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The Curry Chronicles
In the West, Indian food has become a bland bastardization of the complex original.
Skimming across a menu at one of Los Angeles’s critically acclaimed ethnic Indian restaurants, I didn’t bother going past the first few entries. This was possibly my thirtieth visit to an Indian restaurant in the city over the years and—as expected—it was as generic as an Indian menu could be. I had envisioned the layout before I even opened it: the “beverage” section with the omnipresent chai tea and lassi, the food part right after—samosa with various fillings, an assortment of chaats and other street foods headlining the velvet covered menu. Next, a “tandoor” section with an assortment of meats,...
