I've just discovered you here Perzen. What an awesome Substack. You offer so much. I checked out your Dolly Mumma website too - looks like a great product.
Yes, you must open your own restaurant! May your dreams come true. 😊
I feel so lucky I live so close to London (and used to live in) with the ability to eat more regional dishes past what local curry houses offer -- also here in England trying other cuisines that get wrapped up into 'Indian' food. My favourite place to order from is not actually Indian even though it does all the things you'd expect from an 'Indian' menu (which are good examples of) -- they're Nepalese and you're doing it wrong if you don't order a few of the dishes from the bottom of the menu designed not for British customers, but for the local Nepalese population.
Also on butter chicken: it's how I, and I think many people who were getting to grips with cooking food from India (and again neighbouring countries) learnt. I learned to cook in the French / Italian tradition so I'm used to things going in the pot in a different order, a different set of techniques. Rarely should my onions be browned. Butter chicken / chicken tikka masala is a great place to start at home as it's not too complex even when done properly (comparative to other dishes I now make) and everyone knows what it should taste like as a starting point.
I always admire your deep interest and knowledge in Indian food Rachel. I do love Nepalese food and it's informed the evolution of Indian cuisine quite a lot. A local joint i sometimes go to here does Tandoori Momo's which is fusion at it's best!
Yes, I'm learning that butter chicken will always be a great entry point and getting over myself for being so jealous of its prosperity. While I completely get the urge to replicate restaurant dishes at home (tried my hand at making tiramisu and fresh pasta and failed spectacularly), I do worry that by doing this we set ourselves up for failure? Wouldn't it be easier to start with a dahl or a pound cake for example.
(Also, I feel extremely blessed to live somewhere with such a high concentration of momos, but for me it will always be the classics, simply seasoned chicken with a tomato and sesame sauce please!)
Yes, a dahl would be so much easier, but at least here in the UK you're forgetting it's not billed as an important enough for people to consider it as a 'first dish' to tackle that they're really familiar with. 'Tarka Dal' is usually yellow lentils cooked so much they've almost lost any texture with the tarka (or what there was of it) sunk down in the dish so it barely plays a part, hidden in the sides and sundries section at the bottom of the menu (I still like it though, and it does tend to be happily heavy on the garlic!). I miss my beloved dal makhani I used to order in London where there was more variety on menus, but both are slightly less than accessable to a British home cook who is not vegetarian and therefore less used to exploring different varieties of beans and lentils (though happily this statement is becoming less and less accurate with every passing year!) Our main lentil for cookery is the red one in supermarkets, and whilst the selection is expanding, that is the first stumbling block for less experienced home cooks who know the dal they order to be yellow. I've flagged in my last book that my dal makhani is as inauthentic as you can get because it uses canned black lentils -- it tastes exceptionally close to how it should be, the mouthfeel is very similar, but the difference is every British person can follow the recipe and fall in love with the flavours of the dish on a weeknight, and it still teaches lessons about building flavours and textures in a way less familiar to us.
Such a great read and I share your frustrations Perzen, although I do see change happening in some of the more developed markets for Indian cuisine outside of the nation. Hang in there, and thank you for featuring me
I really appreciated your insights for this piece. Patience has never been my virtue but chatting with you about the popularity of frontier cuisine even in India was even opening for me. I look forward to collaborating again.
What a beautifully written piece, Perzen! I have never been to India but this post makes me want to go and try all the regional cuisines!
I think you could have easily written this article about the state of Indian food in the United States (where I live). I'm lucky my mom hails from the Northern state of Punjab and she taught me how to cook food from that region. Otherwise my idea of Indian food would also be from the identical menus at all Indian restaurants around me.
I was lucky too to have moved to India briefly after getting married because that's what opened up my mind to the depth of our regional cuisine. Even Punjab has so much regional variety to offer that doesn't come through in restaurants despite the heavy Punjabi influence in restaurant food internationally.
What you said about your idea of Indian food is provoking to me. I often share with close friends that part of why I write this newsletter is for my kids. They are born in NZ and while I do try to introduce them to Indian food, I worry that they won't know enough/taste enough and it's something I want to do my best to correct.
Yes, exposure for the kids is super important. If my mom had not, I would be lost. While I may have complained about eating yet another curry as a child, I'm thankful as an adult that she considered it important enough to acquire her homeland's regional palate. Your children will absolutely love reading your wonderful words as adults and appreciate every bit of heritage you are passing on to them!
I've just discovered you here Perzen. What an awesome Substack. You offer so much. I checked out your Dolly Mumma website too - looks like a great product.
Yes, you must open your own restaurant! May your dreams come true. 😊
You really need to check out Tandoori Heritage next time you're in Wellington. Dhansak is on their menu.
I definitely will! Really want to compare how close it is to the thing we cook at homes. Yay for it being on the menu though. Have you tried it?
Many times. It's delicious...all their dishes are delicious.
I feel so lucky I live so close to London (and used to live in) with the ability to eat more regional dishes past what local curry houses offer -- also here in England trying other cuisines that get wrapped up into 'Indian' food. My favourite place to order from is not actually Indian even though it does all the things you'd expect from an 'Indian' menu (which are good examples of) -- they're Nepalese and you're doing it wrong if you don't order a few of the dishes from the bottom of the menu designed not for British customers, but for the local Nepalese population.
Also on butter chicken: it's how I, and I think many people who were getting to grips with cooking food from India (and again neighbouring countries) learnt. I learned to cook in the French / Italian tradition so I'm used to things going in the pot in a different order, a different set of techniques. Rarely should my onions be browned. Butter chicken / chicken tikka masala is a great place to start at home as it's not too complex even when done properly (comparative to other dishes I now make) and everyone knows what it should taste like as a starting point.
I always admire your deep interest and knowledge in Indian food Rachel. I do love Nepalese food and it's informed the evolution of Indian cuisine quite a lot. A local joint i sometimes go to here does Tandoori Momo's which is fusion at it's best!
Yes, I'm learning that butter chicken will always be a great entry point and getting over myself for being so jealous of its prosperity. While I completely get the urge to replicate restaurant dishes at home (tried my hand at making tiramisu and fresh pasta and failed spectacularly), I do worry that by doing this we set ourselves up for failure? Wouldn't it be easier to start with a dahl or a pound cake for example.
(Also, I feel extremely blessed to live somewhere with such a high concentration of momos, but for me it will always be the classics, simply seasoned chicken with a tomato and sesame sauce please!)
Yes, a dahl would be so much easier, but at least here in the UK you're forgetting it's not billed as an important enough for people to consider it as a 'first dish' to tackle that they're really familiar with. 'Tarka Dal' is usually yellow lentils cooked so much they've almost lost any texture with the tarka (or what there was of it) sunk down in the dish so it barely plays a part, hidden in the sides and sundries section at the bottom of the menu (I still like it though, and it does tend to be happily heavy on the garlic!). I miss my beloved dal makhani I used to order in London where there was more variety on menus, but both are slightly less than accessable to a British home cook who is not vegetarian and therefore less used to exploring different varieties of beans and lentils (though happily this statement is becoming less and less accurate with every passing year!) Our main lentil for cookery is the red one in supermarkets, and whilst the selection is expanding, that is the first stumbling block for less experienced home cooks who know the dal they order to be yellow. I've flagged in my last book that my dal makhani is as inauthentic as you can get because it uses canned black lentils -- it tastes exceptionally close to how it should be, the mouthfeel is very similar, but the difference is every British person can follow the recipe and fall in love with the flavours of the dish on a weeknight, and it still teaches lessons about building flavours and textures in a way less familiar to us.
Such a great read and I share your frustrations Perzen, although I do see change happening in some of the more developed markets for Indian cuisine outside of the nation. Hang in there, and thank you for featuring me
I really appreciated your insights for this piece. Patience has never been my virtue but chatting with you about the popularity of frontier cuisine even in India was even opening for me. I look forward to collaborating again.
What a beautifully written piece, Perzen! I have never been to India but this post makes me want to go and try all the regional cuisines!
I think you could have easily written this article about the state of Indian food in the United States (where I live). I'm lucky my mom hails from the Northern state of Punjab and she taught me how to cook food from that region. Otherwise my idea of Indian food would also be from the identical menus at all Indian restaurants around me.
I was lucky too to have moved to India briefly after getting married because that's what opened up my mind to the depth of our regional cuisine. Even Punjab has so much regional variety to offer that doesn't come through in restaurants despite the heavy Punjabi influence in restaurant food internationally.
What you said about your idea of Indian food is provoking to me. I often share with close friends that part of why I write this newsletter is for my kids. They are born in NZ and while I do try to introduce them to Indian food, I worry that they won't know enough/taste enough and it's something I want to do my best to correct.
Yes, exposure for the kids is super important. If my mom had not, I would be lost. While I may have complained about eating yet another curry as a child, I'm thankful as an adult that she considered it important enough to acquire her homeland's regional palate. Your children will absolutely love reading your wonderful words as adults and appreciate every bit of heritage you are passing on to them!