Tyler Cowen reports that, in a step backwards, “Lasagne has replaced chicken tikka massala as the favourite dish of Britons.” [The step backwards is Tyler’s interpretation, not mine. I’ve always been fond of Lasagna, and indifferent towards CTM]

Although Tyler is quoting the Beeb, he fails to quote the whole three sentences of the passage, which would explain their methodology for arriving at such a conclusion:

Lasagne has replaced chicken tikka massala as the favourite dish of Britons. Sainsbury’s sold 13.9 million lasagne ready meals and just 7.4 million chicken tikka massalas last year. Tesco sold 9.8 million lasagnes and 6.3 million chicken tikka massalas.

If the best way to find a country’s national dish is to look at their choice of frozen food entr&eacutees, then clearly we are losing ground to the Italians. Still, I doubt that curry will be easily dislodged from that special place in a Briton’s heart: even racist yobs eat curry before going out to work it off with a spot of PakiBashing. I suspect that curry has simply become so British to most Brits, that to them Lasagne is a far more exotic food item, one with a bit more pizzazz. They’ll be back. If not, we’ll deploy our secret weapon: Gobi Aloo.

Speaking of frozen CTK, when I spent a few weeks living in London I conducted a taste test by trying different frozen versions from different supermarkets. What I found was that the higher end supermarkets (like Sainsbury’s) had used superior ingredients (thus accounting for the higher cost of their entr&eacutee) but fewer spices, and that the best frozen CTK came from the lowest rent supermarket, a rather shady Safeway in a place I didn’t want to be caught after dark.

p.s. anybody know how to get accents above my “e”s, I’m embarassed to say “entree” Thanks Andrea. And merci for letting my spelling error pass unremarked! p.p.s. I have no idea what stat means, I’ve just always wanted to say it

A new, high-end French-Indian fusion restaurant, IndeBlue, just opened in Washington, D.C. with two tandoori ovens, a wine bar and a lounge. The chef, Vikram Garg, was formerly the head chef at the Leela Kempinski Palace in Bangalore.

The style sounds fusion rather than the Indo-French cooking of Pondicherry, as exemplified by London’s La Porte des Indes. Quick, we need a food scout from the lowland swamp. DCist went and made me even hungrier:

Coldren told us in October that Garg is a master at “controlling spices” and the menu marries the best of French and Indian cuisine. Some examples: Petite Provencal naan with sundried tomato chutney; wild mushroom dosa… with bleu cheese gratin with white truffle oil; scallops scented with cumin on a bed of braised chicory; and veal-stuffed gnocchi served with chanterelles and infused with a fenugreek-chardonnay sauce.

More from the WaPo’s Tom Sietsema (any relation to the Village Voice food critic?):

One quiet thrill follows a request for saffron-and-cardamom-flavored ice cream. A waiter shows up at the table with a potato ricer filled with the cold stuff; a powerful squeeze of the ricer’s handles pushes it through dozens of tiny holes, creating a plateful of creamy noodles.

It’s definitely not a traditional restaurant — beef samosas, anyone?

It was perhaps one of most lavish non-political parties Washington has seen in quite some time… at least one woman, painted as a forest nymph, walked about the place in A Midsummer Night’s Dream-esque fashion.

Of the dishes, the beef samosa was the most interesting. Since using beef is traditionally prohibited in Indian cuisine, the combination tasted rather novel… we only had a chance to sample the lychee and mango martinis. Both were worth the wait…

Continue reading →

I’ve always hated korma; I’m not sure what that says about me, but the next time I order Aloo Vindaloo at Gaylord’s Ghirardelli, I’m going to smirk as I think of this survey from England:

One fifth of men questioned for Sky digital and Star Plus’ National Curry Week (October 17 – 24) survey said, they had eaten a vindaloo curry to impress a lady or their friends! When it comes to impressing friends or members of the opposite sex Lancashire has the toughest taste buds with over 20 per cent who have braved a vindaloo in the face of peer pressure. Whilst those in Newcastle seem to have the puniest palette and are least likely (7 per cent) to indulge in hot and spicy dishes to win over friends and lovers!

Women seem to be tongue-challenged when it comes to vindaloos. The findings show four in 10 men like their curries hot or extremely hot compared to only one in 10 women. Two-thirds (62 per cent) of women questioned admit they like mild curries, such as a korma.

Star Plus’ spokeswoman, Suruchi Sthalekar said: “The results are hilarious, I can just imagine the scenes in curry houses and homes across the UK. To think men measure their sexual prowess against the spiciness of their curry. And I would urge all woman to go out there and try vindaloo today to prove we can handle it.”

Handle it? I consummately require it. 😉

The mountain comes to Muhammad: You’ve probably heard of the FedEx-like reliability of tiffinwallas of Bombay. Five thousand tiffinwallas deliver 175,000 hot lunches from home to work every day, and empty tiffins back home, with only one error every 16 million deliveries. This six-sigma error rate puts Indian bureaucracy to shame. And, as Forbes reported, all for just 150 rupees/month:

Each tiffin carrier has, painted on its top, a number of symbols which identify where the carrier was picked up, the originating and destination stations and the address to which it is to be delivered.

Well, one tiffinwalla who cooks his own food is expanding into New York, via a friend:

My cousin just recommended this guy (Krishna) in NYC who delivers packed Indian vegetarian lunch or dinner boxes for $5 a meal. He only works Mon-Fri, so it’s $25 a week (this includes deliver). Apparently, each meal includes 2 chapatis, rice, dal, one vegetable, appetizer, dessert and pickle/chutney. My cousin is very health conscious and swears that Krishna’s meal is cooked with very little oil. Though I would share the number with you – 212 945 ####.

And let’s not forget the dosa guy at the southwest corner of Washington Square Park (weekdays at lunch):

[Designer Alpana] Bawa does admit a lunchtime weakness for dosas found at a cart in Washington Square Park (New York Dosa, 917-710-2092), made by Sri Lankan Dhiru Kumar. “I’m on my way,” she tells Kumar on her cell phone, not even identifying herself. “Can you have a Pondicherri dosa ready for me in a few minutes?” Bawa asks… When we arrive, Kumar hands Bawa a Styrofoam container with her dosa — spicy potatoes, carrots and peppers in a thin crepe made from rice and lentil flours.

Ah, the benefits of living in a maximum city. Continue reading →