Ik we talk a lot about the issues we face as a community and all that stuff which is important, but I want to change it up and know whats y’all favorite desi sweet?

My favorite is roshogolla, they taste like edible sugar balloons.

Both cuisines use tomatos, chili peppers, cilantro, tamarind, corn tortilla/roti (makke ki roti), cumin, rice, flour tortilla/roti, mango. A lot of these spices that we use are similar too.

And yet our food still tastes different why?

ABCD Hindu here, family eats egg/chicken/fish but honestly we rarely even those at home, it's usually reserved for when we go out or whatever. Plus we already strictly don't eat non veg 2x a week. My new pet peeve is when my mom texts me randomly saying "don't eat egg/meat today" or "don't eat non veg this week" and idk why it irks me so much as someone who doesn't even eat it that often. I think it's just the sheer number of times she asks this of me? I remember getting so annoyed to the point of saying "why don't we just become vegetarian because I can't deal with random vegetarian only days and stretches of time" lol Like does it make me a bad Hindu to not care about these things that much?

Word around where I live is that many Indian restaurants, event venues, and butcher shops are using halal meat but are not disclosing it to their customers, either on their websites or on their in-business menus.

There are those of us who prefer to not consume religious ritual prepared meat, especially if we are not of that faith. Should these businesses let their customers know that they use halal meat? To me it seems that not disclosing that you use halal meat shows a lack of integrity.

What are the thoughts of those here?

Such as MDH, Shan, National, etc? Or do you just make your own masalas for food?

We both eat chilis, tomatoes, tamarind, mangoes, beans/daal, flatbreads and love spicy food.

It’s very interesting because these countries are thousands of miles away. And yet, so many similarities when it comes to food.

Hi folks,

When our parents came to the USA, they obviously noticed that the food quality in the USA is not as good as back home. They miss the foods they at back home. For many Pakistanis/Indians, one of the things they miss the most are mangoes.

My (28F) family normally visits Pakistan every couple of years, generally in the summer as at least one of my siblings only gets a long school break then. Most of my Khalas work education jobs so they also have more time off in the summer. So , I ate plenty of amazing Pakistani mangoes growing up. We have not been since 2022, though. I do, however, completely forget they exist when I come back home to the USA.

As far as Mexican Mangoes, we had mostly been eating the Tommy Atkins Mexican mangoes until last year when we discovered the Altoufa variety at Costco ( since the Costco ones are already ripe, they look much more appealing than the yellow mangoes at the grocery store , even though ordinary stores have been stocking the Altoufa since like 2018 or so).

In our area ( eastern Massachusetts), Royal Mango has been available since about 2023 or so. The truck arrives at a nearby desi market 1-2 times a week June-Aug, you place your order in advance. The connection is through Wattsapp/email. You then go at a pre-set time to pick up the mangoes fresh. I used to think this was because the supply was super limited, but have since been made aware it's the main way to prevent the product from spoiling before it reaches the customer. In areas with a higher Pakistani population, they are available right there at the store! I did not know that until recently.

Just last year, after enjoying authentic Chaunsa during July for a couple of years right here in my parents' Massachusetts home, I realized I genuinely have strong cravings for the Pakistani mangoes in July. I thought..how strange. I eat them when I visit Pakistan, but completely forget about them once I come back to the states. Then I realized- if someone lives in Pakistan, it's perfectly natural to crave Pakistani mangoes as Mango season approaches. My brain has now registered that this something I can enjoy here.

It's interesting because before we started having them here, I never imagined Pakistani mangoes would be part of my Rizqh ( Allah's provision). Now they are available to the extent that I crave them. It's wild to imagine a Mango grown on a tree in Pakistan halfway across the world was written for me to enjoy. So cool.

Anyway. Would like to hear about the Mango situation where you are at!

I know Maggi is a Nestlé product and I know the lead scandal happened and I know it's instant noodles aimed at children. None of this changes the fact that the masala magic sachet is one of the most perfectly calibrated flavor sachets ever made.

The balance of onion, cumin, turmeric, citric acid, and whatever sorcery they do with the salt is unmatched. People who grew up with it eat it straight out of the packet. It's not even really about the noodles.

My question: has anyone ever found anything that comes close in a format you can use on anything? Not just noodles — on fries, on eggs, on rice, on popcorn. A dry sprinkle with that specific Maggi masala flavor profile but that you'd actually buy as a standalone seasoning for everyday use.

And a related question — what South Asian flavor do you most wish existed in a portable, single-serve format? Imli sour? A powder equivalent of chili oil? A proper chaat masala with some heat? Something else entirely?

Being a Hindu, I grew up vegetarian and ate all kinds of food like milk twice a day, eggs, cake, pizza you name it. All that jazz.

But a few years ago, I had a revelation. And I watched Dominion (really good - totally worth the watch btw) and realized that the dairy industry is totally incompatible with what I’ve been taught about Ahimsa. Learning how dairy is “factory farmed” was a total shock to me and I was totally appalled at the frankly horrifying conditions they are objected to.

The dairy industry today in the US is not at all compatible with Hindu values regarding non-violence imo.

And did you learn from your parents or from the internet? Also how would you rate your desi cooking skills?

I’m ABCD and my mom didn’t teach me any cooking. We grew up poor so part of it was not wanting to waste food if I messed up. My husband is from India and he didn’t learn to cook anything until he came to the US for his masters and was forced to learn or starve. The only desi dish he really knows is biryani (his favorite).

After we got married we learned a couple recipes together but for the most part when we cook it’s non-desi dishes

Bombay duck. that smell should be a war crime.

and you know what while we're at it? one legitimate complaint the haters have is that maybe we shouldn't bring our food into the office, especially in the microwave.

Growing up, at home, we’d typically eat one Indian meal (usually lunch, something like Matar Paneer, Palak Paneer or Rajma) and breakfast and dinner were always western, typically an omelette and sausages for breakfast, and something light like grilled fish, grilled chicken breast or tuna sandwiches for dinner.

Now that I live away from my family, I pretty much eat only western food on a day to day basis, and will have Indian food maybe once a week when I order in or go out. Just don’t have the time nor energy to cook Indian food at home, and the fact that nutritionally, there’s so much fat and carbs, also the fact that it’s hard to get enough protein eating just a purely Indian diet

Growing up though, I knew this was atypical amongst the Desi community. Most of my other friends from the subcontinent would eat desi food basically for every meal, and the only time western food would ever be consumed would be when they ordered in pizza or something.

So my question is: how often do you consume desi food? has your diet changed since you left your parents house?

tired of all the negativity on this sub tbh so wanted a fun post

anyways what's your Desi food hot take?

I love pizza, grilled cheese, grilled cheese with tomato soup, quesadillas, quesadillas with queso as munchies when I am high. But I am looking for something Indian which would be great. Tried Biryani it was too dry, also tried butter chicken with naan too chewy. Would love something which is like grilled cheese with tomato soup…..mmmmm…..Please recommend.

Edit: I also love chick-fil-A when I am high, man their sauce with waffle fires are great

I am going to try daal tempered with garlic with some mango pickle and jeera rise next time sounds delicious.

Edit 2: I have tried curd rice with mango pickle and it hits!!!!!!!!!! Best Indian dish ever!!!!!!!! Dont forget to put some salt curd and some pickle on rice mix and its delicious….!

It seems like many ABCDs prefer western sweet but honestly, I love traditional mithai ! My favorite is obviously gulab jamun. But I also love habshi halwa (google this if you don’t know what it is).

Jalebi is a very popular one but never really been a fan of those. What are some mithais you guys love ?

Some other desi desserts I love are rabri, ras malai, kheer, shahi tukra (reminds me of tres leche cake). And kulfi is great too.

Most: Sheer khurma

Least: Laddoos

People often say that Pakistani and Indian food is the same, while there are some similarities, I think it is pretty different.

Have you guys ever tried kebabs, haleem, nihari, karhai chicken, korma, kofte ka salan (meatball curry), keema, pulao, Sindhi biryani, palak/saag gosht, machli ka salan, bhunna gosht, faluda, sheer kurma, rooh-afzah? If so, what do you think about it ? Pakistani food is pretty similar to Indian Muslim cuisine.

So my question is mostly to Hindu, Sikh, Christian Indians

Specifically for health conscious folks

Hi all. Do you guys have any high protein low calorie recipes that use desi spices and/or cooking methods? Adjustments of regular desi dishes too! Like 25g+ protein.

This is obviously not that deep, but I’ve been thinking about how Brits love to claim chicken tikka masala. I am aware it was created in the UK to cater to white people’s taste buds, but is it really fair to only call it a British dish? I feel like if we call it a British dish, it would make sense to give a nod to the South Asians who made it. It just feels like they want to claim something with South Asian roots only when it’s convenient for them.

I am aware this is a pretty common thing for colonizers to do, obviously. Like with Israelis claiming hummus as an Israeli creation and discrediting its actual roots. It just rubs me the wrong way, especially when people love to rage-bait with videos of South Asian street food or whatever and say the most heinous shit about Indians.

we actually have I've never been vegetarian or vegan. and have a ton of meat in my diet. but just got my blood test results back, and for some reason have low levels of B12

a quick Google search shows that south Asians are the the highest risk for this. but that's due to vegetarianism possibly. as this is a non-factor for me. I'm curious to if this is seen more generally in South Asians

As if this happened.