
What is ‘real’ Indian cuisine? - MiriamWeiner
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20190609-the-surprising-truth-about-indian-food
======
eesmith
What is 'real' Italian food?

~~~
Qwertystop
I can't tell if this is meant to be sarcastic dismissal of the article or an
honest question. The headline could be better but the article's interesting.

~~~
eesmith
I agree that the article is interesting.

But article authors don't write headlines, at least not for most
organizations. (Just like book authors rarely choose book titles.)

You'll note the author nowhere mentions "real". Quite the opposite, with
quotes like "All cuisines in India have adopted the tomato" (just like Italian
cuisine has adopted the tomato) and saying "Indian cooking has changed in the
past 1,000 years".

Modern Indian cooking is no less "real" than its older traditions.

Unfortunately, 'real' sound very close to the observed issues with 'authentic'
as it relates to foods often called "ethnic", meaning "not common to WASP-y
homes in the US or UK". See
[https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/04/09/472568085/wh...](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/04/09/472568085/why-
hunting-down-authentic-ethnic-food-is-a-loaded-proposition) ("Why Hunting Down
'Authentic Ethnic Food' Is A Loaded Proposition") and
[https://www.eater.com/2019/6/4/18652061/always-be-my-
maybe-a...](https://www.eater.com/2019/6/4/18652061/always-be-my-maybe-asian-
food-authentic-cooking-netflix-ali-wong-randall-park) ("‘Always Be My Maybe’
and the Trap of ‘Authentic’ Cooking") for details.

My quip, therefore, was meant to make the reader consider what "real" means
for Italy - Italian food with no tomatoes? - and perhaps apply that
reconsidered perspective back to India.

But without this wall of text. :(

