do i address you as bitch?
i guess this is (finally) something which I can speak about with some confidence
for western tastes, they usually 'market' or 'present' dishes as
vindaloo - supposedly very hot
madras - hot
it's alll bollocks if you ask me.
first, do you eat meat? if no; order dhal (lentils), or an aloo (potato) dish. it is often combined as aloo jeera (cumin), or get palak paneer (spinach-cheese dish) then there is, of course, your basic 'vegetable curry'... find out if it is southern or northern india... southern india has excellent vegetable dishes the above are my favourites.
if you do eat meat... dang, have a mutton curry, or mutton briyani (latter is a rice dish).
if you like/prefer chicken, order butter chicken, or chicken briyani
you can have either steamed rice, or fried rice; the fried rice is not like the chinese one. i fry it in elachi (fuck, can't think of the english name), cinnamon, cloves and and black mustard seeds, bay leaf, garlic - whatever, before cooking it. I think it will probably me listed as 'plilau rice'
then there is teh "flat bread'... again, it depends on whether it is northern or southern India.
the variations are: roti (flat & fried) chapati - similar, but not as flat (at least i don't make it as flat) then, if it is northern, or even pakistani... anyway you may be able to order 'naan' - which is usually baked in a tandoori oven.
the restaurant may specialise in tandoori, or balti...
the key to south asian food is the spices - not the heat. you can always add heat with mango or chili pickle - ask for it.they often have it but won't serve it until you ask specifically. it is made with 'methi' seeds - fenugreek.
now that i am writing all this... i rarely go to restaurants to eat stuff i cook myself... happy landings
----- Original Message ---- From: "bitch at pulpculture.org" <bitch at pulpculture.org> To: Lame Brained Onanists <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org> Sent: Tuesday, 27 March, 2007 7:32:23 PM Subject: [lbo-talk] Indian Cuisine
Hey everyone. I've been busy but I wanted to pop in and ask a question. Tomorrow, my co-worker, a programmer with whom I have a good ol' time at work, is taking me to his favorite Indian restaurant for lunch. He's the guy from India, Punjabi, who took me on the nickel tour my first week, showing me around the city. Really friendly guy. I've never eaten in an Indian restaurant, though I've experimented with Indian dishes at home. I like hot and spicy, and this restaurant specializes. Out of curiosity, what kinds of dishes would y'all recommend?
On a more political economy note, I will get my first taste of the department's team-building Phun! this week when they bus us somewhere secret, pair us up with people we don't choose, and have us try to accomplish something together. Rah Rah Sis Boom Bah! While I make fun of it, it's also true that it is a lot easier to work on a project when everyone feels a little love, yanno? As we all got to know each other, it was noticeable as the dynamics changed and V, my Punjabi friend, was pushing for us to eat lunch together more often. I swear, had it been left up to loner user's, we might have all eaten lunch on our own, foregoing such efforts. But V kept insisting -- so we do. Well, he and I do, as the others sometimes beg off for various reasons. For my own part, as things became a little easier -- we bonded with shared, symbolic jokes and good natured teasing -- I did my part and brought bagels in on a Friday morning. Seemed like a fun thing to do. But then you have to wonder: how much of this just greases the wheels for greater profit, eh? (Who cares; at the moment, we have to work together. Still, it's an interesting question. Such bonding would be important in any political economy, what's interesting is the way they try to force it with these 'games.')
Other political economy note is the added bonus of a much more racially diverse environment, less segregated than any I've been exposed to. The city is about 45% white, the rest people of color, and I don't experience the ridiculousness that I saw in Florida or upstate NY -- where cashiers get antsy when black people walk in the door. Things is, it's more unusual for whites to walk in the door of an upscale store. Also notice that, because it's a big gov't and military contract town, there's a solid black and Latino middle and upper-middle class in terms of income and status symbols likes homes, neighborhoods, and cars. Still plenty of poverty, but for the first time in my life, I've seen a city where people of color aren't segregated into impoverished and lower-income/working poor neighborhoods, where there's barely a black and Latino middle and upper middle income base.
Anyway, more at the blog if you're interested, though I haven't had much online access -- slow wireless at the hotel -- or much time since apartment hunting, getting to know the area, and shopping for groceries and sundries that we need take up time.
BL http://blog.pulpculture.org NSFW
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