indian food vs. italian food

a.k.a. the part of pennsylvania we pretend doesnt exist.

lancaster?

well these i prefer to pretend none of it exists and i actually live beachside in the keys

I spent a summer up at penn state, I think because of county laws you could make ice cream with 20% milkfat, it was glorious

lol actually yeah, I think I had some ice cream at swarthmore once and noticed it was really rich

swarthmore is higher on us news I think that means the ice cream is better than penn state ice cream

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.

― WE DO NOT HAVE "SECRET" "MEETINGS." I DO NOT HAVE A SECOND (Laurel), Sunday, November 6, 2011 10:11 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

Laurel OTM. Though for me it's more about the magic TOMATO AND CHEESE combination. Also, pasta is approximately a billion times nicer than rice.

swarthmore is higher on us news I think that means the ice cream is better than penn state ice cream

lol'd really hard at this

Also, pasta is approximately a billion times nicer than rice.

we had this discussion I think and rice destroyed pasta and pasta was all cowering in a corner goin ok yeah I concede that I am not as good but can I still exist? and rice showed mercy because rice slays, that's how I remember it anyway

I would like to have fresh made pasta one day instead of the hard stuff that comes in plastic bags

Rice is just about the only base carb foodstuff that I don't like. Potatoes = nom, bread = nom nom nom, pasta = om nom nom nom nom nom.

would eat the hell out of: tandoori pizza

http://writinghappiness.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/tandoori-pizza.jpg

let me be clear, I love all carbs, but rice...rice is life!

You can have the rice! I don't want it! Actually, I think in a carb poll I would probably vote bread over pasta. Actually, have we done that yet?

Gah, I hate it when I do that. Actually.

the best indian food i've had is probably more delicious and exciting and wondrous than the best italian food i've had but i couldn't have indian much more than twice a month or so. italian i could eat 3-4 times a week.

I just want to remind everyone that if you agree with Aerosmith on this thread you are agreeing with a guy who thinks now and laters are the pinnacle of human culinary achievement, standing above only bit O honey--I mean frankly the guy is an embarrassment to the good Tyler name and to ilx in general

he's right about rice though, pasta is just italian for flour glue strings

basmati rice is the best form of rice, too

lol max feelin the heat...the heat of delicious indian food

voted indian. i've probably gotten more enjoyment from italian in my life overall, but recently the takeout/delivery italian place around here always delivers soggy/greasy gross food that i'm never in the mood however. however the local indian place is always delicious and recently we've actually been ordering indian more often than italian. so indian it is.

however. however i do love both

i eat some kind of italian food ridiculously often, like probably 3-4 days a week, but if i could afford it/knew enough places to eat or things to make, i'd gladly eat indian that often instead or additionally. so i think i'll vote for indian.

...yes...yes...my campaign of giving out free now and laters to the voters is bearing fruit...cherry, banana, apple, and "tropical"

indian food is super easy to make fwiw

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.

This is utter madness, I became more vegetarian than I ever used to be thanks to proper homemade Italian food. Lentil soup with garlic, ceci (chickpeas) with tomato and chilli over pasta, fennel salad, salad in general. All vegan. I dont think Ive ever been to a decent Italian restaurant that has put cheese all over a dish without asking, either, except for obvious things like a pizza, or a green salad if it incs shavings of parmesan.

for fuck's sake what an awful poll, the priest wouldn't ask you this.

Indian btw, tho pasta indeed > rice

In fact Italian is easier to be vegan than indian, because they use olive oil, whereas a lot of indian places use ghee.

how to make super easy indian food

Wishing I'd brought in my chickpea/tofu/cauliflower curry I made, now. Hungry.

i actually work with a number of indian folks. maybe if i offer to do odd jobs for them they'll take pity on me and bring me food.

I gotta say Italian would stand a better chance against Indian with me if you had to do more to make an Italian dish "alla diavolo" than add a damn teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. I like Indian food, I like Mexican food, I like Thai food, I like Szechuan food. crushed red pepper flakes do not make the grade fire-wise you italians

i think the hardest part of indian cooking is finding high-quality spices. after that it's just frying onions, garlic and ginger and getting the spice blend right.

i am bad at paneer though

yeah tbh to make any range of indian food i think you'd need a pretty loaded cupboard of spices etc but you can make six classic italian dishes using only a leaf of basil and a hymn to our lady

obv this depends where you live but in most parts of london you can get all the indian spices you need in any local corner shop (usually not saffron, but all the others)

yes london seems wonderful

my wife's gotten pretty good at making a few homemade indian dishes (or at least some very delicious bastardizations thereof) and has a lot of the necessary spices but still it's just an every now and again thing

true story, the first time i ever had indian food as a teenager was IN london, so pretty good introduction for me there

granted, i have many of them myself, but there's a lot more of them needed for you to be able to claim even a reasonably basic indian kit, imo

surely cumin, coriander, ginger and turmeric aren't hard to get most places? That's all you need for your basic stuff. Which will still be delicious

madhur jaffrey complains that what gets sold as garam masala is often subpar so every time a recipe calls for it i have to hunt down green and black cardomom pods and half a nutmeg and grind them with peppercorns and cloves. i've misplaced half a dozen little homemade garam masalas. sometimes i think madhur jaffrey just likes complications, though.

vs a leaf of basil, tho

yeah cumin, coriander, ginger, turmeric and cayenne are the only super-essential ones. though it can be hard to get the right chilies. jalapenos are not quite right.

nothing very hot in that group, number none

italian needs maybe five basic herbs, not inc.salt and pepper? i'd say indian needs maybe 10 basic spices (that's a guess based on my memory of my spiceshelf back in london) (haha if geeta is in my flat at the moment she can go look! tho she probbly knows them w/o looking and will spot something really obvious i don't have)

I didn't include chillis cos they're a staple surely?

can't wait to post in this thread

you know what can be hard to find? asafoetida

i found it at the indian store but i didn't get it

well, like i say, all the others are a staple in my neighbourhood!

i'd add cardamom cz i love it, amchoor and tamarind cz i like sourness and horseshoe's list doesn't really cover sour, cinnamon, though that's obvious a staple also, and maybe mustard seeds? also useful to have cardamoms and cumin as seeds as well as powder

i voted on the basis of which one i wd miss the most so indian it is

also lol @ jaggery
i needed it for something but then nothing else, so i had this block of sugar sitting in the cabinet forever

lol go to any indian store