How do Pakistanis and Bangladeshis interact with each other abroad?

[Nilgiri]

Still too much for Northern Pakistani tastes.

What has been your experience of south indian cuisine? It is quite varied in heat levels too.

 

[waz]

What has been your experience of south indian cuisine? It is quite varied in heat levels too.

I like the fish, I like fish in general. Coconut curry is also nice.

 

[Joe Shearer]

I find if you tell them beforehand, they are gracious hosts and will suit to your tastes.

My main Bangladesh friend likes less spicy heat anyway....just like most West Bengalis I know.

@Joe Shearer what are your opinions on this topic?

Totally different styles - think Chettiar as against any Pappan (differences in spicing and preparation), and either Iyer or Iyengar (differences in dishes made).

In the UK, most so-called Mughlai restaurants are run by fiends who are a subset of Bangladeshis, and who have absolutely no clue about what they're doing. The food is poisonous. Oily, greasy and sought to be tarted up to cover up the mistakes with huge additions of chilli.

Bengali restaurants never existed; Bengalis couldn't think about paying for food in a restaurant (food shops, yes; shingara, kochuri, luchi are staple comfort foods, and don't count as a meal). There were also little shops near the Lakes serving dhakai parothas, with buiter dal (that's chana dal to your foreigners).

The only place you could do that was Suruchi on Elliot Road, run by an institution for the rehabilitation of fallen women. You had to find a place to park your car on a narrow road with tram tracks (and trams) running through it, duck through a discreet door on the street side, and enter a culinary heaven. Then sometime in the 70s, Peerless the money people took over the old Ritz Hotel on Chowringhee and renovated it, and one of the restaurants was a Bengali food outlet. Sensation! (pun intended, for those who 'get' it). Oh Calcutta, 36 Ballygunge Place, Bhojohari Manna all opened later, along with a slew of medium to almost good restaurants on Purna Das Road.

 

[Joe Shearer]

What has been your experience of south indian cuisine? It is quite varied in heat levels too.

What's that?

Still too much for Northern Pakistani tastes.

Come eat our Hyderabadi food some day.

 

[Nilgiri]

I like the fish, I like fish in general. Coconut curry is also nice.

You ever try dosa and idli? I am surprised to see even caucasian people preparing and serving this stuff with their own twist in the UK:

Totally different styles - think Chettiar as against any Pappan (differences in spicing and preparation), and either Iyer or Iyengar (differences in dishes made).

In the UK, most so-called Mughlai restaurants are run by fiends who are a subset of Bangladeshis, and who have absolutely no clue about what they're doing. The food is poisonous. Oily, greasy and sought to be tarted up to cover up the mistakes with huge additions of chilli.

Bengali restaurants never existed; Bengalis couldn't think about paying for food in a restaurant (food shops, yes; shingara, kochuri, luchi are staple comfort foods, and don't count as a meal). There were also little shops near the Lakes serving dhakai parothas, with buiter dal (that's chana dal to your foreigners).

The only place you could do that was Suruchi on Elliot Road, run by an institution for the rehabilitation of fallen women. You had to find a place to park your car on a narrow road with tram tracks (and trams) running through it, duck through a discreet door on the street side, and enter a culinary heaven. Then sometime in the 70s, Peerless the money people took over the old Ritz Hotel on Chowringhee and renovated it, and one of the restaurants was a Bengali food outlet. Sensation! (pun intended, for those who 'get' it). Oh Calcutta, 36 Ballygunge Place, Bhojohari Manna all opened later, along with a slew of medium to almost good restaurants on Purna Das Road.

Yes nothing quite beats home knowledge and experience of the original country.

What's that?

Well Chettinad cuisine, Andhra cuisine in general are quite strong spicy compared to the docile flavours of the Nilgiris and Palghat gap where I hail from. Plenty of proper mallu food fits in this category too...all their avials, thorans and so on without too much chilli...but plenty of coconut and other flavours.

Your wife is Kannadiga, so you would know about the pleasant low spicy heat cuisine from southern Karnataka (obbatu, various saaru, huli etc)....but that it cannot be generalised (plenty of potent stuff too from time to time).

I guess everywhere in this subcontinent of ours has plenty of variety to enjoy in various heat and flavour profiles. A foodie delight.

 

[Joe Shearer]

You ever try dosa and idli? I am surprised to see even caucasian people preparing and serving this stuff with their own twist in the UK:

Yes nothing quite beats home knowledge and experience of the original country.



Well Chettinad cuisine, Andhra cuisine in general are quite strong spicy compared to the docile flavours of the Nilgiris and Palghat gap where I hail from. Plenty of proper mallu food fits in this category too...all their avials, thorans and so on without too much chilli...but plenty of coconut and other flavours.

Your wife is Kannadiga, so you would know about the pleasant low spicy heat cuisine from southern Karnataka (obbatu, various saaru, huli etc)....but that it cannot be generalised (plenty of potent stuff too from time to time).

I guess everywhere in this subcontinent of ours has plenty of variety to enjoy in various heat and flavour profiles. A foodie delight.

I was joking.

I meant that there is too much diversity to even talk about a laundry bag called "South Indian cuisine". In Karnataka the cuisine changes every 100 kms. Now the Telingas have started carefully drawing apart from Andhra food.

 

[Sky lord]

Mallu food has a lot of external influences, their garam masala is nothing like the North Indian version, it is actually Chinese five spice powder except that the schezwan peppercorns is substituted with green cardamom, the rest of the ingredients are the same. There is a lot of Chinese and south East Asian influence in Kerala cuisine, though the locals themselves are not always aware of it.

Their steamed fruity rice cakes remind me of Thai rice cakes except the Thai version is possibly a little more sophisticated and the Kerala version a little more rustic.

Actually Indian food is so varied and has so many different influences, it needs an encyclopedia to cover it all

 

[Nilgiri]

I was joking.

I meant that there is too much diversity to even talk about a laundry bag called "South Indian cuisine". In Karnataka the cuisine changes every 100 kms. Now the Telingas have started carefully drawing apart from Andhra food.

I suspected you were, but threw a feeler out for those that stumble upon this little thread anyway.

Mallu food has a lot of external influences, their garam masala is nothing like the North Indian version, it is actually Chinese five spice powder except that the schezwan peppercorns is substituted with green cardamom, the rest of the ingredients are the same. There is a lot of Chinese and south East Asian influence in Kerala cuisine, though the locals themselves are not always aware of it.

Their steamed fruity rice cakes remind me of Thai rice cakes except the Thai version is possibly a little more sophisticated and the Kerala version a little more rustic.

Actually Indian food is so varied and has so many different influences, it needs an encyclopedia to cover it all

I never quite asked (or I have forgotten in which case I'm sorry)....but what part of India do you hail from? You seem to know an awful lot and are quite diverse in your tastes too.

 

[lastofthepatriots]

Another thread hijacked by bhartis.

 

[Sky lord]

I never quite asked (or I have forgotten in which case I'm sorry)....but what part of India do you hail from? You seem to know an awful lot and are quite diverse in your tastes too.

I am a mongrel. My parents had what at the time was a very "taboo" marriage. Of course nowadays there are so many mixed marriages it no longer matters. The exception seems to be the person with a straight lineage.

I don't want to say more on a public forum, I'm sure you understand.

 

[Nilgiri]

Another thread hijacked by bhartis.

I am a mongrel. My parents had what at the time was a very "taboo" marriage. Of course nowadays there are so many mixed marriages it no longer matters. The exception seems to be the person with a straight lineage.

I don't want to say more on a public forum, I'm sure you understand.

Hey more mixing the better it is I say.....healthy DNA prevails!

 

[lastofthepatriots]

You bhartis are like the neighbor that invites himself over to someone's house, eats all of their food, then refuses to leave.

 

[Sky lord]

You bhartis are like the neighbor that invites himself over to someone's house, eats all of their food, then refuses to leave.

True, provided the food is any good.

You should be flattered, we like your food.

 

[LA se Karachi]

Do they relate each other culturally or totally remain separate? Suppose a Bangladeshi and a Pakistani meet in a restaurant. Bangladeshi ordered Bengali 'Ilish Macher JHOL' (Hilsha fish curry) and Shutki bhorta (Smashed smelly dry fish with spices) with bhath (Boiled plain non-aromatic rice). Will the Pakistani eat the dish if offered?

I can't speak for others, but I've never been the biggest fan of Bengali food. I had two Bangladeshi roommates in college, and the food was more different from ours than I initially guessed. One of them actually didn't like Bengali food at all. I'm willing to try just about anything though. However, while Bangladeshis eat a lot fish (at least in comparison to Pakistanis), they eat a lot more beef than we do. That's the biggest thing I noticed.

Culturally speaking, interaction with them is often limited to the Masjid (mosque). Most of them are pretty nice to us and vice versa. However, interaction among all South Asians is somewhat limited, at least here in America. We do notice each other when at desi stores and at school. But I have far more Mexican-American and Chinese-American friends than I do Indian-American friends or Bangladeshi-American friends. I guess that's just the demographic reality of America.

 

[livingdead]

Pakistanis shouldn't eat at a Bengali house, they will poison you with mirch. They use tons of the stuff bloody hell!

authentic bengali food is not that spicy, I dont like spicy food myself, so it suits my palate.. am talking about india side of bengali food. I dont think its that different in bd... @BDforever whats the difference?