India & Pakistan Taste Test

Hyderabad's Biryani is the best.

I ate Biryani at a Pakistani place in South Florida. It was good. But Hyderabad's Biryani is still the best for me.
 
Since i own a restaurant and have some experience in this matter,i would say the Awadhi Biriyani beats all.
 
Don't you guys prepare it with boiled potatoes? [MENTION=136588]CricketCartoons[/MENTION]

We shall pardon your ignorance here.

Potatoes in Biryani is a variation and is not the traditional style.

Biryani has many variations among different regions.

Potatoes in Biryani was actually developed for the Hindus in Indian sub continent because they couldn't eat meat or because people were too poor to buy meat, over time it became a variant of Biryani itself.

However traditional Biryani is made with chicken or some kind of meat.

If you are implying that Pakistani Biryani is inferior to Indian Biryani because there are potatoes in a single variation of the many different types of Biryanis in Pakistan, then you need to be educated.

Have you ever heard of Kolkatta Biryani? Its a Biryani made of potatoes and eggs :najam

Last I heard Kolkatta aka Calcutta was not in Pakistan :danish
 
We shall pardon your ignorance here.

Potatoes in Biryani is a variation and is not the traditional style.

Biryani has many variations among different regions.

Potatoes in Biryani was actually developed for the Hindus in Indian sub continent because they couldn't eat meat or because people were too poor to buy meat, over time it became a variant of Biryani itself.

However traditional Biryani is made with chicken or some kind of meat.

If you are implying that Pakistani Biryani is inferior to Indian Biryani because there are potatoes in a single variation of the many different types of Biryanis in Pakistan, then you need to be educated.

Have you ever heard of Kolkatta Biryani? Its a Biryani made of potatoes and eggs :najam

Last I heard Kolkatta aka Calcutta was not in Pakistan :danish

potatoes in Biriyani in Kolkata has nothing to do with Hindus.Most Hindus eat meat in bengal.Eating meat is a staple for bengali hindus.

Biriyani was brought to Bengal when Nawab Wazil Ali Shah was exiled here.He brought his own cooks from lucknow.After the nawab died all these people were largely unemployed.So they set up these biriyani shops in areas were the muslim settlers from Lucknow had settled.And since most of them were poor or unemployed they couldnot afford so much meat and hence a potato was added to the mix to complememt the meat.Even today the biriyani hub of Kolkata is Park Circus and its surrounding areas,a muslim dominated locality.

So the adding egg in Biriyani had nothing to do with Hindus or any religion.
 
Don't dismiss something without having it first. Aloo gives normal chicken biryani a whole new dimension.

Sindhi biryani trumps all other kinds of biryani.


Allah ka karam hai
Biryani garam hai
 
The Pakistani biryani is 10x better than Indian biryani.

Which version of Indian Biryani? Mughlai? Hyderbadi? Awadhi? Kerala style? Nizam style? Bengali style? Ambur style? Which one have you tried?
 
Don't dismiss something without having it first. Aloo gives normal chicken biryani a whole new dimension.

Sindhi biryani trumps all other kinds of biryani.


Allah ka karam hai
Biryani garam hai
Yo have u had Biryani Center in Karachi? That's one of the GOAT places.
 
Hyderabad's Biryani is the best.

I ate Biryani at a Pakistani place in South Florida. It was good. But Hyderabad's Biryani is still the best for me.

I ate biryani from Paradise Biryani Point, its a pretty famous hyderabadi joint and their dum Biryani was on the next level. I would say it was probably the best biryani I've had in the states.
 
Damn, now I have to have biryani for lunch. Damn you guys
 
Problem you have here is that both sides will try and claim a shared heritage as their own.

You have lots of vendors in Karachi for example selling Hyderabadi Biryani. Nihari and Haleem are also really popular in Pakistan, and you will have lots of posters who will say that these form an integral part of "Pakistani" cuisine - but these dishes originate from Delhi, and are still enjoyed by the local populace. They are not from Punjab/Sindh/KP/Baluchistan.
 
Problem you have here is that both sides will try and claim a shared heritage as their own.

You have lots of vendors in Karachi for example selling Hyderabadi Biryani. Nihari and Haleem are also really popular in Pakistan, and you will have lots of posters who will say that these form an integral part of "Pakistani" cuisine - but these dishes originate from Delhi, and are still enjoyed by the local populace. They are not from Punjab/Sindh/KP/Baluchistan.

That would suggest then that a lot of these dishes owe their heritage to Mughal influnece which perhaps explains why Pakistanis lay claim to them.
 
That would suggest then that a lot of these dishes owe their heritage to Mughal influnece which perhaps explains why Pakistanis lay claim to them.

Some dishes do have Mughal/Turkic influence - but then Pakistan is not the sole inheritor of Mughal culture.

Tbh, strictly so called influence of 'Mughal' culture in Sindh and Punjab on a historical basis is negligable. The greatest centres of Mughal culture are in India, with the exception of perhaps Lahore.

Like I said before, dishes like Haleem, Nihari, etc are from the Mughal epicentre of Delhi. If the townspeople of West Punjab, Sindh, KP and Baluchistan then claim some sort of lose inheritance to it, despite proabably having never of heard of it till quite recently, it doesn't quite sit right.

Much to the same way in which I, as a British citizen, suddenly start staking claim to the glorious way the Britsh empire was run, and how 'we' "civilized the world", wheras my ancestors were probably illterate farmers sitting in Punjab.

But you are then moving onto the question of what Pakistan then sees itself as.
 
Some dishes do have Mughal/Turkic influence - but then Pakistan is not the sole inheritor of Mughal culture.

Tbh, strictly so called influence of 'Mughal' culture in Sindh and Punjab on a historical basis is negligable. The greatest centres of Mughal culture are in India, with the exception of perhaps Lahore.

Like I said before, dishes like Haleem, Nihari, etc are from the Mughal epicentre of Delhi. If the townspeople of West Punjab, Sindh, KP and Baluchistan then claim some sort of lose inheritance to it, despite proabably having never of heard of it till quite recently, it doesn't quite sit right.

Much to the same way in which I, as a British citizen, suddenly start staking claim to the glorious way the Britsh empire was run, and how 'we' "civilized the world", wheras my ancestors were probably illterate farmers sitting in Punjab.

But you are then moving onto the question of what Pakistan then sees itself as.

I suppose you could ask yourself the same question as what India sees itself as seeing as Dehli itself would have been a veggy dominated diet before arrival of the Mughal dynasty.
 
I suppose you could ask yourself the same question as what India sees itself as seeing as Dehli itself would have been a veggy dominated diet before arrival of the Mughal dynasty.

Common misconception - of course there was meat consumption across the SC before the arrivals of Turks/Mughals/Persians. Chances are hardcore vegeterianism rose amongst Hindus because of the challenge first Buddhism and then later Islam, brought to Hindusim. As a community is threatened it becomes more secular and insular.

India as a state is more comfortable, (or should I say, used to be more comfortable), with what it is. It has/had no qualms of claiming both Mughal, Turkic, Persian, and pre-existing Indic culture as its own. Lucknowi Kebabs are no more or less Indian than Nihari or Daal Chawal.

Whether this changes with a government more inclined to Hindu revivalism is again, another question. But the BJP will find it pretty difficult to reverse 1000 years of history.
 
Common misconception - of course there was meat consumption across the SC before the arrivals of Turks/Mughals/Persians. Chances are hardcore vegeterianism rose amongst Hindus because of the challenge first Buddhism and then later Islam, brought to Hindusim. As a community is threatened it becomes more secular and insular.

India as a state is more comfortable, (or should I say, used to be more comfortable), with what it is. It has/had no qualms of claiming both Mughal, Turkic, Persian, and pre-existing Indic culture as its own. Lucknowi Kebabs are no more or less Indian than Nihari or Daal Chawal.

Whether this changes with a government more inclined to Hindu revivalism is again, another question. But the BJP will find it pretty difficult to reverse 1000 years of history.

I don't really see much difference in either Pakistan or India's positions to be honest, both are quite comfortable to adopt foreign cuisines and adapt to their own. The only difference here is that Pakistanis will claim some as their own, and you want to claim them for India.

What I find more intriguing is that you won't get Pakistanis claiming South Indian food such as dosas or idli, the crossover does seem to be around North India/Pakistan which again suggests the Mughal influence.
 
I don't really see much difference in either Pakistan or India's positions to be honest, both are quite comfortable to adopt foreign cuisines and adapt to their own. The only difference here is that Pakistanis will claim some as their own, and you want to claim them for India.

What I find more intriguing is that you won't get Pakistanis claiming South Indian food such as dosas or idli, the crossover does seem to be around North India/Pakistan which again suggests the Mughal influence.

I do not want to claim them for India. I am saying that there is a shared heritage which both countries need to acknowledge, rather than say they are sole proprietors.

And yes, Pakistanis wont claim South Indian food. As Pakistani's are "North Indians" who happen to be Muslim. The Mughals did not come and push all dosa eaters down south.

Unsure why you want to keep pushing the Mughals. Pakistan is not some sort of Mughal successor state, and there is a lot more to Indo-Islamic history than the Mughal dynasty.
 
Indians cant cook.

A few years ago five of us friends (2 Pakistanis, an indian and 2 americans) must have sampled atleast 25 different desi restaurants in Philadelphia, NYC and NJ over the course of a summer. Prolly split was 15 indian, 8 pakistan and 2 hyprids (nepali owned).

And the general consensus was that Pakistani restaurants left Indian ones in the dust as far as pure taste was concerned. As my friend put it when questioned why this was so - , "Indians just don't know how to cook."

Btw these were all sorts of restaurants. High end or cheap, hole in the wall and everything in between.

Generally Indian restaurants were better in service, decor etc though.
 
Indians cant cook.

A few years ago five of us friends (2 Pakistanis, an indian and 2 americans) must have sampled atleast 25 different desi restaurants in Philadelphia, NYC and NJ over the course of a summer. Prolly split was 15 indian, 8 pakistan and 2 hyprids (nepali owned).

And the general consensus was that Pakistani restaurants left Indian ones in the dust as far as pure taste was concerned. As my friend put it when questioned why this was so - , "Indians just don't know how to cook."

Btw these were all sorts of restaurants. High end or cheap, hole in the wall and everything in between.

Generally Indian restaurants were better in service, decor etc though.

The Indian non-veg dishes don't hold a candle to our non-veg dishes. Indian's don't know how to cook meat and don't know what a good meat dish is like.

Here in the U.S. I met a few Indians who talked about butter chicken, which is Delhi speciality. I tried it and it is nothing in comparison to a Pakistani chicken karahi.

Of course any veg dish no matter how good it might be, cannot compete with anything non-veg.
 
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I do not frequent Indian restaurants here but the ones that I have been too had amazing veggie dishes and not so good non-veggie dishes. Since when I eat out I prefer having non-veg therefore I go mostly to Pakistani places and not Indian.
 
Yeah I prefer Biryani center over Student Biryani. Indus Biryani is pretty good too..

I tried Student Biryani in 2011 when I was in Karachi and was really good, but it was not as spicy as I was told.
 
I do not want to claim them for India. I am saying that there is a shared heritage which both countries need to acknowledge, rather than say they are sole proprietors.

And yes, Pakistanis wont claim South Indian food. As Pakistani's are "North Indians" who happen to be Muslim. The Mughals did not come and push all dosa eaters down south.

Unsure why you want to keep pushing the Mughals. Pakistan is not some sort of Mughal successor state, and there is a lot more to Indo-Islamic history than the Mughal dynasty.

No one is trying to "push" Mughals or claim Pakistan is some sort of successor state.It's just history and provides a logical reason for influence of other cultures on Indian food. If you can provide a better alternative view for such dishes then feel free to do so instead of arguing over who should claim what.
 
I do not frequent Indian restaurants here but the ones that I have been too had amazing veggie dishes and not so good non-veggie dishes. Since when I eat out I prefer having non-veg therefore I go mostly to Pakistani places and not Indian.

My experience has been that Pakistanis do meat dishes better, but I much prefer the Indian versions of veg dishes for the most part. Just like they can't cook meat dishes I don't think we do the veg dishes that well. South Indians in particular are more creative.
 
Indians cant cook.

A few years ago five of us friends (2 Pakistanis, an indian and 2 americans) must have sampled atleast 25 different desi restaurants in Philadelphia, NYC and NJ over the course of a summer. Prolly split was 15 indian, 8 pakistan and 2 hyprids (nepali owned).

And the general consensus was that Pakistani restaurants left Indian ones in the dust as far as pure taste was concerned. As my friend put it when questioned why this was so - , "Indians just don't know how to cook."

Btw these were all sorts of restaurants. High end or cheap, hole in the wall and everything in between.

Generally Indian restaurants were better in service, decor etc though.

Can only speak for London here, but in terms of local restuarants, would say that Pakistani restuarants for meat are better. Case in point are Tayabbs and Lahore Kebab House. There is no Indian punjabi run restuarant which comes close. Indian Gujarati places all tend to be veg, so can't compare. Dishoom is a place doing well for Bombay Irani style food though.

However, Indians have cornered high end or fine dining market. There is no Pakistani run high end desi restuarant as far as I am aware of. Wheras if you want to get the best made, and innovative desi food, you have to go to places like Benares, Amaya, etc, all of which are Indian run and owned.

Its the difference of going to a dhabba or going to a 5* hotel in indo/pak parlance
 
No one is trying to "push" Mughals or claim Pakistan is some sort of successor state.It's just history and provides a logical reason for influence of other cultures on Indian food. If you can provide a better alternative view for such dishes then feel free to do so instead of arguing over who should claim what.

Alternative claim in what sense? All I said is that food heritage is shared - there is no such thing as a 'Pakistani' or 'Indian' Biryani.

Its also naive to say one thing is Mughal, and the other thing is Indian. Its a bit more complex than that.

If thats a bit difficult to comprehend, then sorry.
 
Just like they can't cook meat dishes I don't think we do the veg dishes that well. South Indians in particular are more creative.

There is plenty of non-vegetarian food to be found in peninsular and South India. It is different compared to mughlai non-vegetarian.

Kerala and Chettinad cusine in South India are mostly non-vegetarian and rich in seafood. As are Karwari cuisine (from the west coast of India) and coastal Andhra and Oriya (from the east coast). The north east of India has its own cuisine where pork is staple.

The problem is that one can hardly find food from these places outside India.
 
Alternative claim in what sense? All I said is that food heritage is shared - there is no such thing as a 'Pakistani' or 'Indian' Biryani.

Its also naive to say one thing is Mughal, and the other thing is Indian. Its a bit more complex than that.

If thats a bit difficult to comprehend, then sorry.

Except no one said one thing is Mughal and the other is Indian. I suggested that Mughals will have had influence on Indian cuisine, same as no doubt many other cultures did down the centuries. If you want to provide a more complex and layered background then by all means do so. No need to worry about my comprehension, no doubt others will benefit from your knowledge even if I can't grasp it.
 
the Arabs have a Biryani and so does Singapore..both are pretty bland tbh
 
My experience has been that Pakistanis do meat dishes better, but I much prefer the Indian versions of veg dishes for the most part. Just like they can't cook meat dishes I don't think we do the veg dishes that well. South Indians in particular are more creative.

There is a reason for that .. The non-vegetarian food culture of north India is more or less derived from the Persians/Mughal rule with the exception of Bengali/North-Eastern food.

But down south we have a hybrid mixture of multiple cuisines. Islam came to the south via Arab traders during the age of the Prophet itself ,not the persians. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_in_Kerala

Again the Portugese landed in the 15th Century, followed by the Dutch and French & English. Mostly seeking the spices of India. Along with establishing their political power & Christianity here, they also brought about their food culture here .This lead to a gradual mixing up of varied cusines of Arab,European and Indian origin over 400-500 years.

So you'll find a huge variety of Non-Vegetarian preparations in South , especially Kerala which are drastically different from the typical Mughal cuisine from up north. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuisine_of_Kerala#Historical_and_cultural_influences
 
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There is plenty of non-vegetarian food to be found in peninsular and South India. It is different compared to mughlai non-vegetarian.


The problem is that one can hardly find food from these places outside India.

What irks me is that pretty much every one of these cultural comparisons between Ind-Pak only cosiders the North & North West of India.
You keep on ignoring the food cultures of South and the Southern Peninsula , Coastal India and the North East. Many of these parts of India have maintained a culture which predates what we find in the North. Acknowledging that is a major part of figuring out what a complex country that India is .
 
Can someone tell me where the Mughal Cuisine is rooted in ? Is it Arabian food or Persian (Iran and surroundings ) ?
 
Can someone tell me where the Mughal Cuisine is rooted in ? Is it Arabian food or Persian (Iran and surroundings ) ?
I'm pretty sure it's Persian. Mughal and Persian culture were very similar in many ways.
 
Hyderabad's Biryani is the best.

I ate Biryani at a Pakistani place in South Florida. It was good. But Hyderabad's Biryani is still the best for me.

:facepalm: Never compare Desi food outside of Desiland to the food in Desiland, never. Most of the time it is prepared to suit white people and therefore the food is often tasteless and very bland.
 
I suppose you could ask yourself the same question as what India sees itself as seeing as Dehli itself would have been a veggy dominated diet before arrival of the Mughal dynasty.

You know very little about India. All you know is North India which you believe is the India. I suggest you check your facts before making statements.
 
:facepalm: Never compare Desi food outside of Desiland to the food in Desiland, never. Most of the time it is prepared to suit white people and therefore the food is often tasteless and very bland.

That place was recommended to me by some friends. They said it was the closest to authentic Pak Biryani.

I do agree that most Indian restaurants serve trashy food in US.

However some South Indian restaurants are pretty awesome. Still a couple of steps below when compared to the food you get in India.
 
Indians cant cook.

Did you mean to say indians living in india can't cook or NRI's? Because indians cooking in india with indian ingredients are much different than those cooking outside india. I will never compare these two. Even NRI's avoid eating spicy food in India.
 
the Arabs have a Biryani and so does Singapore..both are pretty bland tbh

Even Malaysia has biryani..That's what I found when I was visiting KL this year. Amirite [MENTION=136079]ahmedwaqas92[/MENTION]?


It seems whoever puts meat in rice they call it biryani lol
 
Did you mean to say indians living in india can't cook or NRI's? Because indians cooking in india with indian ingredients are much different than those cooking outside india. I will never compare these two. Even NRI's avoid eating spicy food in India.

He obviously means NRIs that have opened Indian restaurants outside of India.

Otherwise it would have been a pretty big generalization of 1.3 billion people LOL
 
He obviously means NRIs that have opened Indian restaurants outside of India.

Otherwise it would have been a pretty big generalization of 1.3 billion people LOL

I agree with his opinion then. I have heard that too indian restaurants abroad don't have the same quality of food that is available in india. I guess same is true for pakistani food available in pakistan vs the one available outside.
 
Indians cant cook.

A few years ago five of us friends (2 Pakistanis, an indian and 2 americans) must have sampled atleast 25 different desi restaurants in Philadelphia, NYC and NJ over the course of a summer. Prolly split was 15 indian, 8 pakistan and 2 hyprids (nepali owned).

And the general consensus was that Pakistani restaurants left Indian ones in the dust as far as pure taste was concerned. As my friend put it when questioned why this was so - , "Indians just don't know how to cook."

Btw these were all sorts of restaurants. High end or cheap, hole in the wall and everything in between.

Generally Indian restaurants were better in service, decor etc though.

Have to agree. Tiny portions and no variation at all, everything is the same soggy stuff.

Pakistani restaurants overseas also have pathetic portion sizes, but they have taste and kick in them with the spices.

There's this one place about 2 hours from where I am with an incredible mutton karhai. Not a fan of karhai, but if you go to this place that should be the #1 thing to order. But it's in a tiny dish though lmao.
 
That place was recommended to me by some friends. They said it was the closest to authentic Pak Biryani.

I do agree that most Indian restaurants serve trashy food in US.

However some South Indian restaurants are pretty awesome. Still a couple of steps below when compared to the food you get in India.

Generally Pakistani meats are much more tastier and flavourful than Indian food here. South Indian meat and veggie food (in India) have much more flavour and spice than North Indian food. I always found Briyani here both Indian. Pakistani, Afghani very bland and I could never eat with out curry.
 
Another reason you find fewer South Indian restaurants compared to North Indian is that this whole "Go out for dinner" culture is far less prevalent in the Southern states compared to up north. Also we are traditionally a bit stingy when it comes to spending money on food /outings.
Unless you're in the middle east though. The Indian expat population of the Gulf is pretty much dominated by south Indians ( Especially Keralites ) . So you have a good chance of finding good South Indian Non-Veg up there. !
 
:facepalm: Never compare Desi food outside of Desiland to the food in Desiland, never. Most of the time it is prepared to suit white people and therefore the food is often tasteless and very bland.

Pretty much the situation with the "Chinese" restaurants in in India. We just spice up everything to suit our tastes and then call it Chinese. Hire a few north easteners to serve and its "authentic chinese" :14:
 
You know very little about India. All you know is North India which you believe is the India. I suggest you check your facts before making statements.

Or you could just correct me by providing more information yourself. But all you've done is tell me I know very little and should check some facts. So as far as I know what I said may well be correct and Dehli may well have had a veggy dominated diet before arrival of the Mughals.
 
That place was recommended to me by some friends. They said it was the closest to authentic Pak Biryani.

I do agree that most Indian restaurants serve trashy food in US.

However some South Indian restaurants are pretty awesome. Still a couple of steps below when compared to the food you get in India.

My cousin regularly eats at Bawarchi in the US, said he ate one "uzhavacharu biriyani" which is supposedly an Andhra special. Said it was great and a relief from the bland ones you normally find in the west. I do like the Hyderabad biriyani, but personally prefer the biriyani to be much spicier like you find with chettinadu cuisine, dindigul biryani, etc.
 
Lol @ blanket statement indian's cant cook. Just may be its not your taste?

And Indian restuarents abroad are crap..they try to catter to everybody!
 
Where was the south Indian food in the video?

I find South Indian food more appealing than the North Indian oil laden food.

The debate is between Indian and Pakistani food. Obviously you have to compare the foods that are made in both India and Pakistan. South Indian cuisine is very different to the Northy and Pak cuisine. Comparing Apples and Oranges.
The only food you could compare is the South Indian variety Biryani.

Biryani is not native to South India until the Nizams and Mughals showed up.
 
I tried any Indian food for the first time.

It was ready-made Paratha.

Ashoqa Hand Made Mixed Vegetable Paratha.


Was Good.



# Recommended
 
Pretty much the situation with the "Chinese" restaurants in in India. We just spice up everything to suit our tastes and then call it Chinese. Hire a few north easteners to serve and its "authentic chinese" :14:

Chinese-Indian, Chinese-Sri Lankan, Chinese-Bengali and etc food are actually much more tastier than than the "Chinese" food designed for North America and Europe. I can't stand the the authentic Chinese food that they consume in China. I can't even stand their smell. They probably feel the same about my Chicken 65 and Dosa/Dosai.
 
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