Curry night - every Wednesday evening in Munich

Thanks IPJ

I am up for anything. I haven't been to Deeba and Bombay House so I am open for either. I will toss the coin if you want

Ok, just read Topsy's post so we will leave it to Winegirl

I don't remember you asking me BD

there seems to be some consensus for Safran near Wiener Platz.

I had a Deeba Balti again at the weekend and it was not as good as the one i had after the rugby. I fear that may have been a one-off

I have no idea, I was not part of that consensus. Fine with me, though, let the birthday girl choose!

Edit: I noticed someone commented about her being the birthday girl above, but I thought that was yesterday...

Bummer. Ok then, my obsession over trying Deeba is now over. I guess I'll just try it whenever I make it there.

Sorry to see that many people were not satisfied with the curry yesterday.

Though i'm not a regular visitor to many of the curry houses here (being a student hinders your outdoor extravaganzas ), here are some of my observations about the curry houses here...

Caution: These are my personal opinion and based on a single/two time visit to the said place. So make your own judgement before you do anything based on this.

1. Almost every restaurant here is North Indian (which is quite bad for me considering that i come from the South) and almost none serve "Authentic" North Indian food. I mean authentic in the sense the "exact" food that you can get in India. I cannot accept their excuse for serving "modified" Indian food to suit German/european tastes. In my opinion that defeats the whole purpose of a speciality restaurant. If you want to have indian food, be ready get your tongue (and arse) burnt. No excuses. Period. For the not so brave, you have upteen number of non-spicy (and amazing)dishes to choose from. (The economic viability of running an "authentic" restaurant among "spicephobic" germans is another thread and i dont want to go into that!)

2. Almost every restuarant has a basic suace for all things concerned with meat (and even dishes that use "paneer") and they just add/subtract some ingredients to alter the taste a little bit. I accept there is no big difference to some of the basic ingredients and the methods used to prepare them, BUT making a large amount of that basic sauce and tailoring it to different dishes is EXTREMELY different from preparing them ground up. You can really tell the difference in taste. (I base this comment only on my experiance of the taste of different items that i had and i dont know what "actually" happens in the kitchen. So i cant be sure)

3. They are very bad in handling very large groups. The only advice that i can give you is that if the group gets really large, please make sure its only YOUR event at the restaurant and ask him to give a small menu beforehand and CHOOSE beforehand what you are going to have. This way he has an exact idea what he is going to do. Otherwise, handling 20 different orders creates a havoc for the cook in the kitchen and he resorts to short cuts and the results show in your food.

4. The best way to order and enjoy indian food is not to order each plate separately, but the menu item separately. Thats how we eat in our homes back in India and suits everybody fine. If you are confused what i mean here, here is how it works. If the group is large (say around 20 people), order Naans (in quantities sufficient for 15 people), sauces (for 10 people), rice (15 people), if you are going in for chicken tikka, jalfrezi etc for 4 people and the like. Get this set up in relatively large containers placed in the middle of the table and help yourself. This is the only way i know when the cook can be really sure of preparing something real good. This way everybody gets to have a taste of all the dishes, and the chances are that you will taste atleast one food that is really good. Another advantage is that normally the portions are bigger in this case and everybody can eat to their hearts content.

5. The other day i had a small chat with the guy in Surahi. It was interesting and a bit funny. I always sweat a lot when i eat food (particularly hot spicy food) not because i can't take it, but because i just sweat. The guy saw this and came over to me and asked if i wanted my dish toned down. I said i'm perfectly fine and then they guy started his explanation for the hotness saying, they are not like the other restaurants who just put chilli to make it hot, but in Surahi they use "spices" to make the curry hot. I really dont know of any other "spice" other than chilli (red/green),ginger and cloves that can give you that sting in a souce. All the other spices are there for smell and other reasons. I asked him what "other" spice that they use and he didnt offer much explanation. I asked him why the ginger in my sauce was not ground but spliced and mixed, he goes,"we cant make fresh ginger and garlic paste everyday since they get bad very easily. So we prefer splicing them instead." I couldnt believe what he said. Normally it doesnt take more than 20 seconds to make a fresh ginger garlic paste in an Indian "mixie". And only when they are ground fresh, you get the actual taste of the spice. (I MAY be wrong here about the grinding thing in North indian dishes, but in the SOUTH we DEFINITELY grind them, no spliced ginger and garlic for us. May be roots can correct me on this).

So, in general i'm let down by the curries here and decided to take matters into my own hands. Just got the indian "mixie" sent from home so that i can grind fresh spices and do my own curries at home the way mom makes them. Now i'm happy and enjoy that authentic indian chicken curry whenever i want. Though i dont cook a variety of indian dishes, i can cook a nice chicken curry and once in a while the chicken briyani and that suits me fine.

My younger bro' is a chef (unfortunately continental, but he can cook south indian too) and may be someday i will open an "authentic" indian restuarant here. Who knows? may be someday i will be welcoming you!!! Till then enjoy the curry houses here..

PS: some of the restaurants that i found ok in my solitary visits are - surahi (got hot food), maharani (stiglmairplatz), punjabi (near isartor - the best value of money, cant be said the same about the ambience though), swagat (prinzregetenplatz). Some people might disagree on this, so ask the experianced curry hunter for "uptodate" info.

PPS: I'm too lazy to check for typos in such a big post. bear with me if there are any

PPS: Today is Tamil New Year. Made a very easy indian sweet for the guys at work. They loved it !!

I'm going to pick this place:


It's new to pretty much everyone who normally goes and we've heard good things about it. Sounds like it's a good place to give a shot.

I dunno. I personally don't think there's a problem with mild food here. Germans aren't used to it, and don't necessarily want exactly what you're used to. Their mild version suits them entirely and still has a distinctly different taste than your standard German food. Just because it's spicy doesn't mean it can't be good.

Here's an example on my side of things. When I was living in Holland, I went to a "Mexican" restaurant. The tortillas were more like crepes, and there was feta cheese on my tostada! Never in a million years would Mexicans put feta cheese on anything. But regardless of these oddities, it was still tasty food - just not Mexican. I wouldn't say that it would be pointless for the restaurant to exist, because it was still tasty food, regardless of the authenticity. That said, in my experience the authenticity and tastiness are usually proportional, so most "Mexican" restaurants in Europe suck. BUT, people here seem to like it...so be it...I don't have to see the point so long as they do.

Good post, though, electrobuzz - I think you hit the nail on the head in point 3. We just kind of descended on that place last night and gave them 2 hours' notice of a group approaching 30 people. It would be quite a tall order for any restaurant.
Happy New Year

It's just because they don't know what their missing. My roommate cooked some great mexican for a german friend of mine and she couldn't stop going on and on about how good and tasty it was. Maybe if they had more authentic stuff...then again germans don't like change.

Exactly. But, for me the word "authentic" means what it means. But in reality, i dont know if it will be economically feasible for me to run a restaurant when all my potential european customers avoid me beacause i'm too "authentic" .

Anyways, indian food is definitely distinct, even if its 100% authentic or 50 % authentic

But it's not just that they don't know what they're missing. It's not a flavor issue but a hot issue. People aren't just going to start liking hot, because someone else says that it tastes better. I mean, even in India, you must have people who prefer the mellower dishes, like Korma or the spinach dishes to the spicier ones. Not everyone equates hot with tasty.

The main problem with the service is that the waitors were just blinkered. They'd serve one or two people and then go back to the bar without looking at anyone else on the table/group of tables. It was very difficult to grab their attention.

Okay, we were a big group, but if they have that many seats then they should provide enough service to cater for those seats.

Oh, Surahi is best place for hot curries... we MUST go there again!!!

Even in india, most people wont like hot (= stinging sensation in your tongue caused due to lots of chillis) food. A very hot food numbs your tongue and you wont taste any other thing thats there in the food. When I mean hot, i mean a little hot and lot more SPICY. It is the spices that give a distinctive aroma to indian food and the taste to the dish. Chilli just adds hotness. I sometimes see people here using both "hot" and "spicy" to mean the same thing.

The only people who can handle real HOT food are those coming from the state of Andhra Pradesh (they had their new year two days back ). I dont think indians from other states can handle their food because it burns in your mouth. I literally cry when i eat their food. You people should try it once.

Good Indian food must not necessarily be hot. The stuff I have eaten in homes in northern India (Jaipur, Delhi and the north) was not that hot. It tends to be hotter in the south.

Sounds like foodwise I didn't miss much last night as they were overwhelmed!

As a suggestion to the person booking the table, maybe even telling the restaurant a day in advance there are a load converging on them may help.

Oh here's hoping I get to go out some day...

Agreed, of course. But even Mexican food has tasty dishes that aren't hot. Outside of Chef Bob's cooking I haven't found anything that comes close to comparing to even the better chain mexican restaurants. I think a Chevy's would do well of here. There stuff isn't really hot but it's tasty and a lot closer to Mexican than any other place has.

electrobuzz, tell us where to get the Andhra Pradesh hot dishes! I'm there!

I was only in southern India when I went but I had a hot dish once in three whole weeks -- and our Indian friend asked several times for hot. It was all great though.

the food was salty and mediocre, but the conversation!!! OG gave a fascinating discourse on the development of Rugby, Soccer and American football, and how the French got started playing rugby Charmed's colleague was talking about Quantum Theory and particularly Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, and we got talking about Lord of the rings and this time it did not kick off an argument about abortion.

Gen, unfortunaetly i dont know of any south indian restaurant here in munich.

In my WG, there are three people from Andhra Pradesh, and I wouldnt dare touch their preparations during dinner. I once had a room mate from AP, and ended up having ulcer after 6 months.

We win! Our table was talking about porn, which broke down into a discussion of computer viruses and malware, which broke down into a further discussion of porn, which triggered an unhappy recounting of a certain tale of woe which has led to the planned departure of one of ours even though it had nothing to do with porn.

I think I need to bring a laptop next time.

woof.

Our end of the table was even better, Doggie.
That was all phlegm, snot, bogies, not blowing your nose at the table, shagging, big fookers and little fookers (i.e. black pudding), bourbon whisky, my new mobile phone (have I mentioned it yet?), pub quiz team names and a nice job of chaperoning done by two persons present. And creme eggs.
Then it was all booze and motorbikes in the bar across the road.

I talked about golf.

Got told to shut up.

And yet you are still bringing up golf?

@ katrina, you forgot the fake tits

oooh, who was talking about bourbon? yummy yummy yummy. may have to join next time.

you weren't bragging again, were you Tops?

@Topsy - you're right, I forgot the fake tits. *tsk me*
@butterbean - UpQuark is your bourbon expert. I did not like what he was drinking in the Pacific Times though, I had Woodford Reserve (as that's the open bottle I have on the go at home currently).

BadDoggie, you are a geek.

100% natural, me - it was the woman on the poster with the fake doodahs

and her diaphragm earrings

and her necklace consisting of little foookers

earrings? now that's creative.

Woodford Reserve is ok, but my favorite is still Knob Creek. Not good for Manhattans though.

This from another know-it-all.

You say "geek" like it's a bad thing.

It's not like I was droning on about bad camera angles and how horrible the editing was because they kept splicing in the same 10 seconds between some other camera's shot and you could tell because...

I'll stop now.

woof.

i was just talking the other day about a lack of south indian food here i.e. eating joints!! i think that most people equate indian with north indian and to tell you the truth i think south indian (not AP) would be better suited as dosas (ymmm..) are not hot and with the veggies or soup they can be made to taste anyway... we need a south indian joint here any enterprising malayalis?

Wouldn't it just be easier eating brownies?

malyalis (the people from the state of kerala are called so, as they speak the language Malyalam) are known for setting up Tea Stalls, not restaurants in my state atleast. Every small town has a Tea shop run by a Malyali and there is a famous joke that goes " Neil Armstrong was offered chaaya (tea in malyalam) when he landed on the moon by a Mallu".

Kerala food is dominated by Coconut. Not sure if every body will like the taste of it though. But they have amazing stuff too.. the wonders of indian cuisine...

Since we are on the topic of south indian food... here's a very rough guide to the food from the south

Karnataka - these guys put sugar in almost anything..

Andhra Pradesh - very very HOT food

Tamil Nadu - Not very hot, but we have some very spicy food. Most of the food is prepared using steam and not oil. so very healthy.

Kerala - Not very hot at all. I hardly know any food item from this state that is hot. Use a lot of coconut in their food.

Actually, I think electrobuzz is onto something (and happy new year by the way). If I were to organise an event with 30+ people, I would talk with the restaurant, get a short menu of a few different items and get a better price. That way everything is likely to be fresher and tastier, cheaper and less chaos for the kitchen. Roots did something similar before, but that was just one item.

yes, Roots did his Hyderabadi biryani doodah in Sitar that time - the feedback on that was pretty good, I think
maybe we should have something similar?

@showem

well, i do have something on my mind about this authentic curry thing. But i'm not sure if i'm prepared to execute it in the near future. I love cooking and would love to cook for a few people... but my variety is very very limited and only south indian... so a bit hesitant..!!

oops... what have i gotten myself into?

this one is ready to eat and help in the making too

oooh, I suggest egg curry and masala dosa and idlis for a short list of south Indian dishes. (Sorry, can't tell which state does what...) And peanut uppma (sp) for breakfast the next day!

oh don't, I'm starving and then you go and mention my favourite indian food!

Where can you get a good sambar idli and masala dosa in Munich? i.e. food from Tamil nadu and the south, I guess...

If anyone finds some south indian dishes around here...pleeeease, please tell me...I just love masala dosa

Could not stop writing. Have been watching this thread since morning.

Wow, surprising to hear that people do have some idea about south Indian food. I always had big trouble explaining my german friends about the food when they ask me what do u have for breakfast .

Somebody talked about Hyderabadi Biryani, ummm dont think any restaurent in Munich can prepare it. U have to eat that in Hyd. only.

Really miss the food

Don't taint the good bourbon with anything other than maybe (maybe!) an ice cube. If you've gotta mix, use Early Times or Rebel Yell or something.

We now return you to a thread about curry.

the problem in making Idlis and Dosas is that they require very good batter made from the rice you get in india. They cant be made properly with the basmati rice unfortunately. And for Idli's u require a special vessel to steam cook. I think there is a south indian in the Munich Cricket Club and my friends had a nice south indian dinner at his place where his wife made the Idlis. Maybe Showem can do something about getting you some idlis using her bf's connections there

Like I told Roots ages ago, I got three words for all you Indian peeps and curry snobs: "Curry Cook Off"!!!

Theres no way to have an iron chef like competiton but you still got options:

1: DIY Amateur Competition: Get the family recipes, get your spice grinders out and throw down already. They did this with the chili cook-off somewhere around here. Maybe you could ask the TwiBa (not for cooking eh) in exchange for a cover and/or decent drink minimum.

2: Organized Professionals: Invite the best of the best, nan to nan, vindaloo to vinadaloo (or whatever). Winner gets a cover article, advertising for X months and TT's first curry king championship title. Then we can run around putting michellin like stickers (ok post it notes) all over town. Champion here, best in category there etc. Of course you`d have to find a place and charge for tickets to cover the TT advertising but I would bet a big turn out.

Well, in the words of one Irishman all Indian food in Munich is Pakistani food anyway so if the so called Indian food in Munich sucks then Pakistani food must suck. I still don't know the difference so please feel free to enlighten me.

As far as I know South India is not in Pakistan (unless some famous Irishman tells me otherwise) so I am hoping at least Idli, Dosa, Upma etc are South Indian. I have seen these items only in New Delhi so far. Now that I am gonna be in Munich most of the Summer, I am more than happy to talk to New Delhi or hunt down some South Indian cooks in Munich and have a special South Indian curry night IF you guys are up for it. Not next week though.

Haven't had a good Dosa with coconut chutney in ages and my mouth is watering thinking about it

You can get all the above also in some restaurants in Singapore...I know its not the nearest place, but these dishes alone make it well worth the trip (but if I could get it over here...that would be much better of course)...

Okay gotta log out now or otherwise Ill just be staring at these pics all day...yummy...

the last time i saw a world map, you have to cross INDIA to go to singapore (atleast when you go from europe via the shortest path). Why eat it there instead of the original place where it came from?

(getting an Indian visa to enter the country puts a dampner on your spirits.. isnt it?)

We need a vote, but it has to be a 1,2,3, or even rate 1-5. I find myself very much agreeing with Elektrobuzz about the best resteraunts.

There is a resteraunt close to Baldeplatz that serves a masalla dosa, but it is a very sad effort, and I wouldn't recommend it. If decent masalla dosas were available I might get control of my onion bhaji fetish.

Sort of pleased to hear the food in Ganga was dissapointing. I decided not to go, because I've been dissapointed 3 out of 3 there.

If someone is organising another night like the Biranyi, could they please have at least one vegi dish in there (and not fish)