indian food vs. italian food

Both cuisines have truly amazing breadth and even italians and indians are unlikely to be familar with the whole of them. The dietary restrictions practised by the great majority of indians have perhaps limited the indian cuisine in terms of fish and meat dishes, so that opens the door to italy staying in the competition. I must think.

"max" what do u mean

― 2191: celebrate the m bisontennial (m bison), Sunday, November 6, 2011 4:56 PM (6 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i think he prob means many of us have only experienced the american version of these cuisines. which are v good at their best. i do think my access to the "authentic" thing wrt indian food will influence my vote. would love to eat my way through italy one day.

― horseshoe, Sunday, November 6, 2011 4:57 PM (5 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

oh tbrr i meant that there are dozens (hundreds?) of indian cuisines and dozens of italian cuisines and like probably there are specific regions of india whose food i like more than specific regions of italy and vice versa

but yeah also the 'authenticity' thing i guess, sure

xxp you know me!! you really know me!!!!

goans cook fish. bengalis too. kashmiri lamb dishes are the best meat dishes IN THE WORLD. /biased.

xp <3

I think max meant that there really is no true meaning behind the combination of letters that make up "italian" and "indian" and without any real meaning in language how can we even have polls

The dietary restrictions practised by the great majority of indians have perhaps limited the indian cuisine in terms of fish and meat dishes, so that opens the door to italy staying in the competition. I must think.

― Aimless, Sunday, November 6, 2011 5:03 PM (41 seconds ago) Bookmark

false, a cuisine can be completely delicious absent meat and fish dishes.

still I dunno which one to vote for

indian muslims cook a bunch of meat btw, and deliciously

ime the best american italian food can vie with the best italian italian food but theres just so much more good italian food, and so much cheaper, in italy

no matter what the result, ilx will affirm that mexican food is better than either Food Wars: Mexican Food v. Italian Food

hmm I wonder why there's so much good and cheap italian food in italy

it is a mystery

I think americans can do a lot of world cuisines super well, we can also set world records for food awfulness

we can also set world records for food awfulness

― iatee, Sunday, November 6, 2011 5:06 PM (40 seconds ago) Bookmark

no that's still england

all time classic quote:

have only really had the fast-foody burrito/taco/quesadilla/whatever stuff, from some pretty authentic and reputable joints, and sure it's nice, and sure if i had a goat's cheese tostada i might cream myself a little, but *sigh* O Italian food. O. O.

― One idiot even called me "redcoat" because I'm (country matters), Sunday, August 2, 2009 5:14 PM (2 years ago)

haha xp

just fyi to all both of these are good and u dont really have to choose or vote in the poll or actually even post to this thread

― max, Monday, August 3, 2009 11:20 AM (2 years ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

I'd vote Indian food over anything altho if you count "wine" as Italian food that makes it a little tougher

sure if i had a goat's cheese tostada i might cream myself

i can't eat dinner now, because of this

seriously don't count india out of the meat game until you've tried the kashmiri gushtaba:

http://pakistanifoodrecipies.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gushtaba1.jpg

are those brains?

also division between pakistan and india is arbitrary and colonial so i'm including pakistan and pakistanis eat meat all day and all night

xp lol shut up

lol "don't count India out until you feast your eyes on this appalling thing"

those are called "meatballs"

also division between pakistan and india is arbitrary and colonial so i'm including pakistan and pakistanis eat meat all day and all night

xp lol shut up

― horseshoe, Sunday, November 6, 2011 5:10 PM (16 seconds ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

welllllll so is the divide between france and italy so im including it too. and greece also.

and spain i guess

nehari is a really good pakistani beef dish but pictures of it are gross. you have to take my word for it.

xp but really. india and pakistan.

butter VS olive oil (is what it comes down to)

Italian food is one of those unchallenging comfort things that it's stupid to say you like because EVERYONE LIKES IT EXCEPT VEGANS AND WEIRDOS. It's way cooler to say you like I don't know one specific kind of kimchee, or unagi sushi or something. You know what? I fcuking love Italian food, Americanized or otherwise. To me, there's no greater flavor range in the world than garlic + tomato + lemon + rosemary, and 100 variations on that theme.

haha the picture is funny because i can't tell what the scale is. i'm imagining they are like 8 inches in diameter and that is a huge pot
anyway i pick india

gushtabas are meatballs. the meat is pulverized for hours. cooked kashmiri style in a yogurt sauce.

gushtabas are huge!

i can't believe i am posting about kashmiri food on the internet i need to stop.

yeah meatballs in yogurt, cool dish kashmir

i will seriously kill you you're insulting my mom right now max

false, a cuisine can be completely delicious absent meat and fish dishes

show me where I said any such falsehood.

also, yes, I do know that not everyone in india is hindu and that meat and fish are incorporated into indian cuisine, but I was thinking that perhaps the full creative power of the tradition had not been brought to bear, as opposed to the effloresence of their vegetarian dishes.

what vegans say they don't like Italian food? I will sic the ghost of my great-grandmother on them, she'll be rattlin ghost chains and yelling mangia

mughal dynasty cooking is very meat and cream heavy (korma, for example) and is represented well in indian restaurants in the u.s.

i have an indian coworker and his family is from gujarat and he is a vegetarian. he loves subway and candy!

well american restaurant korma is inauthentic but still tasty

m bison: Because in "Italian" restaurants EVERYTHIGN HAS CHEESE except a plain dish of pasta with tomatoes diced on top of it, which the kitchen will grudgingly make for vegetarians and small food-intolerant children.

xp KORMA IS MY FAVORITE.

aimless, there are lots of foods in the world not incorporated into italian food - 'perhaps the full creative power of the tradition' is not complete until they discover, idk, curry powder and twinkies. that argument is pretty nonsensical to me, unless there's some proof that meat is inherently some next-level sensation.

this is so embarrassing i'm repping for muslim influence on indian culture it's like i've become my dad

still might vote italian tbh

another reason to vote Indian is that the Vaisnava cuisine of west Bengal makes do without onion & garlic and I guarantee even the most exacting insufferable foodie here would, having chowed on a good Vaisnava feast, declare it delicious and lacking nothing, whereas if you take onion & garlic away from Italian cuisine it's game over for Italian cuisine

I'm voting india, I can't trust a nation who changed their entire cuisine because of a conquistador

oh well that's fucking every restaurant in America tho, we are talking about cuisines, not olive gardens/carrabas/macaroni grill

making vegan Italian food at home is hella easy

xp

another reason to vote Indian is that the Vaisnava cuisine of west Bengal makes do without onion & garlic and I guarantee even the most exacting insufferable foodie here would, having chowed on a good Vaisnava feast, declare it delicious and lacking nothing, whereas if you take onion & garlic away from Italian cuisine it's game over for Italian cuisine

― unlistenable in philly (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Sunday, November 6, 2011 5:17 PM (1 minute ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i see we are undertaking a rhetorical sleight-of-hand that allows us to divide "indian food" into region-specific cuisines but regards "italian food" as a monolith. i will not take part.

in conclusion, shakespeare was likely a kashmiri muslim. /my dad

is a national cuisine more than the sum of its parts?

only if it's the creamofsumyungguy

in conclusion, shakespeare was likely a kashmiri muslim. /my dad

― horseshoe, Sunday, November 6, 2011 5:20 PM (2 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

i like this theory

my dad has a lot of theories 4 u

saag ravioli

real talk in this thread

jeez u guys

jalfrezi u guys

eat thali every day lamp!

I love Indian Food like Chappatis, Poori, dals, rice, Saag, makki di roti etc.
I also like Indian restaurant where the Indian food is served. My Favorite Indian veg. restaurant is " Haveli - Indian Food Restaurant ".

another ilx travesty

bearing in mind that my only experience is the anglo simulacra for which i'm eternally guilty and apologize to the gods of cuisine i still think this was the right result within the confines of this entirely hypothetical split

i approve

― buzza, Monday, November 14, 2011 5:56 PM (1 year ago)

Disappointed there was no Italian-Indian fusion poll option.

Baltipizza. Vindaloosagne.

Indian on sat
Italian yesterday
Off work today

Thks obama

I made keema lasgane and chicken tikka canneloni years ago, the results were on I Love Cooking - or, since search doesn't find them, more likely on Two Weeks/Sandbox versions of that board.

Wait, I found it:

So what have you cooked lately?

indian is almost guaranteed to cause damage to my guts. or at least yr east london curry will anyway, even in the nicer places.

italian seems to be sinned against quite frequently in restaurants, so many average or below average restaurants are "italian", ime.

A bad Indian is worse than a bad Italian but there are so many bad examples of both pretty much anywhere you go. A good Indian beats a really great Italian though, even in a really good Italian restaurant you get past the antipasti/pasta courses and the options can seem nice but not terribly exciting.

i guess the thing with "Italian" is that it relies a lot on quality of ingredients - obv to a large extent all cuisine does, but a lot of Italian dishes seem to be about simple stuff presented to its best advantage. this is why i cook pasta dishes two or three times a week but don't do my own "Indian" meals anything like as often

i know that this is all very broad generalizations

Yeah I would agree with that. The best Italian meals I've had haven't been doing anything earth-shattering in theory but have just been sourced and prepared impeccably.

same with spanish imo, to an extent.

i feel like loads of great cooking prob has roots in italian ways but this isn't what many "italian" restaurants do.

microwave italian food vs microwave indian food would be a better poll

still Indian, possibly by a wider margin imo

microwave lasagne though (horse or not) is truly beautiful

whereas microwave chicken jalfrazi is always a bit..

Which foodstuff has more tomato and cheese? Hmm.

that wd normally sway me but i think i wd take "mexican" over "indian" over "italian"

I haven't looked at what won this poll, but I wanted to make clear that the results are a travesty

http://www.tablehopper.com/newsletter/061205/zantes_large.jpg

i guess the thing with "Italian" is that it relies a lot on quality of ingredients - obv to a large extent all cuisine does, but a lot of Italian dishes seem to be about simple stuff presented to its best advantage. this is why i cook pasta dishes two or three times a week but don't do my own "Indian" meals anything like as often

i know that this is all very broad generalizations

― i'm not racist, i just dislike rap (Noodle Vague), Monday, September 16, 2013 7:17 AM (5 hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

that seems accurate imo. i can buy some arugula from the farmer's market, sautee with garlic and olive oil and serve it with pasta and it's very simple and easy to prepare but delicious. indian food is definitely one my favorite cuisines but when i cook it i'm making basmati rice, a dal, vegetables, maybe some roti and pickle and it's sublime but a little more demanding

i had brilliant italian food last night (at sotto in the beverlywood section of l.a.), and today i'm going to an indian lunch buffet. i will report my findings to the thread once i am good and stuffed.

I made lamb rogan josh 2 days ago and went to Jamie's Italian yesterday. The rogan josh was amazing (and mostly out of a packet type thing, which NEVER happens) but Jamie's Italian was so full of butter and fattiness without much substance, therefore I declare Indian to be the winner.
Really into spiced cauliflower atm too yummm

Well, your first mistake was going to Jamie's Italian.

People cooking Indian from scratch will do well to remember that less is more...

our dinner at sotto was:

grilled bread with olive oil
kale/ricotta frittata
tomato-braised octopus with chickpeas (flavored with preserved lemon)
margherita pizza (with lovely char; I dipped the crust into the olive oil from the bread starter)
olive oil cake with oven-roasted grapes

just putting that out there.

wld probably still vote indian because i've had curries that have changed my life but i've eaten some v amazing italian food since this poll took place. pheasant ravioli, mint & asparagus risotto, arancini, the richest ragu, quail risotto (risotto w/ the proper finish & texture is the product of some rare magic)... these are my two fav cuisines

if you're eating both, the winner is you.

Bigoli al Pomodoro della Mamma 15
Tomato sauce Mamma Anna style, if you don’t like it, please, call my mom @ 091-905581 and tell her. Good luck!

Haven't had much Italian food these past four years and not really missing it. As long as I can have a gluten-free pizza now and then and some limoncello, I'm good. I did miss tiramisu but it doesn't even occur to me anymore. Tiramisu just doesn't measure up to gajar halva.

Italians lol.

"He also disdains the pace of change driven by the internet. “On the web, everything is consumed quickly. Culture, on the other hand, is slowness and choice. I made my theory; it is the theory of the three risottos. Do you want to hear it?” He clears his throat. “If someone has never eaten a risotto in his life – and if they have never been to Sicily, they certainly never have eaten a good one – the first time they taste it, they can only say if they liked it or not. The second time, however, they can argue that it was better or worse than the first one. Only from the third time on can they have their own theory of risotto and, if they want, give advice on how it should be cooked. Culture, to me, is knowing things and having a choice.”"

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/jul/26/photographer-ferdinando-scianna-interview-sicily-magnum

if you take onion & garlic away from Italian cuisine it's game over for Italian cuisine

lol