Curry
Apr 25, 2010 | 11:46 am
#61
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There are thousands of curry dishes and hundreds of books on curry dishes. Yet, you go to an Indian restaurant anywhere in the Western world (or even in far east), all curries taste alike. These are my problems with Indian restaurants:
1. Paucity of names. Again and again Tajmahal, Gandhi, Woodlands, Punjab, New India, Old India, Sarava Bhavan, Shalimar, Udipi, Himalaya, Delhi, Madras (althogh no one remembers Madras anymore) etc. Some not-so main stream names creeped up but .. (Annapurna, adithi, amavasa, madurai kitchen, chettinad, tamil nad etc).
2. All curries taste alike.
3. Generic food-no specialization. You get the same regardless of where you are-alu mattar, palak paneer, alu gobi, channa masala, ...you see one menu, you have seen them all!
4. No one cleans the floor in Indian restaurants. The table scrap is swept off the table and lies on the floor. The patron's foot wear essentially removes the dirt/food from the floor.
5. Fusion restaurants charged a fortune for pathetic Indian food. Most of them had nothing to do with curry.
6. Most of them bought the premises from a previous restaurant owner and didn't spend a dime in restoration/redecoration. Major problems with Indian restaurants is the greed of the owners who never care about decor/hygine/cleanliness and authensity of preparations. They make a ton of money and then move away to a different location.
1. Paucity of names. Again and again Tajmahal, Gandhi, Woodlands, Punjab, New India, Old India, Sarava Bhavan, Shalimar, Udipi, Himalaya, Delhi, Madras (althogh no one remembers Madras anymore) etc. Some not-so main stream names creeped up but .. (Annapurna, adithi, amavasa, madurai kitchen, chettinad, tamil nad etc).
2. All curries taste alike.
3. Generic food-no specialization. You get the same regardless of where you are-alu mattar, palak paneer, alu gobi, channa masala, ...you see one menu, you have seen them all!
4. No one cleans the floor in Indian restaurants. The table scrap is swept off the table and lies on the floor. The patron's foot wear essentially removes the dirt/food from the floor.
5. Fusion restaurants charged a fortune for pathetic Indian food. Most of them had nothing to do with curry.
6. Most of them bought the premises from a previous restaurant owner and didn't spend a dime in restoration/redecoration. Major problems with Indian restaurants is the greed of the owners who never care about decor/hygine/cleanliness and authensity of preparations. They make a ton of money and then move away to a different location.
2) Nah.
3) Not really.
4) You cant be serious.
5) Some yes I suppose, some definitely not.
6) Well, no.
Apr 25, 2010 | 11:57 am
#62
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Speaking of curry ...
Anyone else a fan of the Indo-Malay dish Roti Canai?
Last edited by Points Scrounger; Apr 25, 2010 at 12:02 pm
Apr 25, 2010 | 1:39 pm
#63
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There are probably several hundred Indian restaurants in both of those cities, scattered throughout. It's actually fairly hard to eat bad Indian food in the UK. Sure - there are areas with concentrations of Indian restaurants (e.g. Brick Lane or Drummond St in London) but you absolutely don't have to go there to get good food. I will give a quick shout out to Southall though (short train wide from Paddington) due to its Indian population and hence availability of particularly cheap and good quality food.
Leicester is grim so best stick to London.
Apr 25, 2010 | 2:51 pm
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Apr 25, 2010 | 6:32 pm
#65
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Apr 26, 2010 | 3:38 pm
#66
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Haven't been there for a year- but stock up when I go there 
They operate Waji's in the C concourse too - not bad for airport food
(can't recall if they have curries though)
Apr 26, 2010 | 11:46 pm
#67
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Curry usually means the usual 4 or 5 spices (plus or minus a few), but gravy is an entirely different thing.
Am I missing something?
Apr 27, 2010 | 12:03 am
#68
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I think "gravy" refers to the sauces that are so prevalent. Like Rogan Josh has a sauces that is way tasty. Chicken Tikka Masala supposedly was created when some Brit said "where's muh gravy?" In the movies, you always see Tamil people with a big serving of rice, then a small bit of sauce, and massaging it around with the fingers. I can't see Brits eating that way, but I love the sauces, use them for all kinds of things, and can see why the sauces would make Indian food popular.
Apr 27, 2010 | 12:08 am
#69
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I think "gravy" refers to the sauces that are so prevalent. Like Rogan Josh has a sauces that is way tasty. Chicken Tikka Masala supposedly was created when some Brit said "where's muh gravy?" In the movies, you always see Tamil people with a big serving of rice, then a small bit of sauce, and massaging it around with the fingers. I can't see Brits eating that way, but I love the sauces, use them for all kinds of things, and can see why the sauces would make Indian food popular.
We're talking about the spices that would make up curry (be it a Gringo invention or not...)
Apr 27, 2010 | 12:14 am
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I think this discussion is going awry in that "curry" can refer both the spices and the gravy! The term has taken on the shorthand usage of "Indian food (usually with sauce)", esp in Britain.
Speaking of curry, adding curry powder and a dollop of chutney really perks up egg salad!
Speaking of curry, adding curry powder and a dollop of chutney really perks up egg salad!
Apr 27, 2010 | 6:59 am
#72
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Curry is a generic description used throughout European and American culture to describe a general variety of spiced dishes, best known in South Asian cuisines, especially Indian cuisine. Curry is a generic term and although there is no one specific attribute that marks a dish as "curry", some distinctive spices used in many curry dishes include turmeric, cumin, coriander, fenugreek, and red pepper. The word curry is an anglicised version of the Tamil word khari, which is usually understood to mean "gravy" or "sauce" rather than "spices".
I have never come across a so-called curry without a gravy or sauce of some kind. I think you may be confusing "curry" with "curry powder", which is another abomination (sorry, PointsScrounger!).
I think this discussion is going awry in that "curry" can refer both the spices and the gravy! The term has taken on the shorthand usage of "Indian food (usually with sauce)", esp in Britain.
Speaking of curry, adding curry powder and a dollop of chutney really perks up egg salad!
Speaking of curry, adding curry powder and a dollop of chutney really perks up egg salad!
Apr 27, 2010 | 7:51 am
#73
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No self-respecting Indian would use "curry powder" in cooking. To Indians, it is as absurd as throwing some rosemary, oregano, thyme and basil together, bottling the mixture, and calling it "Italian powder," to be used in making pasta, veal and fish alike, as though any dish would become Italian by the use of this mixture.
Apr 27, 2010 | 8:57 am
#74
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Hate to tell you, but India is making spice mixes of its own, packaging them, and shipping them to every Indian grocery store where NRI's (do they have no self-respect?) insist on buying for staples for home cooking. I don't think it is regarded as a matter of self-respect that you grind and mix your own curry mixture. And the labels on these packages say "curry powder". Granted, it isn't what Schilling has been selling for a hundred years or more, but it is what India seems to think is the more authentic form of the product.
660 Curries: the Gateway to Indian Cooking
Curry is the word that requires more clarification. The Western world regards it as a dish spiced from a jar labeled "curry powder." But Iyer said that curry isn't about spice, but gravy. "To us, it's all about sauces," he said. "No self-respecting Indian kitchen would have curry powder."
Last edited by vasantn; Apr 27, 2010 at 9:07 am Reason: added link