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Comment by insaider | Hacker News Reader

I thought it was Australian, like how Chicken Tikka Masala is British

If it is a meat dish, from India, it is far more likely to have been invented by Indians for the Brits living in India. Whether that makes it Indian or British I leave to others.

That's not true. Huge numbers of Indians aren't Hindu and do eat meat. Less than 40% of the country is vegetarian. There are meat dishes that pre-date the arrival of the British, although it's true that almost all Indian food has been altered by British colonialism.

And Portuguese colonialism. Practically all modern Punjabi food from makki to rajma is from South America.

Don't forget the Pav Bhaji. The "Pav" in the name of the dish derives from Portuguese "Pāo".

I'll stop with this and refrain from mentioning how South Indian cuisine has been corrupted by Northern Indian cultural imperialism :)

The pav is actually pronounced as pao sometimes.

The Portuguese "Pão" sounds more like the French "Pan". "Pav" or "Pao" is the Indianization.

Too late to edit, didn't see the typo earlier. s/pāo/pão/ .

>Don't forget the Pav Bhaji.

Dont forget the vada pav either.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vada_pav

Not a bad dish, though carb-heavy, like pav bhaji.

I've had it many times when I lived in Maharashtra.

For me, it's incomplete without the fried and salted green chillies as an accompaniment. Yum. :)

Yum indeed! I also make sure to ask for an extra helping of the (dry) peanut chutney. That and the green chillies are must-haves with a vada pav for me :)

I don't remember that dry peanut chutney.

Do you mean thecha?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thecha

I have read about it, but unfortunately I did not come across it, despite living in Maharashtra for some years.

Got to say, from the description, it sounds like it would taste quite good.

And could be a good accompaniment to many dishes.

I've always heard it referred to as "Dana Chutney", Dana being a contraction of Shengdana.

I don't know if it's the same thing as Thecha, though -- but it does fit the description. I'm wondering if this is a geographical difference in culinary terminology :)

Yes, I think it must be the same.

Dana (as a short form) and shengdana both mean peanuts, in Marathi, the main language of Maharashtra.

Actually dana means seed in both Marathi and Hindi, as in anardana, which means pomegranate (seed), meaning the part of the pomegranate that you eat.

As you said, words can vary a lot between regions - and not just for culinary terms.

Indeed :) My fondness for Vada Pav and Dana Chutney came to be because I spent a few years in Pune.

> And Portuguese colonialism. Practically all modern Punjabi food from makki to rajma is from South America.

Vindeloo is derived from Portuguese cuisine as well. In fact, the Portuguese are widely accredited with introducing spicy chili peppers into Indian cuisine.

Vindaloo has been corrupted from the original.

I've had both kinds, both in Goa.

See:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vindaloo

The original did not have potatoes. but because aloo means potato in Hindi, others have changed the dish by including potatoes.

>Huge numbers of Indians aren't Hindu and do eat meat.

Just in case anyone has the wrong idea (and I guess some people do), being Hindu does not equate to not eating meat.

Many Hindus eat meat (and many don't (though even that has nuances)), and have done so from ancient times, not just nowadays because of modernisation or westernization, although that has increased the percentage too, IMO.

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