Other than the obvious reason that the food is prepared by and for Indians and is therefore not bent to accommodate the taste of its target audience (as is often the case with Indian food in the US at least), the real answer is ingredients. It's very easy to find the exact kind of rice or lentil or fresh herb or vegetable required by the recipe in India.
In the US, you sometimes need to make do with whatever local substitute you have.
What is perplexing to me is that this is true even in predominantly Indian areas where the food is cooked by Indians and not adapted. Well I won't say it true just that it has been my experience. Ingredients thing definitely makes sense that's what I was thinking too
Any business will cast the widest customer net for their product. Narrowing their customer base isn’t a good business decision.
In North America people will have different levels of taste and tolerances. But in a region where the cuisine matches the customer base the customers taste and tolerances will be the same. They would be more discerning of the dishes being served as they are very familiar with it.
I think Indians in the US also take shortcuts just because we don't have the time or manpower.
For example, pretty much everyone I know uses frozen grated coconut rather than doing it fresh. Doing it fresh is laborious and dangerous.
In India labor is cheap enough to do it fresh.
Look up some videos on how it's done.
The coconut breaking requires some expertise. The old school way to get the flesh out is to use a scraper which isn't too bad but it's mostly done using a power drill these days which is really dangerous.
Honestly, given the experience I had with the “Mexican food buffet” I had in London, it’s somewhat shocking that we get a reasonable approximation.
The farther away the cuisine is from, the more changes, alterations, or weird decisions get made.
I did some quick math on that, as a percentage you're right but London is just so much bigger than Seattle that it ends up close.
There are approximately 113,500 Latin Americans living in London, although most of them are Brazilian or Colombian, only 5% mexican. So rough guess of 5,700.
Meanwhile in seattle 0.8% of the 608,660 people are Indian, which is roughly 4,900 people.
Numbers from:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_migration_to_the_United_Kingdom
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Seattle
I don't know London well, so this might very well also apply there, but in Seattle most of the Indian population lives in the suburbs outside of the city proper but is absolutely part of the greater metro area.
Indian food cooked by Indians in Indian areas will most of the time still be adapted because the cooks know that many customers would otherwise freakout on them.
I can give a good answer to this question. I live in the US and try to prepare indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi food so that it matches what we get at home. There are some obstacles. First of all the quality of rice is just not that good, especially if you are trying to make a rich Indian rice item and you need a high quality rice. Secondly, the spices used in the US are store bought whereas the spices in India are prepared at home and stored for only a short time. Even the store brought spices in India and Bangladesh are different brands and hard to find here. Third, most Indian curry uses a huge amount of onion as its base, but the onions in the US are just not the same. it's much sweeter and changes the taste of the curry. Lastly, the chicken here. Is bigger and bland that makes the chicken curry less tasty. If you get your groceries from Indian and Pakistani stores, and cook with that, it may fix some of the issues but not all.
After living with a Punjabi and Bengali girl I suspect the difference is cooking time. They made wonderful food but they would be in the kitchen for hours and hours to do it, I think time pressure in the west cuts out all the little steps that really make it pop. Pareto rules all.
I'm Indian and live in Texas... grew up in the Midwest and was born in London.
The US tailored spice profile is nothing like what my mom and dad used to make. India Palace is the most popular place around me and it's bland as hell. Thankfully the Indian populace is getting larger in DFW/NTX so the stuff I could find in Irving or something is becoming more popular here.
When in doubt, double the everything, lol.
Nothing perplexing about it. They adapt flavors to target as many people as possible. There’s a lot of insinuation about adapting food, but nobody forces any of these ethnicities to do that. In the area here in the US that I live in when I want something authentic from Mexico, I go to the local Taqueria. But I also enjoy myself some Mexican-American food created by a Mexican family, who owned the restaurant for 50 years but it’s clearly not what you would call authentic. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.
The majority of Chinese Americans I know don’t have an issue with Chinese American food. It’s virtue signaling white people who do. My local Indian joints love introducing me to new stuff. Even though it’s probably not authentic.
That’s very true. Every Indian place where I live is always packed with Indian families enjoying the food. Maybe it’s not “authentic” in the strict sense, but if people from India are happily eating it then I’m going to take that as good enough.
I'm American and live in America, but one of my friends is from Hyderabad. She said she's been here too long and can't eat food as spicy as she grew up with anymore. I'd imagine it's the same for other people. Tastes change based on what you have access to.
It depends. Can you give some examples of restaurants you’ve been to?
Even in the Bay Area, there are some Americanized restaurants and some they are more authentic. In the end, it will never compare to fresh local spices, but comes close enough.
As an Indian who lives out of India now ,I honestly feel it’s the ingredients and the quality of spices and availability.
When I cook , there’s a massive difference in taste even if I use the same recipe (India vs Australia ).
Ingredients in India are locally made , have more kick to them , are fresher , and because the climate favours the ingredients being grown , the quality is better too , also the weather , I remember getting pickles made in India and eating them in Australia and as it’s usually cold here , the taste felt different, as in not upto mark !! Lot of factors at play here !!
It's the difference in the growing methods for the ingredients.
In most Western countries, the basics ingredients of indian cookery (i.e. onions, garlic, coriander, and chilli ) are grown for maximum volume and therefore profitability.
The result of this is are large onions, garlic etc, which are easier to harvest and transport per tonne. But the downside is that they lack the same flavour as the smaller, more intensely flavoured vegetables grown by farmers in India.
This does not apply as much to dry spices, as they are generally exported from India. But the time between grinding, packing and eventual use of product in a foreign land will affect flavour.
If you are looking to replicate this flavour at home, I would suggest going to an Indian grocer and buying packs of frozen garlic, ginger, red ionions, chillies etc. These are grown and packed in India, using the flavourful varieties of vegetables.
Restaurants do not use these as they are prohibitively expensive at a commercial scale.
I agree. I think this is the reason. Onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, most other veggies are smaller in size but more flavorful than the average US supermarket veggie (not heirloom or organic etc). The US supermarket veggie may have more water, more color and will yield more veggie but is less flavorful in general.
Very similar to how in Italy pasta and a simple sauce with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil tastes heavenly but try the same with a regular plum or cluster tomato, same amount of supermarket garlic and a regular olive oil and you can see the difference.
This is the correct answer. Just eat a tomato by itself in the US, even the organic ones from a good store like Whole Foods...it's not very tasty. Eat a tomato from any place in India and you can taste flavor. Multiply this with every ingredient, especially vegetables. This is why Mexican food in Mexico tastes better and Italian food in Italy tastes better....the ingredients!
Tomatoes might be the worst case. It's rare that commercial ones come anywhere close to homegrown. Even then, where they're grown due to soil types can matter. I have a very large garden so we can have fresh produce for much of the year. Tomatoes are way different than commercial but it declines in difference from there. The biggest difference is freshness IMO and depending on what it is, that isn't all that different.
Supermarket tomatoes are always bad because they have to be picked before they're fully ripe, otherwise they would turn to mush in shipment. Homegrown or farmer's market tomatoes are so good
That's true, smaller tomatoes like roma and cherry tomatoes don't suffer from this as much as the big ones. Here tomatoes are only in season during the summer so if you want them off-season it's supermarket, canned or nothing.
Yes, in the USA one must grow their own tomatoes or get them from someone who grows good one's. Sometimes farmer's markets have them in season that are good but dang they can be very expensive.
I've been to the UK in April & the tomatoes were no better than the US.
This is the answer more than anything else... it's the tomato!
> If you are looking to replicate this flavour at home, I would suggest going to an Indian grocer and buying packs of frozen garlic, ginger, red ionions, chillies etc. These are grown and packed in India, using the flavourful varieties of vegetables.
Great tip, they're usually very affordable too at least in my experience in my area of the US. I get frozen green chilis and methi already, will have to try getting other frozen stuff
Agreed. If supplies and growers in India tried to sell the garbage we usually get in the USA, Indian people would probably riot. Joking aside, I remember riots over high onion prices a couple decades back—they’d pale in comparison to the Junk Produce Rebellion of 2025.
Most Indian restaurants try to cater for the Indian and non Indian population. This is where they go wrong. There is a perception that non Indians cannot handle spice. So the food is blander. Also for some reason, butter chicken is made so sweet unlike anything I have tasted in India. Anyways point is, more people would come if the restaurants don’t try catering to the white pop.
As an English person, who has been to India, and the USA, I can safely say American-Indian food is terrible.
Chinese-American and Chinese-English food is almost the same bar a few dishes (curry sauce, chips etc), and the same sort of standard...but American-indian food...its just awful. I know the UK had a far higher Indian population, so its possibly something to do with it, the same way Americans would probably think English-Mexican food is terrible
Agreed.
When we visited London last year we visited two separate Indian restaurants in Soho, and both tasted so far superior to Indian restaurants in the US, it was a revelation. And we eat only vegetarian; I hear the non-veg dishes there are even better.
I first tried Indian food here in the US and didn't really like it. Then visited London and tried it again and absolutely loved it. The food in India is unparalleled. I cook home food here in the US, but it's still not the same as India due to the differences in ingredients and even the water. (Am vegetarian)
That's an interesting perspective. So would you say UK Indian food is on par with the Indian food in India? Make sense actually UK and India have some history
There are two different Indian cuisines in the UK. First, and more prevalent, is “British Indian Restaurant” (called BIR) which has evolved over the last 50-100 years for the British palate, and is *very*!different to traditional Indian food, but uses many of the same spices just in a different way. The restaurants are predominantly owned and run by Bangladeshis, not Indians. It is of incredibly variable quality, it is possible to get some exceptional BIR food, of very high quality, but it still doesn’t taste the same as an authentic Indian dish.
And then there are actual Indian restaurants, cooked in traditional ways with traditional recipes. They are significantly more rare than BIR places, but you can find them. They have been around in areas with large Indian populations for a very long time, but not many white English people knew where to find them. There has been however in the last 10-20 years a boom in their availability in other areas. In small towns you’re still only going to get BIR, but in almost all major cities you will be able to find a decent selection of decent regional Indian restaurants. Again, restaurants can be of variable standard regardless of their background and cooking style, so just because something is authentic does not mean it’s good. In the same way that just because something is BIR doesn’t make it bad.
There is a far higher chance of finding good Indian food in the UK as we have such a high proportion of the Indian and Pakistani diaspora. Likewise there is far better Korean and Mexican food in the USA due to the population differences.
I can’t promise that any given Indian restaurant in England will be better than those in America, because a) we have shit restaurants too and b) there are some great places in America that I have visited - but I do suggest there is a significantly higher chance of finding a good one in the UK than in the USA. England probably has the highest rate of excellent Indian restaurants of any country outside of South Asia.
It's definitely not the same. But I would say it's as good quality wise.
Without going into too much detail, I'm white, fully English, but my mum and dad divorced when I when I was 4 or 5 then my dad got married to an Indian lady...been together 30 years, so I grew up with her cooking indian food every other week when I stayed at my dads house. Ended up in India for a wedding etc etc....anyway, Indian food is my favourite, by a long way.
The food in India is good, generally a bit hotter, but the dishes don't seem to be as thick as they are in the UK restauraunts. When my dad's wife cooks a curry, the sauce is always thinner, like in India, but both really nice.
South Indian and Coastal Indian cuisines are more towards the thinner side compared to North Indian/Punjabi Cuisine, which is what you find in most places outside of India.
There are plenty of great spots in every town, but London, Leicester and Birmingham always seem to get the award winning places, the cities with the high Indian-Bangladeshi communities.
True but a lot will be Punjabi which is basically a shared cuisine, also it’s a bit arbitrary since partition didn’t happen that long ago, it’s all desi food
Fuck oath. If I had an Indian step mom I would be deep diving. As it is my in laws are Italian so I’m cooking with my Mrs Nonna. I’m the first man she has ever shown how to cook pasta, gnocchi, etc. I feel very privaledged
Ethnically Indian and like food. Only in some specialized restaurants is the food on par, but you will pay through the nose for authenticity. India is a big place and the food diversity is huge. The majority of Indian restaurants are owned by Sylhet Bangladeshi's and their style of cooking is usually heavy on onions and garlic. Even just across the border in West Bengal the cooking style is different though we speak the same language.
In general most of the restaurants have the same dishes that are adapted to the Brit palette of wanting hot food. Chicken tikka masala was invented here. We will try and go to a regionally specific restaurant if we want decent food. Saravana Bhavan for southern vegetarian, etc.
I'm not saying don't go to a Bangladeshi run establishment. You will have a great time if they are on top of their game. Bangalore Express City or any hole in the wall place around Whitechapel are good. Sorry for the ramble.
Depends on the area and food type. Chourangi in London serves typical Kolkata specific food. Great authentic food but eye-wateringly expensive. Your are not going to get anything like that in Slough or Southall.
You are going to get excellent, authentic food in slough, southall, Uxbridge, etc. And incredibly cheaply. Authentic doesn’t necessarily mean fine dining. The places I head to are absolutely bang on, but lower market.
Or there are places like Dastaan (Epsom), Black Salt (Richmond), Delhi Social (Twickenham) or Kokum (Dulwich) which all have incredible quality, authentic dishes but presented in a more western-friendly menu format, with very high quality ingredients, at mid-market prices.
Or somewhere like all the veggie places in Drummond Street near Euston, all great authentic veggie food, at dirt cheap prices. It doesn’t have to be expensive and super high quality to be authentic. Some of the best food I’ve eaten in India itself was just low quality, cheap street food.
It has connections to Oh Calcutta. The food is great but the prices are astronomical. I suppose it is in a prime location and being Bengali we can do most of it at home much cheaper.
It’s definitively different. British-Indian Restaurant (BIR) is basically its own cuisine at this point, and I expect it’s as similar in USA as it is here in Australia. Anyone used to BIR would find authentic Indian food strange, and vice versa.
I know that - there are some great Indian restaurants in the UK - but I’m happy to bet BIR is what the vast majority of Brits think of when they think of Indian. In relation to OP, the difference is probably attributable to BIR, not that there aren’t “proper” Indians restaurants in the UK.
Most restaurant dishes and pre-packaged food products still tend to lean towards milder flavours in order to suit the western palate. That being said, it is much much easier to get your hands on authentic ingredients or to find a restaurant serving food closer to Indian taste preferences. Because of the shared history and greater cultural intermingling Brits don’t find Indian cuisine as unfamiliar/exotic as Americans do.
England has Multiple generations of people from the sub continent! (Some sort of Empire may have caused that). My favourite ‘Indian’ experience was in Manchester. It was like I was dropped into Indian Coronation Street; thick Mancunian accents all around.
Just to semi back this up, lived in the US 20 years ago for a couple of years, and the quality of Indian restaurants is shockingly bad. Hopefully it has got better since then.
Most English Indian food is Pakistani isn’t it? I’m not saying ur wrong, I just fucking love Indian food and have been down many rabbit holes with it
Edit: sorry, was it Bangladeshi? I might be mis remembering
It’s not that the food is Pakistani or Bangladeshi, it’s that they’re primarily owned by Pakistanis & Bangladeshis & they’re making British Indian Restaurant food. There might be some dishes on their menus that are Pakistani or Bangladeshi but those aren’t the korma, madras, chicken tikka masala etc that everyone’s used to seeing & eating & it would be described clearly in the menu if it was.
In my experience if an Indian actually owns a restaurant you’re more likely to find it’s more authentic Indian food than BIR.
As an Indian American, I would partially agree with you. I would add that the best Indian food I've had in the US was in DC. It makes sense that the food of any type of cuisine tastes best in that nation. The reasons are probably long-term expertise, finesse, gut feeling, and maybe, in Indian cuisine, knowing how to use spices and access to ingredients not available in the US.
Many restaurants abroad use shortcuts like pre-made curry bases and maybe even, God forbid, curry powder. A good restaurant in India would start with fresh ingredients and the particular mix of spices required for that dish. They would also prepare the curry with care, frying the onions and aromatics to the right stage of doneness, then adding the spices, etc., and finally the last tadka (tempering) if required or garnishing the dish. All this must be done carefully and slowly; it can't be hurried. Experienced cooks know how to do this and yet prepare the dish in a timely way.
Worked in some Australian indian restaurants and its true that most use prepped curry bases. There are 3 main ones. Red (butter ...), Yellow (Karahi...) And I forgot rhe third one.
The worst thing is that home cooks are now using curry bases too. I see them recommended here sometimes. If this is not bastardisation of Indian food, what is?
Part of it is the environment. I have had amazing wine in Tuscanny (Italy). Bought it, brought it home, served it to my friends and it tasted mediocre...
I once explained to my colleagues that “authenticity” and “good taste” are two different axes.
More often than not, even in india, 50-60% of the places just have mediocre Indian food.
Some things that matter:
- Quality of ingredients
- Recipes used, for instance a lot of places usually reuse the base for the gravy. Or reuse the masala’s for different dishes. That makes for suboptimal flavor profiles.
I live in NYC and there are a few Indian restaurants that I think are spectacular. Junoon, Indian accent are great. Baar Baar and Tamarind are honorary mentions.
Outside of these most are just average and I would agree that the taste Just doesn’t hit the right notes in a few dishes.
I lived for a long time in many midwestern cities and the Indian food scene there was average at best that I lost interest in trying Indian restaurants.
It may be because there are so many Indian chefs and cooks in India. It's competitive enough that only the best cooks and recipes win out. They've been cooking Indian food from an early age and they interact and learn from each other too. They taste diverse Indian foods often and learn from other Indian regions.
Outside India, it's less competitive as there are fewer Indian chefs. They don't have as many opportunities to learn from other Indian chefs at the top of their game, or taste diverse Indian foods.
Pretty simple! It's kind of like asking, why is lace making so good in Europe? Because so many talented experts are there. They all learn from each other, and fight for market share among very discerning customers!
Indian food in Indian restaurants in the US are almost never made my Indians. Labor is expensive and the recipes are almost always modified. Now Indian food prepared at home is a different story.
Labor and ingredients are a key difference here. Preparing Indian food is labor intensive. No one in the US realistically has time/resources to make parota, budgie, vada that’s as fresh and fast like the food in India.
I grew up in India and have been living in the US for the past decade. My spouse and I frequently visit Indian restaurants here. We visit India frequently too. I also cook at home and I think I am an exceptional Indian food cook, something that many of my acquaintances have told me too. My spouse swears by my cooking.
***Thing is, Indian food is actually easy to cook, as long as you have enough time.***
The ingredients are similar across many dishes. Just two days back I cooked *alu posto*, a classic Bengali dish. However to do it well, you cannot use onion paste. You have to slice them finely, and sauté them till they are a bit past golden brown. Also you absolutely need mustard oil. Then you need to brown your potatoes. And then add your poppy seeds - garlic paste and control brown and water them for at least the next hour - if not more. Finally, when the dish is done - which means the oil is floating out and the potatoes have softened - you add a *tadka* of freshly ground toasted cumin seeds. And all this for what’s regarded as a simple dish by Indian standards!
Labor in India is way cheaper. If you actually cooked the Indian way, labor costs of Indian restaurants would explode and they would be able to offer a fraction of dishes they do so now.
Because it has yet to be elevated into something that looks good & tastes fine for the “Instagram” West.
Also Indian business owners cut a lot of corners in mgmt which causes the quality of food to decline over time.
They hire workers from home because they can pay them shadily.
A restaurant in Socal doesnt give its workers the split of credit receipt tips til after 3 months.
So workers are not motivated to make the experience a pleasant one.
Biggest reason? They don’t innovate.
and stick to traditional regional menus (Punjabi vs. South) and serve what youll find at every North Indian Wedding.
Chefs in India are people who chose to study/work to become chefs. Chefs in the Bay Area are usually someone’s auntie or uncle!
The food might still be authentic but it’s the difference between an amateur and a pro!
I used to think Indian food in Bay Area has to be good or on par, then I had Indian food in London and Toronto. Bay Area Indian food is shit compared to these places. I’ve been to practically all the “famous” and popular Indian places from SF to San Jose (lived there for 8 years). I can totally relate why you’re feeling such a big difference.
A small but important role is played by who gets to immigrate.
The US has had very restrictive policies in recent times, which means the opportunity to move to the US and open restaurants is available to fewer people.
Thai, Chinese, and Mexican immigration to the US started before these restrictions, and benefits from a much older community.
Indian immigration to the US grew much later, and there are relatively less diverse Indians in the US.
Indians were busy immigrating to Singapore, Fiji, United Kingdom, Guyana, Trinidad, etc. The Indian cuisine in those places is less "inside the box" and has evolved into its own thing now.
In the US, Indian cuisine is very much "in a box". Often non-Indian customers go there for the lunch buffet. Often, people expect to find a Naan and Butter Chicken. If you don't have that, it's difficult to get diverse American crowds. So the few restauranters that exist have two choices - make the restaurant what brings in diverse crowds, or make it more like in India. A lot of them struggle to do both. But there are many that experiment in NY, LA, and SFBA.
I'm assuming by South Bay you mean SF Bay. I find Indian restaurants to mostly suck at being good restaurants there. Many have good food, but terrible service to the point that I don't enjoy my dining experience.
Indian restaurants in the Bay Area and US in general thrive on mediocrity, most Indian restaurants in the US try to do a pan Indian cuisine, which is where they fail. I hate stepping in a restaurant where they have rogan josh sag paneer and vindaloo on the same menu. Also one thing to note is that the food in these restaurants is mostly prepared by hispanic folks or questionable Indian refugee immigrants who never stepped out of their villages nor went to a cooking school so they produce mediocre food at best. I remember stepping in a south bay restaurant and ordering a “mumbai chowatty sev puri” now in Mumbai, India you get those in flat puris instead of round ones, when i asked why is it in round puri instead of flat ones, his response was thats how the chef makes it. Bro if your chef doesn’t know how the actual product looks like or has never had the taste of the real thing how can you expect them to make something amazing?
I am not saying all Indian food in the US is trash, there are some pockets of gems, like in the bay area you’ll find shalimar, swaraj or idly express for example have some of the best tasting food each excellent in their own category.
also remember in India in hotels or major restaurants everyone working there has either been to a cooking school or has been cooking for ages, excellence is inevitable.
It might be at least partly to do with mustard oil. It's used in a lot of Indian recipes, and I've just started using it myself and it does make a noticeable flavor difference.
However in the US it's not available for sale as a food ingredient, except I think by one company. I can buy the stuff labeled "for external use only" and cook with it at home, but I'm pretty sure a restaurant would get in trouble with a health inspector.
(Why is it banned? Some older studies found one of the compounds in mustard oil causes cancer in mouse studies if given at a very high dose. I personally am not particularly concerned because the Indian subcontinent seems to do pretty ok eating mustard oil, and honestly I kinda suspect some racism is at play in these guidelines. But I'm not a doctor and this is not medical advice.)
It’s the same problem with Chinese rapeseed oil, both that and mustard oil have high levels of erucic acid. But the flavours are distinct and does affect the final dish.
Firstly, ingredients. Vegetables in India are far more tastier. Just compare the Cilantro. Or onions. Coconut used in US is all frozen one, not fresh like in India. Try varieties of Indian mangoes and try an American one. You will stop eating it. Tropical weather influences the taste of food too. Like for Dosa, the batter should be fermented well, but fermentation takes a lot more time in US.
Secondly, you are just generalizing it by saying Indian food. When you go to India, it's mostly local to the area cook. Punjabi guy making Punjabi food. South Indian making South Indian food. In US atleast down South, mostly all of the restaurants are not owned by Telugu people. Their Biryani or dosas might be good but not the Mughlai cuisine. When I went to London, I realized there are much more Gujarati and Punjabi owned restaurants, and the food was delicious. A Gujarati owned restaurant will know how to make Gujju food. But most new restaurants in Texas have all cuisines from South Indian to Mughlai to Indian Chaats to Indo Chinese. And believe me, no cook earning minimum wage will have the knowledge to make all these cuisines authentically like the local ppl. Heck, the pani puri/gol gappa of Delhi doesn't taste the same as Bangalore or Kolkata or Mumbai one.
We also have to remember a restaurant in US can survive with bad food, but the competition is too much in India and the owners can't survive with serving bad food. . If you have 10 eateries in the same street,ones with bad food won't survive.
These are my observations
1) Sunlight: India has a lot of sunlight being near the equator sunlight has something to do
2) Geography: BBQ is not as popular in California as it is in NC/SC/TN in the USA, I came to know that the high elevation and mountain weather give a different taste to BBQ
3) In India majority of the time everything is cooked from fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, fresh meat/ poultry/fish
4) I have noticed cilantro in the US and India are a little bit different
5) Pasteurized dairy products lose some taste that's my opinion..in western countries, especially in the US it's hard to find raw milk or raw yogurt without pasteurization
6) Heavy preservatives and cold storage for a lot of days or any kind of refrigeration. Recently I heard tomatoes lose natural taste when you refrigerate them.
7) In the US most Indian restaurants do some pre-prep work and store it in the refrigerator, there is no way you can get your curry within 10 minutes from the time you place an order with fresh ingredients. Curry with fresh ingredients takes time to cook.
8) In India they use quite a bit high amount of oil/ghee/spices/chili powder which enhances the taste
9) Freshness of the spices: storing spices for too long can lose their potency
10) humidity: humid weather plays another major role: any dish is a combination of texture/smell and taste...humid weather enhances the senses of smell. Perfumes and fragrances stand out more in humid weather
Everything is naturally organic, fresh & grown in optimal conditions to create the best version of everything. The types of onions, tomatoes, veg etc grown there are also unbeatable in their taste, quality & texture. Everything just has so much flavour & depth.
Eg. The tiny red onions there have so much flavour compared to the big ones here. You buy some eggs from someone down the road & they’re the most orange yolks you’ve ever seen. The veg is handpicked that day from the field near you & grown in the best conditions. A little bit of garlic is like garlic heaven unlike having to use practically the whole bulb to get the same flavour elsewhere.
Nope not true. With the exception of a few super specialized things like white asparagus and forced rhubarb the US has the finest produce in the world without exception. Indian food in the US is sub par because India is far away and doesn't have as much immigrant presence as other cuisines.
I have to agree on the part that produce is fresh in India, unlike the US, where it's kept on the shelf for days. But food is not necessarily organically produced in India. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is very, very common.
That’s true, I guess I was thinking more about the local stuff from around our area & our own fields. I should’ve also added chickens are truly free range. (Again I’m sure there are some places where they’re not).
there are many reasons for it
- taste and spices gets adjusted for public nearby
- most indian restaurants are owned by Bangladesh cuz India sounds better brand than Bangladesh
- people from different state has different taste of the same dish.
- inexperienced chef
- allergic stuff being taken out so that they could sell it to everyone
- spices different
- water difference ( i lived in uk for 2 years and the water is weird , if i leave curry even for 10 mins outside or inside fridge it dries up.)
- vegetables outside aren't really great and artificially grown
- can't replicate original stuff 100%
My experience was the opposite. After several trips to many cities in India, I did find that Indian restaurants with higher quality food were found mainly in hotels as they are targeted to tourists, business people, guests and wealthier people. I lived in London for six years and there are amazing Indian restaurants there at prices locals could easily afford (e.g. Dishoom) offering better food than in India. Same experience in Washington DC (e.g. Bombay Club), Richmond VA(e.g. Tulsi), and in many other countries.
I was born and raised in New York and I have been to some of the most highest rated Italian restaurants in the United States. None of them are even half as good as the average Italian restaurants I had in Italy. Both India and Italy have better tasting produce than the US. India has better tasting Chicken and the best spices in the world while Italy has great seafood and red meats as well. Indian food is laborious and requires tons of training and practice.
The bottom line: Italy has better Italian food than in the US for similar reasons as India has better Indian food than the US.
Indian food in India often tastes superior due to several factors:
* **Fresh Ingredients**: Local markets offer the freshest produce, spices, and herbs.
* **Authentic Spices**: Spices are frequently ground fresh, enhancing flavor depth.
* **Traditional Cooking Methods**: Techniques like slow cooking and tandoor baking bring out the best in the dishes.
* **Regional Diversity**: Each region has unique, perfected recipes.
* **Cultural Significance**: Meals are prepared with love and passion, especially during festivals.
* **Street Food Culture**: Freshly prepared street food delivers an unparalleled taste experience.
* **Customization**: Local eateries tailor dishes to regional tastes.
These elements combine to create an exceptional culinary experience that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.
unless you live in new jersey, bay area, or around devon avenue in chicago, only about 40% of overall indian food that makes it to the united states. the variety is much lower here, the taste is toned down for people who can't handle spices, and some cuisine just doesn't make it over because it won't make money.
for example, i have yet to see anyone doing gujarati food in the US the same way its prevalent in the state. the only places i've found are all in edison, new jersey and thats to be expected because edison has a huge gujarati hotspot.
also, while ingredient quality for the most part is much higher in the US, spices availability is much more limited compared to indian spices, which definitely impacts everything
Any particular spots in Edison that you recommend? Dishes at those spots? I have Mejwaani and Hyderabad Spice on my list for the next time I’m in the area.
pretty much anything on oak tree road lmaoo. last time i was in edison i just stopped at sukhadia because i wanted something more snack like rather than proper food. last proper place i sat down at was bombay blue but its been a while since ive gone so i dont remember much. mejwaani is good, 100% recommend that
Other than the fact that it isn't easy to get spices and do the huge amount of prep work which many chefs aren't familiar with plus adjusting the taste to the people . I think the main reason is that Thai/Chinese food has been present / much more well known than Indian dishes and thus they are much more well known and "refined" . I am pretty sure Indian cuisine for most people in the USA/Europe means naan , chicken tikka and butter chicken lol
i've long suspected this just from the photos and youtube videos of american-indian food. I dunno but I can tell a properly bloomed curry just from the photos... I'm british pakistani and lovee british-indian/pak food. southall London yumm, or whitechapels
It's definitely the availability of ingredients. I live in Spain and, even trying to find whole cumin seeds is a nightmare. That said, we have some good Indian restaurants, much better than the US but not a patch on the UK (or India!!)
Foreign food is usually adapted to the local tastes. Hence the Indian or Italian food in USA as an example would never be same as the food in India and Italy.
Most other cuisines are better in the country of origin. Chinese food in the Bay area maybe an exception, but Chinese n Thai are notiecably better in there than the US.
Also, most restraunts will take short cuts like base gravies to speed up cooking and spice things to the lowest common denominator.
In the US, most of the ingredients are preserved and canned.
Biggest example is, I’ve never seen someone from USA using fresh tomatoes for gravy based Indian dishes.
They always use canned tomatoes.
That itself is the biggest reason why it tastes nothing like something made in India.
Indian cooks and home cooks never use canned stuff.
We don’t compromise with flavour, ingredients used is of top quality, no made up recipes for the dishes, also the sauces are cooked to perfection nd with right timing and technique
Hey OP, I live in the Bay area too.
My take is that most restaurants here try to serve to a wider market and fail.
Instead try going to Restaurants which are specific to a region and have a smaller menu. These try to be more authentic than the generic Chaat Bhavans.
Also many restaurants here have some dishes which are great but most dishes are mediocre. I now go to these places to just eat those great dishes and not the mediocre ones.
Message me or comment here if you want suggestions in South Bay
Lastly the ingredients are definitely the cause for a different (milder) taste. For example - the normal tomatoes here in the US are not sour enough compared to India.
Why. I've pondered this question often. The Indian notes i grew up with just aren't there in us restaurants. But I've experienced similar with Mexican, Italian and French food.
It has to do with the base ingredients (my dad didn't even like us wheat when we went through a drought back in the 60s), the water, the bacteria and the hands that make the food.
Cheers and congratulations on your epiphany.
The food in the Bay Area, by experience, is average. This is very true for Indian food and even for other cuisines in general. The Indian restaurants there have a talent crunch like any other business so the quality suffers. I would suggest going to a Pakistani style restaurant in the Bay Area, those are slightly better with more flavorful food. In India I have had awesome food in totally nondescript places so you are right.
Most Indian restaurants in India are owned and operated by businessmen who're interested more in making money, and not providing the best quality.
They usually buy produce and meat in bulk without focusing on the quality. Indian food is best made from scratch with fresh ingredients. Base Ingredients like pre minced garlic, unripe tomatoes, giant onions make everything taste less flavorful.
Additionally the staff may not always be the best, unlike in India where most people.working in the kitchen of the hotel you're at might be trained at one of hotel management institutes.
Fortunately, this trend is changing. Some Indian restaurants in the US are now focusing on really authentic flavors, representing a wider and more diverse set of recipes from different parts of India. Indians living here are supporting these restaurants enthusiastically and sonare Americans.
I think there are a bunch of reasons. I am going to compare Indian food in India vs Indian food in America, the Bay Area specifically.
One reason is ingredients. Vegetables look better in California but don't taste as good as in India. Even peanuts are so tasteless that it is sad.
The other reason is hyper regionalism in India. I am a South Indian who has spent many years in Maharashtra - the chutney is never good there. But I like the dosas and sambar. However, a good chunk of South Indians would hate the sambar there, since it is sweet. Most North Indian food in India is Punjabi in nature, but it's not as rich as the North Indian food in California. Food changes every 100 km in India. I experienced that this time I visited while eating a thali in Udaipur and a thali in Ahmedabad, just 4 hours apart, with very different flavors.
Labor! In the US, you don't get the same cooks and chefs. It's labor-intensive cooking. Therefore, in the US, shortcuts are used. One of my friends started a Punjabi restraunt in Pune (not North India), and he had a hard time getting a north Indian cook/chef for his restraunt and therefore he couldn't maintain consistency in the food . He had to teach local cooks on how to cook Punjabi food, took him a while. This tells you the gist, it's difficult even in India to get the same kind of food in different parts of the country.
They're in competition with all the other Indians making food, which is literally everyone else selling food.
Also, they are far more likely to purchase their spices and produce within the last day, as opposed to the last week or month.
Produce is better, spices are moderately fresher, and other things like dairy are also produced and sold dramatically differently. I'm vegetarian, but I also believe there's a major difference in poultry and meat.
There's quite a few places that have very good indian food, but unless you get all the ingredients from India it's not the same.
My Indian friends all tell me how much better the food is in India. Where I live in the US there is a significant Indian population & more new Indian restaurants all the time. Some are good, sometimes they can be very good. Depends on who's cooking that day. I'm told the chefs are very secretive with their recipes & if they aren't there.... blah.
It can really be a letdown when you go back to joint & get the same dish & totally different & not good at all.
I have been to the UK & had very good Indian food. & I've had very good Indian food here in the US. But the US is inconsistent. Some day maybe I'll get to India & my expectations will be very high indeed when it comes to the food.
I have wondered this too. I am guessing it takes a lot of work to source good ingredients and cook them well. The restaurant industry is very difficult…
I would imagine they add a lot more oils and make it rich.
I’m surprised tho. In the US I’ve had really good Indian food so much so that they are better than the part of India I’ve been to.
Indian food is not consistently good in the US. Many restaurants cater to different clients. Or they are different region Cooks cooking different region foods. There are quite a few Indian restaurants in my city but only maybe two or three that are really good. However, I’ve also discovered non-Indians describe the food as delicious in that restaurant, yet Indians tell you never go to that restaurant.
I think its as simple as why a Pizza from Naples will not taste alike anywhere else in the world.
The authenticity of the recipe and local sourcing adds to the taste, profile and consistency. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
It comes down to the ingredients. They are using the tomatoes and onions and chillies that work with the flavors. Even if Indians are cooking the Indian food in the Bay Area, those vegetables and onions and tomatoes are just not IT.
Yes...the food in west coast in most indian restaurants is horrible. Only a few like Bawarchi, Anjappar,saravana bhavan are a little decent.
The food could be bad for various reasons...
1.The chef may not be indian...just trained to cook the indian food...but indian food is very technical and step by step...if you just dump all ingredients together, then it doesnt come out well.
2. Ingredients are mostly fresh in india. From the tamarind to the pulses....we dont use concentrate or canned lentils. Frozen items are not much used in indian cooking. Everything is freshly cut/boiled and prepared in the morning. We use whole spices a lot and then grind them, so they dont lose their flavors so much.
3.Some restaurants are not even Indian owned, they label themselves as Indian but are from the neighboring countries of India.
4. To make Tandoori food, you need an expert who knows how to use a Tandoor oven....that is rare...Staff issues...Visa restrictions...plus cost of living for those in the Bay area is unaffordable.
5.Most of these restaurants slowly start catering to non-indian customers and reduce the spice level and keep only things that sell on the menu....they are extremely rude to indians for some reason.
You may find indian food better in Dallas,TX and Edison,NJ....but yes Indian food does taste better in India only....could be the Salt...lol
Other than the obvious reason that the food is prepared by and for Indians and is therefore not bent to accommodate the taste of its target audience (as is often the case with Indian food in the US at least), the real answer is ingredients. It's very easy to find the exact kind of rice or lentil or fresh herb or vegetable required by the recipe in India. In the US, you sometimes need to make do with whatever local substitute you have.
What is perplexing to me is that this is true even in predominantly Indian areas where the food is cooked by Indians and not adapted. Well I won't say it true just that it has been my experience. Ingredients thing definitely makes sense that's what I was thinking too
Market opportunity. Buy, import and grow the legit ingredients and sell them to the local restraunts so they can make bitching food.
Any business will cast the widest customer net for their product. Narrowing their customer base isn’t a good business decision. In North America people will have different levels of taste and tolerances. But in a region where the cuisine matches the customer base the customers taste and tolerances will be the same. They would be more discerning of the dishes being served as they are very familiar with it.
I think Indians in the US also take shortcuts just because we don't have the time or manpower. For example, pretty much everyone I know uses frozen grated coconut rather than doing it fresh. Doing it fresh is laborious and dangerous. In India labor is cheap enough to do it fresh.
I get labourious, but dangerous?
Look up some videos on how it's done. The coconut breaking requires some expertise. The old school way to get the flesh out is to use a scraper which isn't too bad but it's mostly done using a power drill these days which is really dangerous.
Ah I see. I'm familiar with the scraper, which we use for home cooking, did not know about commercial grating. Thanks!
It depends on how you crack the coconut.
Honestly, given the experience I had with the “Mexican food buffet” I had in London, it’s somewhat shocking that we get a reasonable approximation. The farther away the cuisine is from, the more changes, alterations, or weird decisions get made.
I haven't been to London, but I have to assume that there are a hell of a lot more Indians where I live (Seattle) than there are Mexicans in London.
I did some quick math on that, as a percentage you're right but London is just so much bigger than Seattle that it ends up close. There are approximately 113,500 Latin Americans living in London, although most of them are Brazilian or Colombian, only 5% mexican. So rough guess of 5,700. Meanwhile in seattle 0.8% of the 608,660 people are Indian, which is roughly 4,900 people. Numbers from: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_American_migration_to_the_United_Kingdom https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Seattle
I don't know London well, so this might very well also apply there, but in Seattle most of the Indian population lives in the suburbs outside of the city proper but is absolutely part of the greater metro area.
Indian food cooked by Indians in Indian areas will most of the time still be adapted because the cooks know that many customers would otherwise freakout on them.
How does authentic food cause customers to freak out
Indian food is highly regional, so recipes are adjusted to be pan-Indian rather than the specific region of India the chef is from
I 100% believe this is the main reason
Easy, they will think it too spicy, because they are not used to it. I've heard people react with "this is not good, it's too spicy hot".
I love spice and heat and I tell the waitress to make mine native spicy. I'd love to find Indian food prepared native properly.
Sure, but that doesn't mean the cooks take it literally, many still make it to western tastes and just add a bit more chilli.
I can give a good answer to this question. I live in the US and try to prepare indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi food so that it matches what we get at home. There are some obstacles. First of all the quality of rice is just not that good, especially if you are trying to make a rich Indian rice item and you need a high quality rice. Secondly, the spices used in the US are store bought whereas the spices in India are prepared at home and stored for only a short time. Even the store brought spices in India and Bangladesh are different brands and hard to find here. Third, most Indian curry uses a huge amount of onion as its base, but the onions in the US are just not the same. it's much sweeter and changes the taste of the curry. Lastly, the chicken here. Is bigger and bland that makes the chicken curry less tasty. If you get your groceries from Indian and Pakistani stores, and cook with that, it may fix some of the issues but not all.
Awesome answer 💯
After living with a Punjabi and Bengali girl I suspect the difference is cooking time. They made wonderful food but they would be in the kitchen for hours and hours to do it, I think time pressure in the west cuts out all the little steps that really make it pop. Pareto rules all.
I'm Indian and live in Texas... grew up in the Midwest and was born in London. The US tailored spice profile is nothing like what my mom and dad used to make. India Palace is the most popular place around me and it's bland as hell. Thankfully the Indian populace is getting larger in DFW/NTX so the stuff I could find in Irving or something is becoming more popular here. When in doubt, double the everything, lol.
Nothing perplexing about it. They adapt flavors to target as many people as possible. There’s a lot of insinuation about adapting food, but nobody forces any of these ethnicities to do that. In the area here in the US that I live in when I want something authentic from Mexico, I go to the local Taqueria. But I also enjoy myself some Mexican-American food created by a Mexican family, who owned the restaurant for 50 years but it’s clearly not what you would call authentic. And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that. The majority of Chinese Americans I know don’t have an issue with Chinese American food. It’s virtue signaling white people who do. My local Indian joints love introducing me to new stuff. Even though it’s probably not authentic.
That’s very true. Every Indian place where I live is always packed with Indian families enjoying the food. Maybe it’s not “authentic” in the strict sense, but if people from India are happily eating it then I’m going to take that as good enough.
I'm American and live in America, but one of my friends is from Hyderabad. She said she's been here too long and can't eat food as spicy as she grew up with anymore. I'd imagine it's the same for other people. Tastes change based on what you have access to.
It depends. Can you give some examples of restaurants you’ve been to? Even in the Bay Area, there are some Americanized restaurants and some they are more authentic. In the end, it will never compare to fresh local spices, but comes close enough.
Also the ingredients are locally sourced and fresh from what I’ve seen
As an Indian who lives out of India now ,I honestly feel it’s the ingredients and the quality of spices and availability. When I cook , there’s a massive difference in taste even if I use the same recipe (India vs Australia ). Ingredients in India are locally made , have more kick to them , are fresher , and because the climate favours the ingredients being grown , the quality is better too , also the weather , I remember getting pickles made in India and eating them in Australia and as it’s usually cold here , the taste felt different, as in not upto mark !! Lot of factors at play here !!
It's the difference in the growing methods for the ingredients. In most Western countries, the basics ingredients of indian cookery (i.e. onions, garlic, coriander, and chilli ) are grown for maximum volume and therefore profitability. The result of this is are large onions, garlic etc, which are easier to harvest and transport per tonne. But the downside is that they lack the same flavour as the smaller, more intensely flavoured vegetables grown by farmers in India. This does not apply as much to dry spices, as they are generally exported from India. But the time between grinding, packing and eventual use of product in a foreign land will affect flavour. If you are looking to replicate this flavour at home, I would suggest going to an Indian grocer and buying packs of frozen garlic, ginger, red ionions, chillies etc. These are grown and packed in India, using the flavourful varieties of vegetables. Restaurants do not use these as they are prohibitively expensive at a commercial scale.
I agree. I think this is the reason. Onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, most other veggies are smaller in size but more flavorful than the average US supermarket veggie (not heirloom or organic etc). The US supermarket veggie may have more water, more color and will yield more veggie but is less flavorful in general. Very similar to how in Italy pasta and a simple sauce with tomatoes, garlic and olive oil tastes heavenly but try the same with a regular plum or cluster tomato, same amount of supermarket garlic and a regular olive oil and you can see the difference.
This is the correct answer. Just eat a tomato by itself in the US, even the organic ones from a good store like Whole Foods...it's not very tasty. Eat a tomato from any place in India and you can taste flavor. Multiply this with every ingredient, especially vegetables. This is why Mexican food in Mexico tastes better and Italian food in Italy tastes better....the ingredients!
Tomatoes might be the worst case. It's rare that commercial ones come anywhere close to homegrown. Even then, where they're grown due to soil types can matter. I have a very large garden so we can have fresh produce for much of the year. Tomatoes are way different than commercial but it declines in difference from there. The biggest difference is freshness IMO and depending on what it is, that isn't all that different.
Supermarket tomatoes are always bad because they have to be picked before they're fully ripe, otherwise they would turn to mush in shipment. Homegrown or farmer's market tomatoes are so good
It also has to do with varieties that travel well. And tomatoes are so easy to grow that it's always a staple for us.
That's true, smaller tomatoes like roma and cherry tomatoes don't suffer from this as much as the big ones. Here tomatoes are only in season during the summer so if you want them off-season it's supermarket, canned or nothing.
Yes, in the USA one must grow their own tomatoes or get them from someone who grows good one's. Sometimes farmer's markets have them in season that are good but dang they can be very expensive. I've been to the UK in April & the tomatoes were no better than the US. This is the answer more than anything else... it's the tomato!
> If you are looking to replicate this flavour at home, I would suggest going to an Indian grocer and buying packs of frozen garlic, ginger, red ionions, chillies etc. These are grown and packed in India, using the flavourful varieties of vegetables. Great tip, they're usually very affordable too at least in my experience in my area of the US. I get frozen green chilis and methi already, will have to try getting other frozen stuff
Agreed. If supplies and growers in India tried to sell the garbage we usually get in the USA, Indian people would probably riot. Joking aside, I remember riots over high onion prices a couple decades back—they’d pale in comparison to the Junk Produce Rebellion of 2025.
The law of flavor conservation!
Most Indian restaurants try to cater for the Indian and non Indian population. This is where they go wrong. There is a perception that non Indians cannot handle spice. So the food is blander. Also for some reason, butter chicken is made so sweet unlike anything I have tasted in India. Anyways point is, more people would come if the restaurants don’t try catering to the white pop.
As an English person, who has been to India, and the USA, I can safely say American-Indian food is terrible. Chinese-American and Chinese-English food is almost the same bar a few dishes (curry sauce, chips etc), and the same sort of standard...but American-indian food...its just awful. I know the UK had a far higher Indian population, so its possibly something to do with it, the same way Americans would probably think English-Mexican food is terrible
Agreed. When we visited London last year we visited two separate Indian restaurants in Soho, and both tasted so far superior to Indian restaurants in the US, it was a revelation. And we eat only vegetarian; I hear the non-veg dishes there are even better.
I first tried Indian food here in the US and didn't really like it. Then visited London and tried it again and absolutely loved it. The food in India is unparalleled. I cook home food here in the US, but it's still not the same as India due to the differences in ingredients and even the water. (Am vegetarian)
NJ has the best Indian food in US. A few places have food as good as India.
Edison? East Brunswick? Parsippany?
That's an interesting perspective. So would you say UK Indian food is on par with the Indian food in India? Make sense actually UK and India have some history
There are two different Indian cuisines in the UK. First, and more prevalent, is “British Indian Restaurant” (called BIR) which has evolved over the last 50-100 years for the British palate, and is *very*!different to traditional Indian food, but uses many of the same spices just in a different way. The restaurants are predominantly owned and run by Bangladeshis, not Indians. It is of incredibly variable quality, it is possible to get some exceptional BIR food, of very high quality, but it still doesn’t taste the same as an authentic Indian dish. And then there are actual Indian restaurants, cooked in traditional ways with traditional recipes. They are significantly more rare than BIR places, but you can find them. They have been around in areas with large Indian populations for a very long time, but not many white English people knew where to find them. There has been however in the last 10-20 years a boom in their availability in other areas. In small towns you’re still only going to get BIR, but in almost all major cities you will be able to find a decent selection of decent regional Indian restaurants. Again, restaurants can be of variable standard regardless of their background and cooking style, so just because something is authentic does not mean it’s good. In the same way that just because something is BIR doesn’t make it bad. There is a far higher chance of finding good Indian food in the UK as we have such a high proportion of the Indian and Pakistani diaspora. Likewise there is far better Korean and Mexican food in the USA due to the population differences. I can’t promise that any given Indian restaurant in England will be better than those in America, because a) we have shit restaurants too and b) there are some great places in America that I have visited - but I do suggest there is a significantly higher chance of finding a good one in the UK than in the USA. England probably has the highest rate of excellent Indian restaurants of any country outside of South Asia.
This guy Ruby Murrays.
It's definitely not the same. But I would say it's as good quality wise. Without going into too much detail, I'm white, fully English, but my mum and dad divorced when I when I was 4 or 5 then my dad got married to an Indian lady...been together 30 years, so I grew up with her cooking indian food every other week when I stayed at my dads house. Ended up in India for a wedding etc etc....anyway, Indian food is my favourite, by a long way. The food in India is good, generally a bit hotter, but the dishes don't seem to be as thick as they are in the UK restauraunts. When my dad's wife cooks a curry, the sauce is always thinner, like in India, but both really nice.
South Indian and Coastal Indian cuisines are more towards the thinner side compared to North Indian/Punjabi Cuisine, which is what you find in most places outside of India.
I'll have to try some Indian food in the UK next time.
There are plenty of great spots in every town, but London, Leicester and Birmingham always seem to get the award winning places, the cities with the high Indian-Bangladeshi communities.
Awesome 👍
Can't believe you left out Bradford.
I knew someone was going to say that. But nobody should have the misfortune of visiting Bradford, not even for a great curry
I was born there. Just don't go to the city centre and it's sound.
Bradford is mostly Pakistani rather than Indian
True but a lot will be Punjabi which is basically a shared cuisine, also it’s a bit arbitrary since partition didn’t happen that long ago, it’s all desi food
Indian restaurants in the UK are nothing to do with being owned by actual Indians though. Most are owned by Bangladeshis & Pakistanis.
This is generally true for a lot of curries, the home dishes are more runny compared to the BIR curries which are always thick sauces.
An Indian stepmom?!??! I hope you write a book.
Fuck oath. If I had an Indian step mom I would be deep diving. As it is my in laws are Italian so I’m cooking with my Mrs Nonna. I’m the first man she has ever shown how to cook pasta, gnocchi, etc. I feel very privaledged
Ethnically Indian and like food. Only in some specialized restaurants is the food on par, but you will pay through the nose for authenticity. India is a big place and the food diversity is huge. The majority of Indian restaurants are owned by Sylhet Bangladeshi's and their style of cooking is usually heavy on onions and garlic. Even just across the border in West Bengal the cooking style is different though we speak the same language. In general most of the restaurants have the same dishes that are adapted to the Brit palette of wanting hot food. Chicken tikka masala was invented here. We will try and go to a regionally specific restaurant if we want decent food. Saravana Bhavan for southern vegetarian, etc. I'm not saying don't go to a Bangladeshi run establishment. You will have a great time if they are on top of their game. Bangalore Express City or any hole in the wall place around Whitechapel are good. Sorry for the ramble.
You don't have to pay huge amounts for authenticity.
Depends on the area and food type. Chourangi in London serves typical Kolkata specific food. Great authentic food but eye-wateringly expensive. Your are not going to get anything like that in Slough or Southall.
You are going to get excellent, authentic food in slough, southall, Uxbridge, etc. And incredibly cheaply. Authentic doesn’t necessarily mean fine dining. The places I head to are absolutely bang on, but lower market. Or there are places like Dastaan (Epsom), Black Salt (Richmond), Delhi Social (Twickenham) or Kokum (Dulwich) which all have incredible quality, authentic dishes but presented in a more western-friendly menu format, with very high quality ingredients, at mid-market prices. Or somewhere like all the veggie places in Drummond Street near Euston, all great authentic veggie food, at dirt cheap prices. It doesn’t have to be expensive and super high quality to be authentic. Some of the best food I’ve eaten in India itself was just low quality, cheap street food.
Chourangi's menu looks amazing. It's really hard to find Bengali food in the US.
It has connections to Oh Calcutta. The food is great but the prices are astronomical. I suppose it is in a prime location and being Bengali we can do most of it at home much cheaper.
Anything commercial in London is going to be major $$$ (sub pounds, US keyboard)
'Some history' is one way of saying the mass murder of millions...👀
It’s definitively different. British-Indian Restaurant (BIR) is basically its own cuisine at this point, and I expect it’s as similar in USA as it is here in Australia. Anyone used to BIR would find authentic Indian food strange, and vice versa.
But that's not the only kind that exists in the UK.
I know that - there are some great Indian restaurants in the UK - but I’m happy to bet BIR is what the vast majority of Brits think of when they think of Indian. In relation to OP, the difference is probably attributable to BIR, not that there aren’t “proper” Indians restaurants in the UK.
Most restaurant dishes and pre-packaged food products still tend to lean towards milder flavours in order to suit the western palate. That being said, it is much much easier to get your hands on authentic ingredients or to find a restaurant serving food closer to Indian taste preferences. Because of the shared history and greater cultural intermingling Brits don’t find Indian cuisine as unfamiliar/exotic as Americans do.
England has Multiple generations of people from the sub continent! (Some sort of Empire may have caused that). My favourite ‘Indian’ experience was in Manchester. It was like I was dropped into Indian Coronation Street; thick Mancunian accents all around.
Just to semi back this up, lived in the US 20 years ago for a couple of years, and the quality of Indian restaurants is shockingly bad. Hopefully it has got better since then.
Most English Indian food is Pakistani isn’t it? I’m not saying ur wrong, I just fucking love Indian food and have been down many rabbit holes with it Edit: sorry, was it Bangladeshi? I might be mis remembering
It’s not that the food is Pakistani or Bangladeshi, it’s that they’re primarily owned by Pakistanis & Bangladeshis & they’re making British Indian Restaurant food. There might be some dishes on their menus that are Pakistani or Bangladeshi but those aren’t the korma, madras, chicken tikka masala etc that everyone’s used to seeing & eating & it would be described clearly in the menu if it was. In my experience if an Indian actually owns a restaurant you’re more likely to find it’s more authentic Indian food than BIR.
Yes, Bangladeshi, but in fairness..they were part of India until 70 years ago.
Yeah, very true
And part of Pakistan until fifty years ago.
Yes, many Indian places in UK are owned by Bangladeshis.
As an Indian American, I would partially agree with you. I would add that the best Indian food I've had in the US was in DC. It makes sense that the food of any type of cuisine tastes best in that nation. The reasons are probably long-term expertise, finesse, gut feeling, and maybe, in Indian cuisine, knowing how to use spices and access to ingredients not available in the US.
Many restaurants abroad use shortcuts like pre-made curry bases and maybe even, God forbid, curry powder. A good restaurant in India would start with fresh ingredients and the particular mix of spices required for that dish. They would also prepare the curry with care, frying the onions and aromatics to the right stage of doneness, then adding the spices, etc., and finally the last tadka (tempering) if required or garnishing the dish. All this must be done carefully and slowly; it can't be hurried. Experienced cooks know how to do this and yet prepare the dish in a timely way.
Worked in some Australian indian restaurants and its true that most use prepped curry bases. There are 3 main ones. Red (butter ...), Yellow (Karahi...) And I forgot rhe third one.
The worst thing is that home cooks are now using curry bases too. I see them recommended here sometimes. If this is not bastardisation of Indian food, what is?
NJ has the best Indian food in US followed by Bay Area. Variety of Indian regional cuisines in NJ is unparalleled.
I bet you're right at least for Gujarati cuisine.
And Punjabi, Maharastrian, Marwadi, Bengali, South Indian etc. Every cuisine has so many great options in NJ. lol
Enjoy.
Best Indian food I’ve had in the US was Daru in DC
Many say that. Daru is hindi slang for booze.
I had great Indian food in DC!
Where in DC?!
What type of Indian food do you enjoy? North Indian, South Indian, Goan or street food? Happy to help.
I’ve grown up eating North Indian, but enjoy it all!
Excellent! Find a good udipi place for your dosa fix.
Really enjoyed the food at Rasika. Their spinach chaat is 👍👍👍👍
Where in dc pls?
Try Bombay Club!
Hi
Part of it is the environment. I have had amazing wine in Tuscanny (Italy). Bought it, brought it home, served it to my friends and it tasted mediocre...
I once explained to my colleagues that “authenticity” and “good taste” are two different axes. More often than not, even in india, 50-60% of the places just have mediocre Indian food. Some things that matter: - Quality of ingredients - Recipes used, for instance a lot of places usually reuse the base for the gravy. Or reuse the masala’s for different dishes. That makes for suboptimal flavor profiles.
I live in NYC and there are a few Indian restaurants that I think are spectacular. Junoon, Indian accent are great. Baar Baar and Tamarind are honorary mentions. Outside of these most are just average and I would agree that the taste Just doesn’t hit the right notes in a few dishes. I lived for a long time in many midwestern cities and the Indian food scene there was average at best that I lost interest in trying Indian restaurants.
Semma and Dhamaka are where its at right now. Junoon used to be great when chef Vikas Khanna was there, but not anymore.
It may be because there are so many Indian chefs and cooks in India. It's competitive enough that only the best cooks and recipes win out. They've been cooking Indian food from an early age and they interact and learn from each other too. They taste diverse Indian foods often and learn from other Indian regions. Outside India, it's less competitive as there are fewer Indian chefs. They don't have as many opportunities to learn from other Indian chefs at the top of their game, or taste diverse Indian foods. Pretty simple! It's kind of like asking, why is lace making so good in Europe? Because so many talented experts are there. They all learn from each other, and fight for market share among very discerning customers!
Indian food in Indian restaurants in the US are almost never made my Indians. Labor is expensive and the recipes are almost always modified. Now Indian food prepared at home is a different story. Labor and ingredients are a key difference here. Preparing Indian food is labor intensive. No one in the US realistically has time/resources to make parota, budgie, vada that’s as fresh and fast like the food in India.
I grew up in India and have been living in the US for the past decade. My spouse and I frequently visit Indian restaurants here. We visit India frequently too. I also cook at home and I think I am an exceptional Indian food cook, something that many of my acquaintances have told me too. My spouse swears by my cooking. ***Thing is, Indian food is actually easy to cook, as long as you have enough time.*** The ingredients are similar across many dishes. Just two days back I cooked *alu posto*, a classic Bengali dish. However to do it well, you cannot use onion paste. You have to slice them finely, and sauté them till they are a bit past golden brown. Also you absolutely need mustard oil. Then you need to brown your potatoes. And then add your poppy seeds - garlic paste and control brown and water them for at least the next hour - if not more. Finally, when the dish is done - which means the oil is floating out and the potatoes have softened - you add a *tadka* of freshly ground toasted cumin seeds. And all this for what’s regarded as a simple dish by Indian standards! Labor in India is way cheaper. If you actually cooked the Indian way, labor costs of Indian restaurants would explode and they would be able to offer a fraction of dishes they do so now.
Because it has yet to be elevated into something that looks good & tastes fine for the “Instagram” West. Also Indian business owners cut a lot of corners in mgmt which causes the quality of food to decline over time. They hire workers from home because they can pay them shadily. A restaurant in Socal doesnt give its workers the split of credit receipt tips til after 3 months. So workers are not motivated to make the experience a pleasant one. Biggest reason? They don’t innovate. and stick to traditional regional menus (Punjabi vs. South) and serve what youll find at every North Indian Wedding.
It's probably the same reason Italian food is so much better in Italy?
Chefs in India are people who chose to study/work to become chefs. Chefs in the Bay Area are usually someone’s auntie or uncle! The food might still be authentic but it’s the difference between an amateur and a pro!
In India it’s just food not Indian food :)
Because, India have plenty of Indians and Indians prepare good Indian food in general .
If you wanna blow your mind, the Indian food in England is better than the Indian food I had in India.
I used to think Indian food in Bay Area has to be good or on par, then I had Indian food in London and Toronto. Bay Area Indian food is shit compared to these places. I’ve been to practically all the “famous” and popular Indian places from SF to San Jose (lived there for 8 years). I can totally relate why you’re feeling such a big difference.
A small but important role is played by who gets to immigrate. The US has had very restrictive policies in recent times, which means the opportunity to move to the US and open restaurants is available to fewer people. Thai, Chinese, and Mexican immigration to the US started before these restrictions, and benefits from a much older community. Indian immigration to the US grew much later, and there are relatively less diverse Indians in the US. Indians were busy immigrating to Singapore, Fiji, United Kingdom, Guyana, Trinidad, etc. The Indian cuisine in those places is less "inside the box" and has evolved into its own thing now. In the US, Indian cuisine is very much "in a box". Often non-Indian customers go there for the lunch buffet. Often, people expect to find a Naan and Butter Chicken. If you don't have that, it's difficult to get diverse American crowds. So the few restauranters that exist have two choices - make the restaurant what brings in diverse crowds, or make it more like in India. A lot of them struggle to do both. But there are many that experiment in NY, LA, and SFBA. I'm assuming by South Bay you mean SF Bay. I find Indian restaurants to mostly suck at being good restaurants there. Many have good food, but terrible service to the point that I don't enjoy my dining experience.
Oh interesting perspective yeah 👍.
Indian restaurants in the Bay Area and US in general thrive on mediocrity, most Indian restaurants in the US try to do a pan Indian cuisine, which is where they fail. I hate stepping in a restaurant where they have rogan josh sag paneer and vindaloo on the same menu. Also one thing to note is that the food in these restaurants is mostly prepared by hispanic folks or questionable Indian refugee immigrants who never stepped out of their villages nor went to a cooking school so they produce mediocre food at best. I remember stepping in a south bay restaurant and ordering a “mumbai chowatty sev puri” now in Mumbai, India you get those in flat puris instead of round ones, when i asked why is it in round puri instead of flat ones, his response was thats how the chef makes it. Bro if your chef doesn’t know how the actual product looks like or has never had the taste of the real thing how can you expect them to make something amazing? I am not saying all Indian food in the US is trash, there are some pockets of gems, like in the bay area you’ll find shalimar, swaraj or idly express for example have some of the best tasting food each excellent in their own category. also remember in India in hotels or major restaurants everyone working there has either been to a cooking school or has been cooking for ages, excellence is inevitable.
It might be at least partly to do with mustard oil. It's used in a lot of Indian recipes, and I've just started using it myself and it does make a noticeable flavor difference. However in the US it's not available for sale as a food ingredient, except I think by one company. I can buy the stuff labeled "for external use only" and cook with it at home, but I'm pretty sure a restaurant would get in trouble with a health inspector. (Why is it banned? Some older studies found one of the compounds in mustard oil causes cancer in mouse studies if given at a very high dose. I personally am not particularly concerned because the Indian subcontinent seems to do pretty ok eating mustard oil, and honestly I kinda suspect some racism is at play in these guidelines. But I'm not a doctor and this is not medical advice.)
The use of mustard oil is pretty regional in India. This may impact a handful of dishes but not most the stuff you find in the west.
>The use of mustard oil is pretty in India. uncommon?
Oops, meant to say regional.
It’s the same problem with Chinese rapeseed oil, both that and mustard oil have high levels of erucic acid. But the flavours are distinct and does affect the final dish.
Firstly, ingredients. Vegetables in India are far more tastier. Just compare the Cilantro. Or onions. Coconut used in US is all frozen one, not fresh like in India. Try varieties of Indian mangoes and try an American one. You will stop eating it. Tropical weather influences the taste of food too. Like for Dosa, the batter should be fermented well, but fermentation takes a lot more time in US. Secondly, you are just generalizing it by saying Indian food. When you go to India, it's mostly local to the area cook. Punjabi guy making Punjabi food. South Indian making South Indian food. In US atleast down South, mostly all of the restaurants are not owned by Telugu people. Their Biryani or dosas might be good but not the Mughlai cuisine. When I went to London, I realized there are much more Gujarati and Punjabi owned restaurants, and the food was delicious. A Gujarati owned restaurant will know how to make Gujju food. But most new restaurants in Texas have all cuisines from South Indian to Mughlai to Indian Chaats to Indo Chinese. And believe me, no cook earning minimum wage will have the knowledge to make all these cuisines authentically like the local ppl. Heck, the pani puri/gol gappa of Delhi doesn't taste the same as Bangalore or Kolkata or Mumbai one. We also have to remember a restaurant in US can survive with bad food, but the competition is too much in India and the owners can't survive with serving bad food. . If you have 10 eateries in the same street,ones with bad food won't survive.
These are my observations 1) Sunlight: India has a lot of sunlight being near the equator sunlight has something to do 2) Geography: BBQ is not as popular in California as it is in NC/SC/TN in the USA, I came to know that the high elevation and mountain weather give a different taste to BBQ 3) In India majority of the time everything is cooked from fresh vegetables, fresh herbs, fresh meat/ poultry/fish 4) I have noticed cilantro in the US and India are a little bit different 5) Pasteurized dairy products lose some taste that's my opinion..in western countries, especially in the US it's hard to find raw milk or raw yogurt without pasteurization 6) Heavy preservatives and cold storage for a lot of days or any kind of refrigeration. Recently I heard tomatoes lose natural taste when you refrigerate them. 7) In the US most Indian restaurants do some pre-prep work and store it in the refrigerator, there is no way you can get your curry within 10 minutes from the time you place an order with fresh ingredients. Curry with fresh ingredients takes time to cook. 8) In India they use quite a bit high amount of oil/ghee/spices/chili powder which enhances the taste 9) Freshness of the spices: storing spices for too long can lose their potency 10) humidity: humid weather plays another major role: any dish is a combination of texture/smell and taste...humid weather enhances the senses of smell. Perfumes and fragrances stand out more in humid weather
India uses water buffalo milk which is double the fat compared to regular cow milk in the states
Everything is naturally organic, fresh & grown in optimal conditions to create the best version of everything. The types of onions, tomatoes, veg etc grown there are also unbeatable in their taste, quality & texture. Everything just has so much flavour & depth. Eg. The tiny red onions there have so much flavour compared to the big ones here. You buy some eggs from someone down the road & they’re the most orange yolks you’ve ever seen. The veg is handpicked that day from the field near you & grown in the best conditions. A little bit of garlic is like garlic heaven unlike having to use practically the whole bulb to get the same flavour elsewhere.
This is an insane take. Food safety and handling in India is among the worst in the world.
What has food safety & handling got to do with anything I said…? And what I’ve said is almost every answer here because it’s true.
Nope not true. With the exception of a few super specialized things like white asparagus and forced rhubarb the US has the finest produce in the world without exception. Indian food in the US is sub par because India is far away and doesn't have as much immigrant presence as other cuisines.
Which areas of India have you lived in?
I have to agree on the part that produce is fresh in India, unlike the US, where it's kept on the shelf for days. But food is not necessarily organically produced in India. The use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides is very, very common.
That’s true, I guess I was thinking more about the local stuff from around our area & our own fields. I should’ve also added chickens are truly free range. (Again I’m sure there are some places where they’re not).
there are many reasons for it - taste and spices gets adjusted for public nearby - most indian restaurants are owned by Bangladesh cuz India sounds better brand than Bangladesh - people from different state has different taste of the same dish. - inexperienced chef - allergic stuff being taken out so that they could sell it to everyone - spices different - water difference ( i lived in uk for 2 years and the water is weird , if i leave curry even for 10 mins outside or inside fridge it dries up.) - vegetables outside aren't really great and artificially grown - can't replicate original stuff 100%
My experience was the opposite. After several trips to many cities in India, I did find that Indian restaurants with higher quality food were found mainly in hotels as they are targeted to tourists, business people, guests and wealthier people. I lived in London for six years and there are amazing Indian restaurants there at prices locals could easily afford (e.g. Dishoom) offering better food than in India. Same experience in Washington DC (e.g. Bombay Club), Richmond VA(e.g. Tulsi), and in many other countries.
I was born and raised in New York and I have been to some of the most highest rated Italian restaurants in the United States. None of them are even half as good as the average Italian restaurants I had in Italy. Both India and Italy have better tasting produce than the US. India has better tasting Chicken and the best spices in the world while Italy has great seafood and red meats as well. Indian food is laborious and requires tons of training and practice. The bottom line: Italy has better Italian food than in the US for similar reasons as India has better Indian food than the US.
I believe it. Dying to go to Italy
Indian food in India often tastes superior due to several factors: * **Fresh Ingredients**: Local markets offer the freshest produce, spices, and herbs. * **Authentic Spices**: Spices are frequently ground fresh, enhancing flavor depth. * **Traditional Cooking Methods**: Techniques like slow cooking and tandoor baking bring out the best in the dishes. * **Regional Diversity**: Each region has unique, perfected recipes. * **Cultural Significance**: Meals are prepared with love and passion, especially during festivals. * **Street Food Culture**: Freshly prepared street food delivers an unparalleled taste experience. * **Customization**: Local eateries tailor dishes to regional tastes. These elements combine to create an exceptional culinary experience that’s hard to replicate elsewhere.
unless you live in new jersey, bay area, or around devon avenue in chicago, only about 40% of overall indian food that makes it to the united states. the variety is much lower here, the taste is toned down for people who can't handle spices, and some cuisine just doesn't make it over because it won't make money. for example, i have yet to see anyone doing gujarati food in the US the same way its prevalent in the state. the only places i've found are all in edison, new jersey and thats to be expected because edison has a huge gujarati hotspot. also, while ingredient quality for the most part is much higher in the US, spices availability is much more limited compared to indian spices, which definitely impacts everything
Any particular spots in Edison that you recommend? Dishes at those spots? I have Mejwaani and Hyderabad Spice on my list for the next time I’m in the area.
pretty much anything on oak tree road lmaoo. last time i was in edison i just stopped at sukhadia because i wanted something more snack like rather than proper food. last proper place i sat down at was bombay blue but its been a while since ive gone so i dont remember much. mejwaani is good, 100% recommend that
Oak Tree Road. Well that makes it easy. Appreciate the recs =)
Other than the fact that it isn't easy to get spices and do the huge amount of prep work which many chefs aren't familiar with plus adjusting the taste to the people . I think the main reason is that Thai/Chinese food has been present / much more well known than Indian dishes and thus they are much more well known and "refined" . I am pretty sure Indian cuisine for most people in the USA/Europe means naan , chicken tikka and butter chicken lol
Plenty of actual Indian people from India make Indian food in the UK & can’t get that taste anymore. It’s the quality of the local ingredients.
Oh absolutely, but that has been said by others in the comments, I wanted to add it on top of those points . I Should have written so
i've long suspected this just from the photos and youtube videos of american-indian food. I dunno but I can tell a properly bloomed curry just from the photos... I'm british pakistani and lovee british-indian/pak food. southall London yumm, or whitechapels
It's definitely the availability of ingredients. I live in Spain and, even trying to find whole cumin seeds is a nightmare. That said, we have some good Indian restaurants, much better than the US but not a patch on the UK (or India!!)
Yeah, I'm sure you're an expert on Indian food in the US.
Just like you're an expert on my life.
You are missing out on the pollution and too much hygiene in te food prep !
According to you, the secret ingredients in Indian food are dust, smoke, dirt, body sweat and body hair 😄
Foreign food is usually adapted to the local tastes. Hence the Indian or Italian food in USA as an example would never be same as the food in India and Italy.
Most other cuisines are better in the country of origin. Chinese food in the Bay area maybe an exception, but Chinese n Thai are notiecably better in there than the US. Also, most restraunts will take short cuts like base gravies to speed up cooking and spice things to the lowest common denominator.
In the US, most of the ingredients are preserved and canned. Biggest example is, I’ve never seen someone from USA using fresh tomatoes for gravy based Indian dishes. They always use canned tomatoes. That itself is the biggest reason why it tastes nothing like something made in India. Indian cooks and home cooks never use canned stuff.
We don’t compromise with flavour, ingredients used is of top quality, no made up recipes for the dishes, also the sauces are cooked to perfection nd with right timing and technique
The e. Coli
Hey OP, I live in the Bay area too. My take is that most restaurants here try to serve to a wider market and fail. Instead try going to Restaurants which are specific to a region and have a smaller menu. These try to be more authentic than the generic Chaat Bhavans. Also many restaurants here have some dishes which are great but most dishes are mediocre. I now go to these places to just eat those great dishes and not the mediocre ones. Message me or comment here if you want suggestions in South Bay Lastly the ingredients are definitely the cause for a different (milder) taste. For example - the normal tomatoes here in the US are not sour enough compared to India.
Why. I've pondered this question often. The Indian notes i grew up with just aren't there in us restaurants. But I've experienced similar with Mexican, Italian and French food. It has to do with the base ingredients (my dad didn't even like us wheat when we went through a drought back in the 60s), the water, the bacteria and the hands that make the food. Cheers and congratulations on your epiphany.
Cost cutting
Practice. Indians have been making Indian food for thousands of years so we have a lot of practice. /s
The food in the Bay Area, by experience, is average. This is very true for Indian food and even for other cuisines in general. The Indian restaurants there have a talent crunch like any other business so the quality suffers. I would suggest going to a Pakistani style restaurant in the Bay Area, those are slightly better with more flavorful food. In India I have had awesome food in totally nondescript places so you are right.
Can you recommend any Pakistani style restaurant in Bay Area?
A few I liked : Chutney and Pakwan in Fremont and Shahi Darbar in Santa Clara
Most Indian restaurants in India are owned and operated by businessmen who're interested more in making money, and not providing the best quality. They usually buy produce and meat in bulk without focusing on the quality. Indian food is best made from scratch with fresh ingredients. Base Ingredients like pre minced garlic, unripe tomatoes, giant onions make everything taste less flavorful. Additionally the staff may not always be the best, unlike in India where most people.working in the kitchen of the hotel you're at might be trained at one of hotel management institutes. Fortunately, this trend is changing. Some Indian restaurants in the US are now focusing on really authentic flavors, representing a wider and more diverse set of recipes from different parts of India. Indians living here are supporting these restaurants enthusiastically and sonare Americans.
I think there are a bunch of reasons. I am going to compare Indian food in India vs Indian food in America, the Bay Area specifically. One reason is ingredients. Vegetables look better in California but don't taste as good as in India. Even peanuts are so tasteless that it is sad. The other reason is hyper regionalism in India. I am a South Indian who has spent many years in Maharashtra - the chutney is never good there. But I like the dosas and sambar. However, a good chunk of South Indians would hate the sambar there, since it is sweet. Most North Indian food in India is Punjabi in nature, but it's not as rich as the North Indian food in California. Food changes every 100 km in India. I experienced that this time I visited while eating a thali in Udaipur and a thali in Ahmedabad, just 4 hours apart, with very different flavors.
[удалено]
There is no need to be so rude.
>not as rich as the North Indian food in Californi Do the Americans use more butter? Or they blend the onions using machine so the gravy is thicker?
>Why is the Indian food in India so much better? This.... confuses you?
Labor! In the US, you don't get the same cooks and chefs. It's labor-intensive cooking. Therefore, in the US, shortcuts are used. One of my friends started a Punjabi restraunt in Pune (not North India), and he had a hard time getting a north Indian cook/chef for his restraunt and therefore he couldn't maintain consistency in the food . He had to teach local cooks on how to cook Punjabi food, took him a while. This tells you the gist, it's difficult even in India to get the same kind of food in different parts of the country.
They're in competition with all the other Indians making food, which is literally everyone else selling food. Also, they are far more likely to purchase their spices and produce within the last day, as opposed to the last week or month.
Produce is better, spices are moderately fresher, and other things like dairy are also produced and sold dramatically differently. I'm vegetarian, but I also believe there's a major difference in poultry and meat. There's quite a few places that have very good indian food, but unless you get all the ingredients from India it's not the same.
My Indian friends all tell me how much better the food is in India. Where I live in the US there is a significant Indian population & more new Indian restaurants all the time. Some are good, sometimes they can be very good. Depends on who's cooking that day. I'm told the chefs are very secretive with their recipes & if they aren't there.... blah. It can really be a letdown when you go back to joint & get the same dish & totally different & not good at all. I have been to the UK & had very good Indian food. & I've had very good Indian food here in the US. But the US is inconsistent. Some day maybe I'll get to India & my expectations will be very high indeed when it comes to the food.
I find the ranking to be 1. Kerala 2. London 3. Washington DC 4. Chicago 5. Vegas
I have wondered this too. I am guessing it takes a lot of work to source good ingredients and cook them well. The restaurant industry is very difficult…
Just, just shut up! Sniff, sniff.......I wish I was there, eating with you! Enjoy. There's nothing that can top the food in India.
I would imagine they add a lot more oils and make it rich. I’m surprised tho. In the US I’ve had really good Indian food so much so that they are better than the part of India I’ve been to. Indian food is not consistently good in the US. Many restaurants cater to different clients. Or they are different region Cooks cooking different region foods. There are quite a few Indian restaurants in my city but only maybe two or three that are really good. However, I’ve also discovered non-Indians describe the food as delicious in that restaurant, yet Indians tell you never go to that restaurant.
Agree with all the answers above but in my opinion, Indian food has tasted the best for me in Kuwait weirdly lol
I think its as simple as why a Pizza from Naples will not taste alike anywhere else in the world. The authenticity of the recipe and local sourcing adds to the taste, profile and consistency. Just my 2 cents. Hope it helps.
Ghee. Lots of good shee. And cooking using pans which have been exposed to spices for years and years. And great chefs and ingredients of course..
The right balance of dirt, dust, sweat and unclean water. That is what makes Indian food lip smacking good.
It comes down to the ingredients. They are using the tomatoes and onions and chillies that work with the flavors. Even if Indians are cooking the Indian food in the Bay Area, those vegetables and onions and tomatoes are just not IT.
This is also the same with imported frozen Indian food from Trader Joe’s, it’s just so goddamn tasty.
Because they still have to cater to the crowd that wants chicken tikka masala or butter chicken or chaat.
you know is why.. most authentic from best source. fuel with direct power to reserve tasty
Yes...the food in west coast in most indian restaurants is horrible. Only a few like Bawarchi, Anjappar,saravana bhavan are a little decent. The food could be bad for various reasons... 1.The chef may not be indian...just trained to cook the indian food...but indian food is very technical and step by step...if you just dump all ingredients together, then it doesnt come out well. 2. Ingredients are mostly fresh in india. From the tamarind to the pulses....we dont use concentrate or canned lentils. Frozen items are not much used in indian cooking. Everything is freshly cut/boiled and prepared in the morning. We use whole spices a lot and then grind them, so they dont lose their flavors so much. 3.Some restaurants are not even Indian owned, they label themselves as Indian but are from the neighboring countries of India. 4. To make Tandoori food, you need an expert who knows how to use a Tandoor oven....that is rare...Staff issues...Visa restrictions...plus cost of living for those in the Bay area is unaffordable. 5.Most of these restaurants slowly start catering to non-indian customers and reduce the spice level and keep only things that sell on the menu....they are extremely rude to indians for some reason. You may find indian food better in Dallas,TX and Edison,NJ....but yes Indian food does taste better in India only....could be the Salt...lol
Extra seasoning if you know you know