the morning.

[Anonymous]

I felt the same as you op! My husband loves it, but it always gave me a stomach ache because it's kind of heavy. Then I tried Spice 6 which is kind of like fast food I guess? But it's so good!