Venn Food Diagrams: L.A.'s Idea of Indian Food vs. What Indians Really Eat

By Krishna Narayanamurti Wed., Feb. 16 2011 at 9:00 AM

Our continuing series of Venn Food Diagrams moves from the great American South to an even more controversy-prone collection of states... India.

Methodology: Once again, we conducted an informal survey through e-mail, Facebook, and actually talking to people. Statisticians might scoff at our methods, and no doubt we probably missed a few things, but these diagrams are meant to be a conversation starter, not the whole conversation.

Conclusion: Our natural curiosity about world cultures and daredevil fascination with spice draw Angelenos to Indian cuisine. With the prevalence and broad range of Indian restaurants and markets available in and around the city, our knowledge has mostly caught up with our appetites.

Notes: Many of L.A.'s "wrong" answers, like pakoras (fried vegetable appetizers) and naan bread, weren't really wrong. Indians do eat those things, but not nearly as much as we do (or think that they do).

A revealing item on the overlap - Angelenos and Indians alike raved about malai kofta (veggie balls in a thick, creamy sauce), a delicacy by which any credible North Indian chef should be judged.

Several factors complicate any attempt to define the food of a billion-plus Indians around the world. Credit for malai kofta's origin belongs to the Mughal Empire, providing just one example of how thousands of years of occupation by other ethnic groups have shaped and redefined the cuisine. To this day, India's diverse and ever-evolving religious practices, which can vary by the specific community of a family's lineage, play a fundamental role in dietary choices.

But perhaps the greatest obstacle to a consensus is that each of the 28 Indian states represents its own universe with a unique cooking style and in many cases a completely separate language. Dishes that appear common to multiple locations may have different names, along with noticeable changes in texture or flavor. Don't order a dosa (doe-suh) in a Tamilian restaurant. Order a dosai (doe-say). Rather than Angelenos vs. Indians, a more telling Venn diagram might be Indians vs. Themselves.

Tags:

Indian cuisine, Krishna Narayanamurti, Venn food diagrams

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Alice

the orange-white-green color scheme is hirarious!

RJV

What a well-written, concise overview of Indian cuisine in L.A. -- no small feat, given the topic's enormously broad scope. I'm assuming/hoping that you'll follow up with more specific reviews, which I very much look forward to reading!

Bsquared

And this is news? I'm Mexican and most people think a Taco Bell Enchirito is Mexican. Or El Torito is Mexican. My wife is Vietnamese and most people never get past Pho when they eat VN food.

I love all those things. I don't claim to be an expert, but I like Northern AND Southern Indian food. I've had Indian food in other countries, but I still haven't been to India. I'm not above admitting that I've been known to eat Chicken Tikka Masala in London!

Let's face it, I wouldn't expect the average person to sit down and eat a bowl of Bun Oc (noodles with snails) or a Shredded Pork Skin Banh Mi. But I do have a few friends that have reached out and asked about 'taking things to the next level' and I am proud to send them in the right direction.

buddhu

Sadly, this writer's concept of Indian food is heavily weighted towards Punjabi food. Based on his name, one would assume that he would be familiar with South Indian food. He can't be blamed entirely though; even in India, a majority of the restaurants are Punjabi.

buddhu, do you know what you're critiquing? the diagram is about what angelenos think is indian food, vs. what indians actually eat; since the majority of indian restos in LA serve punjabi/northern indian food, it only follows that that's what he's going to be talking about, and featuring on the left side of the diagram! i see several south indian dishes on the diagram, particularly on the right side - rasam, vadai, idli, dosa, rice, daal.