Talk:South Asian cuisine

Directions for development of this article

Indian, or South Asian cuisine is a huge topic! This is a Subcontinent we're talking about, and the variety of different regional cuisines is tremendous! But in order to avoid encyclopedic detail and keep a travel focus, it's essential for us to focus on particular places that are associated with particular cuisines or special(i)ties. For example, Mysore rava masala dosas from Mysore; the various aspects of Madrasi cuisine; Awadhi cuisine, such as in Lucknow, which is associated with the Mughal Empire; Gujarati vegetarian cuisine, which also often avoids other items eschewed by orthodox Brahmins, I think (I'd have to review this); the dumpakht dishes of the Parsees, who are mostly in Mumbai and Gujarat.

Also, look at India#Eat, Bangladesh#Eat, and even more so, Pakistan#Eat, which is quite a good section. Also look at "Eat" sections of articles for states of India, Pakistan, etc.; for example, Kerala#Eat is informative.

Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:24, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

I would have to say some of those sections are still more informative than this article. Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:06, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

Spices

In the ingredient listing for "Spices", should we mention commonly used spices and also specify those that are used with particular frequency and typicality in particular areas? For example, mustard seeds are used in many Indian cuisines but Bengali cuisine particularly emphasizes them. Ikan Kekek (talk) 13:01, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

I'm no expert on this, but in Singapore, cloves, cumin and turmeric are fairly common when you eat Indian food. If you're knowledgeable, feel free to cover some of the differences between South Asia and the Middle East. The dog2 (talk) 04:52, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

I wouldn't cover spices as different from Middle Eastern food but in terms of being used in the Subcontinent, but my knowledge of regional cuisines is hardly expert, and there are some I don't know at all (I've never been to a Chhatisgari restaurant nor to Chhatisgar, for example). Ikan Kekek (talk) 06:23, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

Roti and chapati

W:Chapati says:

"Chapati is a form of roti or rotta (bread). The words are often used interchangeably."

However, in Malaysia, they are not the same, as for example, roti canai is distinguished from capati, although they can be served with the same sauce. And indeed further down in the same Wikipedia article, we read this:

"In most parts of the Indian subcontinent, there is a distinction made between a chapati and other related flatbreads eaten in the region like roti, paratha, kulcha, puri and naan based on cooking technique, texture and use of different types of flours. For example, parathas are either made layered by spreading with ghee, folding and rolling out again into a disc which turns out flakey once cooked or is filled with spinach, dal or cooked radish or potato. Parathas are mostly made using all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat flour."

So I think the entry in this article that simply says "Roti: Also known as chapati" should be edited. Ikan Kekek (talk) 10:22, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Here's a video from Singapore describing the difference between different types of Indian flatbrads: . As you can see, chapati is a very specific type of flatbread. The dog2 (talk) 20:22, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Fun video. I want to go to all the stalls. Ikan Kekek (talk) 20:40, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

The description here refers to chapati. In Northern India, Pakistan and parts of Nepal, they are often interchangeable in the sense that chapatis are regularly called rotis because they are the most common type of roti. In other contexts, they are not interchangeable, especially when roti is used as the generic word for flatbread or bread. Technically naans, parathas and everything else is a roti. Sandwiches (using Western sliced bread) are called "double roti" in India. Also specific rotis like the rumali roti is never called the rumali chapati. In the diaspora countries, roti has evolved to mean different specific flatbreads and in each regions (Caribbean, Malaysia/Singapore, Mauritius, Fiji, etc.) it has branched into different forms. But this is the situation in the motherland countries. Roti is also the generic word for food in the regions where it is a staple, similar to how rice is interchangeable for food in Thailand. The Hindi phrase "Roti, kapda aur makaan" literally means "Bread, clothes and houses" but more generally means "Food, clothing and shelter" and refers to the basic economic necessities of life. Gizza ^(roam) 23:10, 1 February 2022 (UTC)

Saying that chapati is the most common type of roti in a region is not the same as saying that it is identical to roti, period, or that roti is universally "also known as chapati". Roti generically means "bread" in Malay, too, but in specific contexts, roti is distinguished from capati, paratta and so on. Ikan Kekek (talk) 00:03, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

Yes I agree they are not identical in all contexts and so to say that roti is also known as chapati is not accurate. But the second bullet point in the bread section is describing what a chapati is, not what a roti is which is broader. The images here both show chapatis though one of the file names calls it roti.

. Rather than say one is also known as the other, I suggest renaming the bullet point to chapati, split the variations makki di roti to another bullet point because it is not, strictly speaking, a chapati and clarify that many people would in their day-to-day conversations also refer to chapatis as rotis, though roti encompasses much more than just the chapati. Gizza ^(roam) 07:11, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

All of that sounds good to me. Ikan Kekek (talk) 12:08, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

Yeah, that sounds good to me too. I don't know what is the word in Tamil, but in Singapore, roti is also the generic word for bread in Malay, and has in fact been borrowed into the varieties of Chinese dialects spoken in Singapore. The dog2 (talk) 15:42, 2 February 2022 (UTC)

Paratha and parotta

@DaGizza: Do you think we should explain the differences between North India paratha and South Indian parotta. From what I see, the dough is usually rolled to make it thin, then folded with ghee between the layers in North India, but is made thin by flipping it in the air in South India (or at least, in Tamil Nadu). Roti prata in Singapore basically uses the same flipping technique that they use to make parotta in Tamil Nadu. The dog2 (talk) 17:54, 3 February 2022 (UTC)

Yes I think we should. They are different flatbreads despite the shared etymology. Gizza ^(roam) 22:17, 4 February 2022 (UTC)