10 ms·

You will have a hard time balancing the spice levels. You can't satisfy both Indian and non-Indian demographic or you will have to have a spicy, less spicy type

by t1o5 8y ago

You will have a hard time balancing the spice levels. You can't satisfy both Indian and non-Indian demographic or you will have to have a spicy, less spicy type of each item. As an Indian, I cant stand the westernized non spicy versions of the supposedly authentic Indian foods. So I wouldn't buy them nor eat in those type of Indian restaurants. Its the same case vice versa. Non Indians may not like the spicy versions. Another thing to note that though its called "Indian food", there is no thing as an "Indian food", just like not everyone from India knows Hindi. Indian food varies drastically as you travel from North to South, East to West. But for westerners, its mainly butter chicken/daal/Vindaloo/Paratha/Chapathi. For someone from South India, it will be Dosa/Appam/Idly/Idiappam/Pongal/Avial/Sambhar/Rasam or Fish curry. One of your challenges lies in catering to the Indian & Non Indians palettes alike. Greetings from Canada.

ma2rten 8y ago
My guess is that they are not trying target typical westerners. There already is a lot of westernized pre-made Indian food you can buy at the supermarket.
- jschwartzi 8y ago
  Yeah, and it's all awful because they eliminate my favorite part of Indian cuisine -- the spices. It's almost as bad as Greek gyros or Persian food without sumac.
- bdcravens 8y ago
  As a typical white guy who doesn't handle spice well (two different attributes - put away your pitchforks lol), I'm disappointed by my options at the supermarket. A lot of it is either flavorless tomato sauce or super-spicy, without the rich curry flavor I'd like. I prefer good Indian takeout, and if I had a way of dialing back the spice level maybe 25%, it would be perfect.
- MPSimmons 8y ago
  Basically italian spaghetti sauce with turmeric.
nicklovescode 8y ago
I wonder if they could do something like include a capsaicin dropper and guidelines?
- jschwartzi 8y ago
  When Midwesterners complain about how spicy something is, they're not talking about the pain from the capsaicin. They're referring to the unusual flavors from backing spices like cinnamon, coriander, cumin, turmeric, clove, cardamom, paprika, fenugreek, bay, et. al.. These are not "hot" spices, but people still have issues with them.
  - hellogoodbyeeee 8y ago
    I don't know what Midwesterners you talk to, but everyone in my neck of the woods uses spicy to mean hot-spicy.
    - zwkrt 8y ago
      You know I would think so, but I had a roommate who compplained when I cooked with red bell peppers. I would make Italian food with garlic and onions and he would leave the apartment. Some people--and Midwesterners stereotypically--truly have a flat palate.
    - jschwartzi 8y ago
      I think we need to get a map out if we're going to come to any kind of agreement on this.
  - mmanfrin 8y ago
    I'm sorry, this is contrary to every experience I've had. 'Spiciness' refers to heat, not to combination of spices.
    - liquidwax 8y ago
      It's a common misconception.
learc83 8y ago
In my experience non-westerners tend to underestimate the level of spiciness that westerners can handle (particularly westerners who are culinarily adventurous), and overestimate the average spiciness of their cuisine. If it's too spicy for me, it's too spicy for 99% of the population of any country, but it's damn near impossible to convince servers of that.
- lenocinor 8y ago
  This is true for me too, although I will say that Indian and Thai places are at least the most likely to take me seriously when I beg them to add spice.
- mike-cardwell 8y ago
  Probably one of the least spicy curries I've ever had was at an Indian wedding. They put all the white people on a big table together and I'm thinking they gave us a different dish to everyone else. They even came over and asked if it was too spicy.
- spunker540 8y ago
  It seems many cultures think their culture is the spiciest! I've heard similar boasts from friends of mine who are Mexican, Chinese, Korean, and Indian among others.
  - vram22 8y ago
    I've been reading about cuisines and it seems that Korean can be pretty spicy. Not got a chance to try it, except a dish or two (bibimbap, IIRC, and that was not hot). I like the fact that they use a fair amount of sesame seeds and sesame oil, based on what I've read. Got to try it more some day.
    - MPSimmons 8y ago
      I've had some spicy kimchee before, and that was really good.
crwalker 8y ago
I think this is a pretty tractable problem: plenty of non-Indians love Indian food for the spice, and anecdotally, I've had plenty of food like "thai hot" pad thai that's too hot for my Indian coworkers. Palates will vary, but I'd expect the typical 1-4 pepper scale would give most people a good option. If carrying four variants of every item is too much of a challenge, the meals could include optional spice sub-packets.
mitraraman 8y ago
That's a good point -- customers definitely react to our spice levels differently. We use authentic, family recipes so people not used to spice sometimes have a hard time. We're exploring adding a lower spice option for each product, so hopefully soon! I would also say that food from any region of India is Indian food, and you can further specify what type of Indian food by direction (i.e. South/North) or region (i.e. Gujurati/Rajastani/Tamil).
- landon32 8y ago
  Assuming you use water-based sauces and mostly pre-ground spices, the easiest way to fix the spice issue would be just to put all of the spicy ingredients in a separate container and let customers add those in at their discretion. For most dishes there's just a few ingredients that are really spicy, and the recipe would probably survive without them. This way it's a continuum instead of just a binary choice.
PhasmaFelis 8y ago
Just make the mix non-spicy and let the customer add chili oil or whatever to taste.
bdcravens 8y ago
Ordered takeout from a little Indian place in one of the more heavily Indian populated sides of Houston. They asked me what spice level I wanted, I said medium. They then asked, "Indian medium or American medium"?
- witePeopleSpicy 8y ago
  Yeah, that's a pretty common thing. There are two types of spicy: Actual Spicy White People Spicy You go into any restaurant in NYC, as a white person, and they ask you if you want it spicy, and you only say "yes, please" get ready to be disappointed. Most restaurants have been burned by random tourists sending back full plates of food by white tourists from other parts of the country, that they lower their spiciness, if you look like non-foodie white people. They don't even ask or mention what they're doing. You say: yes, spicy, please. Then you get Ohio Spicy. They don't even call it "white people spicy" but that's what it is. You have to emphatically say, "Yes, VERY spicy, please." in order to get actual chilies, and real spice oils. Try it with a friend, who doesn't look like white people. Both of you order the same dish, both spicy, then trade. The only route around this situation is to look like New York Foodie White People.
dbmikus 8y ago
Half of my Indian-American (first generation born in America) can barely handle any spice. That's just an anecdote, but I'm not so sure you can draw the spice line on whether or not someone is Indian.
Hasz 8y ago
The tricky problem with spice levels is there's a weird masculine/masochism vibe to it all, along with a highly subjective scale. So we end up with some way overestimating their tolerance, and some way underestimating. Both of these leave your customers with negative impressions, rendering them less likely to come back. Really want to help your customers decide? Bring out a little bit of each sauce; and a bit of bread to try it with. Have them move from the non-spicy to the spicier -- let the server know which one they liked best. Not only is this an inexpensive course of action, it lets restaurants avoid disappointing experiences and allows for an inexpensive teaser at the start of a meal.
sandworm101 8y ago
Been eating and making curry for years. From scratch, not powders. I cannot stand when someone tones down a dish because of my skin colour.
YeGoblynQueenne 8y ago
Mnyeah. That sort of attitude has definitely turned out to be good advertisement for "Indian" cuisine in the UK. All the lads here will compete with each other to be the one to eat the spiciest curry, just to show how tough they are, presumably. One place I visited once even handed out certificates for the "Flaming Rectum Society" to my friends who ordered their Vindaloo. To be honest, I find all this posturing a bit naff. Where I come from (Greece), when we say that a food is "spicy" we mean it's fragrant - not hot. I personally use at least half a dozen spices when I cook- cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, white and black pepper, paprika, kayenne pepper, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger, turmeric and even a bit of fennel. Those are all "spices", only one of them is hot and they're all meant to make your food a pleasure to eat, not a competition for who has the biggest ... ... tolerance to pain? Well, I guess now we have learned that non-westerners are tougher than westerners. I'm sure that must be useful information, somehow. One day I may even understand how. Btw, hot dishes go great with yoghurt, beause it takes away the burning feeling.

by t1o5 8y ago

ma2rten 8y ago

My guess is that they are not trying target typical westerners. There already is a lot of westernized pre-made Indian food you can buy at the supermarket.

jschwartzi 8y ago
Yeah, and it's all awful because they eliminate my favorite part of Indian cuisine -- the spices. It's almost as bad as Greek gyros or Persian food without sumac.
bdcravens 8y ago
As a typical white guy who doesn't handle spice well (two different attributes - put away your pitchforks lol), I'm disappointed by my options at the supermarket. A lot of it is either flavorless tomato sauce or super-spicy, without the rich curry flavor I'd like. I prefer good Indian takeout, and if I had a way of dialing back the spice level maybe 25%, it would be perfect.
MPSimmons 8y ago
Basically italian spaghetti sauce with turmeric.

nicklovescode 8y ago

I wonder if they could do something like include a capsaicin dropper and guidelines?

jschwartzi 8y ago
When Midwesterners complain about how spicy something is, they're not talking about the pain from the capsaicin. They're referring to the unusual flavors from backing spices like cinnamon, coriander, cumin, turmeric, clove, cardamom, paprika, fenugreek, bay, et. al.. These are not "hot" spices, but people still have issues with them.
- hellogoodbyeeee 8y ago
  I don't know what Midwesterners you talk to, but everyone in my neck of the woods uses spicy to mean hot-spicy.
  - zwkrt 8y ago
    You know I would think so, but I had a roommate who compplained when I cooked with red bell peppers. I would make Italian food with garlic and onions and he would leave the apartment. Some people--and Midwesterners stereotypically--truly have a flat palate.
  - jschwartzi 8y ago
    I think we need to get a map out if we're going to come to any kind of agreement on this.
- mmanfrin 8y ago
  I'm sorry, this is contrary to every experience I've had. 'Spiciness' refers to heat, not to combination of spices.
  - liquidwax 8y ago
    It's a common misconception.

learc83 8y ago

In my experience non-westerners tend to underestimate the level of spiciness that westerners can handle (particularly westerners who are culinarily adventurous), and overestimate the average spiciness of their cuisine. If it's too spicy for me, it's too spicy for 99% of the population of any country, but it's damn near impossible to convince servers of that.

lenocinor 8y ago
This is true for me too, although I will say that Indian and Thai places are at least the most likely to take me seriously when I beg them to add spice.
mike-cardwell 8y ago
Probably one of the least spicy curries I've ever had was at an Indian wedding. They put all the white people on a big table together and I'm thinking they gave us a different dish to everyone else. They even came over and asked if it was too spicy.
spunker540 8y ago
It seems many cultures think their culture is the spiciest! I've heard similar boasts from friends of mine who are Mexican, Chinese, Korean, and Indian among others.
- vram22 8y ago
  I've been reading about cuisines and it seems that Korean can be pretty spicy. Not got a chance to try it, except a dish or two (bibimbap, IIRC, and that was not hot). I like the fact that they use a fair amount of sesame seeds and sesame oil, based on what I've read. Got to try it more some day.
  - MPSimmons 8y ago
    I've had some spicy kimchee before, and that was really good.

crwalker 8y ago

I think this is a pretty tractable problem: plenty of non-Indians love Indian food for the spice, and anecdotally, I've had plenty of food like "thai hot" pad thai that's too hot for my Indian coworkers. Palates will vary, but I'd expect the typical 1-4 pepper scale would give most people a good option. If carrying four variants of every item is too much of a challenge, the meals could include optional spice sub-packets.

mitraraman 8y ago

That's a good point -- customers definitely react to our spice levels differently. We use authentic, family recipes so people not used to spice sometimes have a hard time. We're exploring adding a lower spice option for each product, so hopefully soon! I would also say that food from any region of India is Indian food, and you can further specify what type of Indian food by direction (i.e. South/North) or region (i.e. Gujurati/Rajastani/Tamil).

landon32 8y ago
Assuming you use water-based sauces and mostly pre-ground spices, the easiest way to fix the spice issue would be just to put all of the spicy ingredients in a separate container and let customers add those in at their discretion. For most dishes there's just a few ingredients that are really spicy, and the recipe would probably survive without them. This way it's a continuum instead of just a binary choice.

PhasmaFelis 8y ago

Just make the mix non-spicy and let the customer add chili oil or whatever to taste.

bdcravens 8y ago

Ordered takeout from a little Indian place in one of the more heavily Indian populated sides of Houston. They asked me what spice level I wanted, I said medium. They then asked, "Indian medium or American medium"?

witePeopleSpicy 8y ago
Yeah, that's a pretty common thing. There are two types of spicy: Actual Spicy White People Spicy You go into any restaurant in NYC, as a white person, and they ask you if you want it spicy, and you only say "yes, please" get ready to be disappointed. Most restaurants have been burned by random tourists sending back full plates of food by white tourists from other parts of the country, that they lower their spiciness, if you look like non-foodie white people. They don't even ask or mention what they're doing. You say: yes, spicy, please. Then you get Ohio Spicy. They don't even call it "white people spicy" but that's what it is. You have to emphatically say, "Yes, VERY spicy, please." in order to get actual chilies, and real spice oils. Try it with a friend, who doesn't look like white people. Both of you order the same dish, both spicy, then trade. The only route around this situation is to look like New York Foodie White People.

dbmikus 8y ago

Half of my Indian-American (first generation born in America) can barely handle any spice. That's just an anecdote, but I'm not so sure you can draw the spice line on whether or not someone is Indian.

Hasz 8y ago

The tricky problem with spice levels is there's a weird masculine/masochism vibe to it all, along with a highly subjective scale. So we end up with some way overestimating their tolerance, and some way underestimating. Both of these leave your customers with negative impressions, rendering them less likely to come back. Really want to help your customers decide? Bring out a little bit of each sauce; and a bit of bread to try it with. Have them move from the non-spicy to the spicier -- let the server know which one they liked best. Not only is this an inexpensive course of action, it lets restaurants avoid disappointing experiences and allows for an inexpensive teaser at the start of a meal.

sandworm101 8y ago

Been eating and making curry for years. From scratch, not powders. I cannot stand when someone tones down a dish because of my skin colour.

YeGoblynQueenne 8y ago

Mnyeah. That sort of attitude has definitely turned out to be good advertisement for "Indian" cuisine in the UK. All the lads here will compete with each other to be the one to eat the spiciest curry, just to show how tough they are, presumably. One place I visited once even handed out certificates for the "Flaming Rectum Society" to my friends who ordered their Vindaloo. To be honest, I find all this posturing a bit naff. Where I come from (Greece), when we say that a food is "spicy" we mean it's fragrant - not hot. I personally use at least half a dozen spices when I cook- cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, white and black pepper, paprika, kayenne pepper, cinnamon, allspice, clove, ginger, turmeric and even a bit of fennel. Those are all "spices", only one of them is hot and they're all meant to make your food a pleasure to eat, not a competition for who has the biggest ... ... tolerance to pain? Well, I guess now we have learned that non-westerners are tougher than westerners. I'm sure that must be useful information, somehow. One day I may even understand how. Btw, hot dishes go great with yoghurt, beause it takes away the burning feeling.