2009/6/2 Charles Haynes <[email protected]> > Anyway, enough raving. I was astonished to discover just *how* > unadventurous your average Indian was with respect to trying new and > different food.
Unadventurous might not be the right word, but rather lack of exposure. I think save Chinese, its only maybe a decade ago that you had options in cuisines in India. And it is a little unrealistic to expect that a people who are used to having everything spiced up where the original flavour of the ingredients pretty much dies out will take to other cuisines. Indian meat dishes are a classic example. They are so drowned in spices that its mostly the texture of the meat thats left. Which also explains why most Indians (even Christians and Muslims who eat meat more regularly than Hindus) are very averse to trying steak, or even if they do, its so well done that there is no point in calling it steak anymore. I usually warn those from abroad having steak for the first time in India to not order well done, but rather medium. However, now Bangalore can boast of almost all major cuisines which are available at least in one place in the city. Grocery stores also carry a wider range of cheeses (though very expensive) as well as cured meats (again quite expensive). I don't find many people other than expats at the delicatessen, and the guy behind the counter invariably asks you to fill out a survey because of how infrequent the visits are. I ask for thin slices and they still haven't managed to get it thinner than 2mm. But we're getting there. Kiran
