american- indian food

I may be completely persecuted for this comment but here goes, I am not the biggest fan of indian food, I don't hate it, it just wouldn't be something that I would necessarily prefer. Thus, I am slowly trying to acquire a taste for it and I am wondering if the "american-indian" food even resembles "real" indian food. I know that each region varies in flavor and I am trying to stick to restaurants that have a reputation for being "authentic" but I am curious as to how "authentic" they really are. I.E I moved to the midwest from from California and am still desperately searching for an "authentic" mexican restaurant eventhough they all claim to be. Anyway, just curious.

try some staples Naan(bread), paratha(stuffed bread), samosas, basmati rice, if you are non-veg chiken tikka.....

You will be a fan in no time!

Indian restaurants in the US, unless they are regionally specific, are pretty monotonous. They offer a hodgepodge of dishes, mostly from the North India (like chicken korma and biryani), along with some things that have been concocted abroad (like chicken vindaloo). Funny how they all have the same menu.

If you find a South Indian restaurant, you'll get stuff that's more authentic, like dosai. Or a Kerala or Goa influenced place for some seafood curries.

The other fare in the general Indian restaurant in the US, like channa masala, dal, paneer, and the spinach dishes are common all over India and are authentic. So are the breads (naan, roti, puri, etc.).

But if you go to India you might not be served any of this stuff. Regional variety is very broad, even for the same dish (there are "dialects," so to speak, of dal). So you can find some really wonderful things in India that never appear on a menu in the US. So don't be discouraged if Indian food isn't exactly to your taste.

The other thing to know is that some dishes in the US like chicken vindaloo, or anything else in which you can specify how hot you want it, just have chili powder dumped into them. A cook in India will achieve great nuances of spice, through lots of different ingredients, so the end result may be "spicy" but not necessarily "hot."

If you can find an upscale Indian restaurant in your area (one that would cater an expensive wedding), you'll find the food that you would be served in an expensive hotel in India. But again, this will differ from you'll get in a little roadside canteen or someone's home.