An Encounter with Americanized Indian Food

Topic: FOOD!

 

 Source: An encounter with an Americanized Indian food trailer truck in Arcata, CA. A conversation with my boyfriend, who is of Indian decent.

Relation: I believe we can think of food as a cultural text. For many Indian people, food can have a great meaning through religion. For example, the Sikh religion practices vegetarianism and those who step foot in the temple must have not eaten meat within 24 hours. I feel as though Indian food spreading to the western culture can mean that people appreciate certain aspects of the Indian culture and the food. Indian food is very vegetarian friendly, which many people look for nowadays.

Description: After a long drive up to Arcata from Southern California to begin the semester the following week, my boyfriend and I were starving and craving some Indian food. We had been to the Pakistani-Indian place in Eureka but upon searching on Google maps, a new place popped up! We were so relieved to find that it was in Arcata, just about two blocks from where I currently reside.It was a cold, dreary night but we were excited to get some good food in our stomachs. We were a little surprised to find upon our arrival that it was a trailer truck place with some seating near under some tarps (but the fancier kind). It was a nice little set up but it was too cold to stay out side so we decided to take the food to go. So we arrived to my place and dug into the food. I was a little taken aback from the food, expecting real, authentic Indian food.I was actually really disappointed! The naan bread wasn't really naan bread but almost like an Italian garlic bread. The curry plates tasted like no Indian food I had tasted before, not even close. So my boyfriend and I researched a bit and found out that the owner was of Caucasian decent. Ok, well now things started to make a little sense. Then my boyfriend began to explain that the food had an American twist. Then we got even deeper into it and he explained that when the British ruled India, a lot of the Indian food had been altered to appeal to the general public. Indian were used to having extremely spicy food whereas the British were not. So they began adapting food so that people could eat milder versions of the dishes. Something I found very interesting was when my boyfriend explained to me that Britain's official national dish was Chicken Tikka Masala, a variation of a traditional Indian dish.

Commentary/Analysis: A very relevant analysis I made about this experience is that vegetarianism is widespread in India, with many different regions (although having their own regional dishes) practicing it. In a way, it makes sense to have spread quickly to western culture because many people are beginning to convert to vegetarianism, especially in Humboldt County and in California in general. As we all know, Humboldt County and the people living here have a reputation for being very progressive in there ways, often opting out of supporting large corporations and living an alternative lifestyle. 

(These pictures are not from the place my boyfriend and I went to but from my boyfriend's restaurant in Southern California. It is an authentic Northern Indian cuisine restaurant and this is what I am used to when I think of Indian food. As you can see, this little "Indian" place has a lot to live up to!)