Idli

[HalcyonDaze]

Ok, that makes sense!

Doing brunch is becoming a big thing here, so at a guess it won't be long til we have an Indian breakfast place.

[MacademiaNut]

Aug 30, 2013 0:30:30 GMT -5 @surfy said:

I checked my local too, but they're not on there. Possibly not suited to the Western tastes *rolls eyes*

LOL. If the folks running your local are actually from northern India, Pakistan or Bangladesh, they are most unlikely to have ever eaten a home-cooked idli in their lives, and would never think of putting them onto the menu. To get idlis, you probably need somebody devoted to the cause of Tamil, Malayali, or Kannadiga food... and breakfast food, at that.

BTW, there is a South Indian vegetarian restaurant chain all over the place (California, I'm talking to you too) called Saravana Bhavan. There you will find idlis. I checked their website and they have a branch in Southall. Actually, they have branches in Essex, Harrow, Middlesex and London. And first thing on the menu at Ilford: idlis!

[HalcyonDaze]

Aha!

www.webmenu.com.au/menus/NSW/Chutney-Indian-Restaurant/All-You-Can-Eat-Weekend-Buffet-0900am-1130am/South-Indian-Breakfast/

and this, mentioning a place at Homebush.
www.smh.com.au/entertainment/restaurants-and-bars/rise-and-dine-20110903-1jqx8.html

Now, to find a morning when I don't have LC and get some breakfast!

[Deleted]

Yes, I can see that.

www.thegoabalti.co.uk/

I like it because there are a lot of Goan flavours to their dishes.

It's never the same as being out there though, especially when you consider how wet the curries are here!

[MacademiaNut]

*scratches head*. Okay. So I am Goan, and I just looked at that menu and recognized only one thing off it as being Goan (and considering that is vindaloo and no vindaloo in the UK is anything much like what we'd make at home, that means very little). The rest of it is all that yoghurt, cashew, almond based stuff that is what non-North Indians think of as North Indian food... and a surprising amount of Parsi food. They're using the word Goa for the sake of easy recognition (coupled with balti, which a lot of Indians find hilarious because it means bucket and that version of Indian food was apparently invented in the UK by Bangladeshi cooks) most likely.

But then this is probably what somebody from, say, China thinks when they come to India and eat our version of their food. Or somebody from Italy, eating our versions of Italian food. Te food might taste good, but is probably not authentic at all and might reflect nothing of regional variation. Though I have on very good authority that we have very authentic Korean restaurants near where I live -- but that is probably because they cater mostly to Koreans working and studying here.

[sprite]

harrumph. i'm having halal balti for dinner! with water buffalo! and aramanth!

or possibly take away.
there's a an indian joint near us that does, in theory, masala dosa. have never been able to order one.
when we go back to the uk, we'll be trying to eat more from a particular restaurant near us that does southern indian food. their dosa is good, and i'll see if they have idli.

[Deleted]

Aug 30, 2013 0:58:43 GMT -5 MacademiaNut said:

*scratches head*. Okay. So I am Goan, and I just looked at that menu and recognized only one thing off it as being Goan (and considering that is vindaloo and no vindaloo in the UK is anything much like what we'd make at home, that means very little). The rest of it is all that yoghurt, cashew, almond based stuff that is what non-North Indians think of as North Indian food... and a surprising amount of Parsi food. They're using the word Goa for the sake of easy recognition (coupled with balti, which a lot of Indians find hilarious because it means bucket and that version of Indian food was apparently invented in the UK by Bangladeshi cooks) most likely.

But then this is probably what somebody from, say, China thinks when they come to India and eat our version of their food. Or somebody from Italy, eating our versions of Italian food. Te food might taste good, but is probably not authentic at all and might reflect nothing of regional variation. Though I have on very good authority that we have very authentic Korean restaurants near where I live -- but that is probably because they cater mostly to Koreans working and studying here.

Hahah, I was expecting you to say that. It does annoy me when they say ''authentic'' and it's clearly not!

Although I do remember lots of coconut, lime and nuts in the food I ate in Goa? That and fish curry to die for!

[Deleted]

Oh and I also feel like that about Thai food in this country, though fortunately we live right near a pub whose owner married a Thai girl and the food is 100% bang bang on!

[cakemonkey]

There are some excellent, authentic Thai restaurants is London. I know lots of, even. Local, places where you can get good Thai food. This is my local place and is run by a Thai couple. Admittedly not all of what they serve is authentic but largely it is. www.allinlondon.co.uk/restaurants/restaurant-8021.php

[cakemonkey]

This is one of my favourite Indian restaurants. MacNut, take a look at the menu and see what you think: www.urbanspoon.com/r/52/565445/restaurant/London/Karnaphuli-Stoke-Newington

[cakemonkey]

This is another local place that is always packed but I have never eaten there: www.rasarestaurants.com/menu/rasa_n16.php.

[MacademiaNut]

Aug 30, 2013 3:13:26 GMT -5 @surfy said:

Although I do remember lots of coconut, lime and nuts in the food I ate in Goa? That and fish curry to die for!

Lots of coconut and some cashew, yes, as the bases for a curry. Lime, not really... And sadly, I have to say, most of the food you get on a beach in Goa is not actually Goan; they make what the tourists will eat and while that has started to include a fish curry in a lot of places, the really good Goan food is still just in a few restaurants that are popular with the locals. We went to one such a couple of Christmases back and I didn't see a single non-Indian person there, among the dozens of people inside and waiting outside.

[HalcyonDaze]

bah, too many cashews and pistachios. ;-)

[itch4travel]

Aug 30, 2013 0:40:44 GMT -5 MacademiaNut said:

Aug 30, 2013 0:30:30 GMT -5 @surfy said:

BTW, there is a South Indian vegetarian restaurant chain all over the place (California, I'm talking to you too) called Saravana Bhavan. There you will find idlis. I checked their website and they have a branch in Southall. Actually, they have branches in Essex, Harrow, Middlesex and London. And first thing on the menu at Ilford: idlis!

Guess what I found has a location in the burbs!! Pays to have a huge Indian population!

*goes to suss out more tasties*

[MacademiaNut]

Score one for Tronna!

cakemonkey, the first one (the one you like) sticks to the usual north Indian stuff -- mostly Punjabi again. I don't know how to explain this, it's the kind of fare you get in "north Indian" restaurants all over the place here as well, with a couple of exceptions (things they've obviously invented and, er, what's with all the dhansak? It was on the menu Surfy posted as well. Dhansak is very niche in India, only Parsis cook it and it's hard to find it in restaurants unless they are actually Parsi restaurants--not that there are many of THOSE around). It's usually asty, I enjoy it as well, but it's restaurant food.

The other one, Rasa, looks so bloody good I want to come over there and eat right now. THAT is a superb menu selection -- they've really gone authentically Malayali. And they've included some things you'd rarely see even in restaurants here that serve food from Kerala because they're the kind of dishes people just make at home for festivals.

I think the thing with Indian restaurants abroad is that they are basically making an amalgamation out of a set of cuisines that bear only passing resemblances to each other. So it's a question of cooks learning a set of recipes from other cooks, not from the way mother/father/grandmother/aunty made it. On the other hand, if you get somebody who says, "well, I want to start a restaurant that will serve the food I ate at home," and who then sticks to doing justice to one kind of cuisine, you are onto a winner. Otherwise, it's like restaurants here that call themselves "Continental" and serve pasta, something they claim is stroganoff, roast/grilled/baked chicken/fish/meat with a red/white sauce, baked vegetables and burgers.

[leela]

I've never had idlis here in the UK.Haven't even seen them on a menu, despite curry being almost a national dish. I only first came across them four years ago, in Darjeeling.

[leela]

...oh, and the parents of one of my assistants at work have an Indian restaurant. One day someone asked her about what she thought of a particular dish. She initially looked confused, then laughed and said "Oh, we never eat the kind of food we make for the restaurant!"
And when she did bring 'her' food into work for us, it was spectacular, and nothing like we'd eaten in indian restaurants here in the UK.

[cakemonkey]

I shall eat at Rasa next time I fancy Indian food.

[MacademiaNut]

Cakemonkey, we shall expect a full report.

[wombatrois]

I rarely eat Indian food in Australia because its mostly the northern or British style as mac nut says.

I do cook a lot of southern Indian food because that's mostly where I've been and love the food too. I have a fabulous book called dakshin which is a southern vegetarian cook book and also picked up a couple of cook books when I was in India, that I use a bit. I haven't bothered making dosa or idli at home, though, but may do it now that I've been reminded of them in this thread!

There's a great chain of restaurants in Asia called the new woodlands, which is also a hotel in chennai, where you can get FABULOUS South Indian breakfast and snacks. Little India in Singapore is also great for cheap eats like this. I've yet to find decent Indian (southern) in Bangkok though.

[MacademiaNut]

wombatrois, Woodlands and New Woodlands are indeed popular chain South Indian veg restaurants here... didn't realize they were in other parts of Asia too. Saravana Bhavan, which I mentioned earlier, I did know about. Also, I gather that MTR, which is a Bangalore restaurant chain and also had a spin-off packaged food business, is going to open in California shortly. Idlis and dosas forever!

[sprite]

had idli yesterday! as a starter for supper! we went to a place that does north/south dishes. the clientele is a good mix of bruneian locals, euro expats, and expats from india and surrounding areas.

it was tasty, and i could do idly for breakfast. i followed it with a lamb rogan josh that nearly took my head off--don't remember rogan josh being that hot in the uk. (the man refuses to eat it, because he went to uni with a complete drunken prat named rogan--who was scottish, not remotely indian.)

they had chicken tikki masala on the menu, described as, "a favourite dish in the UK..."

[MacademiaNut]

We're having (home-made) idli with sambar for dinner. A little unconventional, but the Mr isn't well and wants to eat light food.

[Liiisa]

omg I missed this thread before... idli with coconut chutney! idli with sambar! aaaah!

[lizby1]

Oh balls. I went to the shop that sells the idli mix and forgot to buy any.

[MacademiaNut]

It's okay, lizby, I thought of you when eating the leftovers.

[vinnyd]

If anyone has made idlis with a device other than an idli steamer (custard cups?) I would like to hear about it. For the number of times I would probably use it, an idli steamer is not worth it for me, but I would like to be able to make them even if the shape was unorthodox.

Thanks.

[sophie]

Making them tonight..I use an idli steamed which lives at the far back of the cupboard when not in use.

[MacademiaNut]

South Indian breakfast, anyone? asiaobscura.com/2013/01/21-amazing-south-indian-breakfast-dishes.html?1

Though he does include a couple of really weird things at the end.

[tucano]

That all looks amazing.