Why do you never order a paratha?

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Gavin Chipper
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Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

When you go for a curry or have a takeaway, you always have a naan every time, and never even consider the paratha. Why do you insist on always doing this? I'm disappointed in you.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ryan Taylor »

What the fuck's a samosa?
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Jon O'Neill »

chapattis all the way.
Ryan Taylor wrote:What the fuck's a samosa?
lolllllllllllll
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Michael Wallace »

Jon O'Neill wrote:chapattis all the way.
chapatti? MOAR LIEK YA BATTY!!!
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Andy Wilson »

Keep korma and curry on.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Soph K »

Gavin Chipper wrote:When you go for a curry or have a takeaway, you always have a naan every time, and never even consider the paratha. Why do you insist on always doing this? I'm disappointed in you.
Because naan bread is nicer (and more popular) than a paratha! What a simple, easy, quick and obvious answer! I'm disappointed in you. You should have known the SEQO answer!
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Andy Wilson wrote:Keep korma and curry on.
Papadom preach.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Soph K »

Ryan Taylor wrote:What the fuck's a samosa?
Everyone's always having a go at me for doing this. So i'll do it to you.
LOOK IT UP ON GOOGLE OR WIKIPEDIA!!
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Soph K wrote:
Gavin Chipper wrote:When you go for a curry or have a takeaway, you always have a naan every time, and never even consider the paratha. Why do you insist on always doing this? I'm disappointed in you.
Because naan bread is nicer (and more popular) than a paratha! What a simple, easy, quick and obvious answer! I'm disappointed in you. You should have known the SEQO answer!
You're wrong. Parathas are like AV and Naans are like First Past the Post. Most people have never even tried parathas and don't understand them. Some people seem not to have heard of them at all. Next time you have a curry (everyone, not just Sophie), order a paratha instead of a naan. You won't be disappointed. (You might, because as with all things quality is variable across restaurants, but the same applies for naans).
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Soph K »

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Soph K wrote:
Gavin Chipper wrote:When you go for a curry or have a takeaway, you always have a naan every time, and never even consider the paratha. Why do you insist on always doing this? I'm disappointed in you.
Because naan bread is nicer (and more popular) than a paratha! What a simple, easy, quick and obvious answer! I'm disappointed in you. You should have known the SEQO answer!
You're wrong. Parathas are like AV and Naans are like First Past the Post. Most people have never even tried parathas and don't understand them. Some people seem not to have heard of them at all. Next time you have a curry (everyone, not just Sophie), order a paratha instead of a naan. You won't be disappointed. (You might, because as with all things quality is variable across restaurants, but the same applies for naans).
Oh...
Tbh I haven't tried a paratha, but I have seen it on menus once or twice.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Mike Brown »

I must confess I've always avoided them because I didn't know what they were. I might just try one next time, though. Although I do love a good garlic naan.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Mike Brown wrote:I must confess I've always avoided them because I didn't know what they were. I might just try one next time, though. Although I do love a good garlic naan.
There's no doubt about it - a garlic naan can be very nice indeed. But I still prefer a paratha.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Mike Brown »

Gavin Chipper wrote:
Mike Brown wrote:I must confess I've always avoided them because I didn't know what they were. I might just try one next time, though. Although I do love a good garlic naan.
There's no doubt about it - a garlic naan can be very nice indeed. But I still prefer a paratha.
I'm looking forward to the showdown...
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Michael Wallace »

I had a paratha this evening. What the fuck. If I wanted pancakes with my curry then, well, I don't want pancakes with my curry. So there.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Michael Wallace wrote:I had a paratha this evening. What the fuck. If I wanted pancakes with my curry then, well, I don't want pancakes with my curry. So there.
It seems you ordered pancakes. Try ordering a paratha next time.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Dinos Sfyris »

Yeah I too had a paratha a while back and forgot to express my dislike. Sorry Gev.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Karen Pearson »

I have to agree with Dinos and Michael. Parathas are just slightly thicker chapatis and I find them very dry. Give me a garlic naan any day!
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Jon O'Neill »

I've never had one but the weight of public opinion has a profound effect on me, and therefore I don't like them either. Sorry mate!
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Michael Wallace »

Does Wetherspoons do curry every day, or only on curry night? (And do they do parathas?)
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Phil Reynolds »

Michael Wallace wrote:Does Wetherspoons do curry every day, or only on curry night? (And do they do parathas?)
Not every day you see parathas in parentheses.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Michael Wallace wrote:Does Wetherspoons do curry every day, or only on curry night? (And do they do parathas?)
Goddamn you live in London! If you go to Wetherspoons for curry that's basically racism.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Michael Wallace »

Matt Morrison wrote:
Michael Wallace wrote:Does Wetherspoons do curry every day, or only on curry night? (And do they do parathas?)
Goddamn you live in London! If you go to Wetherspoons for curry that's basically racism.
I think if I went to Wetherspoons for curry I'd actually know when they do curry. That said, I did once have Wetherspoons curry (years and years ago). Never again.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Michael Wallace wrote:
Matt Morrison wrote:
Michael Wallace wrote:Does Wetherspoons do curry every day, or only on curry night? (And do they do parathas?)
Goddamn you live in London! If you go to Wetherspoons for curry that's basically racism.
I think if I went to Wetherspoons for curry I'd actually know when they do curry. That said, I did once have Wetherspoons curry (years and years ago). Never again.
Oh I see. Phew. Sorry about that. I can only imagine that Wetherspoons do curry all the time but only a selection of one or two rather than a whole curry menu.
I hope that helps. Except you weren't really asking a question, it was more of a "so, airplane food eh?!" stand up routine. I'm sorry. I've ruined your joke AND called you racist.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Michael Wallace »

Matt Morrison wrote:Except you weren't really asking a question, it was more of a "so, airplane food eh?!" stand up routine. I'm sorry. I've ruined your joke AND called you racist.
Not really. I was pondering a post-CO:LON paratha party at 'spoons.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Karen Pearson wrote:I have to agree with Dinos and Michael. Parathas are just slightly thicker chapatis and I find them very dry. Give me a garlic naan any day!
They're not dry like chapatis though because they're cooked in butter. Naans are more likely to be dry, although it depends on the particular one.

I'm surprised to find that so many people are wrong about this.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ian Volante »

My regular quiz is in the pub right next door to Kismot, the restaurant currently in the news for putting people in hospital with hot curry. Exciting stuff. It does great curry too, not tried paratha there though. Their chocolate nan is next for me to try.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Karen Pearson »

Ian Volante wrote:Their chocolate nan is next for me to try.
Ooh, that sounds great! Please could you take a photo and post it along with a detailed description of said nan. Thx. :)
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ian Volante »

Karen Pearson wrote:
Ian Volante wrote:Their chocolate nan is next for me to try.
Ooh, that sounds great! Please could you take a photo and post it along with a detailed description of said nan. Thx. :)
Remind me and I will!
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

I don't think I saw any parathas in India, just thought I'd throw that out there. Not that I was looking for them though, I have to quality that.
Does that mean they're another stupid British curry invention?
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Matt Morrison wrote:I don't think I saw any parathas in India, just thought I'd throw that out there. Not that I was looking for them though, I have to quality that.
Does that mean they're another stupid British curry invention?
I don't know anything about it, but considering that everyone in the UK orders a naan, parathas seem more hardcore, so if anything naans are the British rubbish.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ian Volante »

So, I had a chocolate naan from Kismot on Friday night. It wasn't what I expected - I thought it would be almost dripping with liquid chocolate, but it was actually quite a subtle flavour. I'm not sure exactly at what point the chocolate gets added, but the end result is quite an even flavour with no lumps. They could have achieved a similar effect by dusting it with chocolate powder. In fact, it's entirely possible that choc powder was used as part of the original mix.

The chocolate does appear to be all on the inside, although since that's where I was looking for it, and since the inside is generally paler, this could have been an illusion.

Well worth a try anyway. I'm sure they'd deliver to you down south, although to get a delivery on a busy night, you have to order before about half six.

I was also chatting to one of the blokes that runs it, he said they'd had worldwide media interest. His brother has been on the radio in pretty much the whole English-speaking world on the subject of the curry competition.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Karen Pearson »

Well done Ian. Very pleased you had one. A couple of questions though.

Was it sweet? Properly sweet as opposed to normal naan sweet.

Do you think it was made by adding cocoa powder to the flour at the start (i.e. brown throughout) or was it made using real chocolate (perhaps grated) giving a more speckled appearance?

What curry/curries did you have with it and how well did it go?

I'm trying to get a handle on whether it fits in the 'pudding' category or whether it is more like Mexican savoury dishes that use chocolate sauce (which is not at all sweet).

And, finally, WHERE'S THE PHOTO?
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ian Volante »

Karen Pearson wrote:Well done Ian. Very pleased you had one. A couple of questions though.

Was it sweet? Properly sweet as opposed to normal naan sweet.
Aye, reasonably, but not overly so.
Karen Pearson wrote: Do you think it was made by adding cocoa powder to the flour at the start (i.e. brown throughout) or was it made using real chocolate (perhaps grated) giving a more speckled appearance?
Probably a bit of both.
Karen Pearson wrote: What curry/curries did you have with it and how well did it go?
Chicken rogan josh, perfectly well!
Karen Pearson wrote: I'm trying to get a handle on whether it fits in the 'pudding' category or whether it is more like Mexican savoury dishes that use chocolate sauce (which is not at all sweet).

And, finally, WHERE'S THE PHOTO?
Definitely not a pudding, and I never thought to take my camera out with me :)
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Karen Pearson »

Excellent. Thanks for that Ian. I might have a go at making one next time I can be bothered to make naans (which happens about once a year!). I make a mean lamb rogan josh so I might try pairing it with that.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

This has gone way off topic. I'm appalled.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Gavin Chipper wrote:This has gone way off topic. I'm appalled.
It's a shame you're not Nepalled. Then you'd eat much more paratha.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Had paratha for the first time last night. I don't know what took me so long, they're awesome.
I didn't realise they were so pancakey (sorry Gevin, they are) but I also didn't realise how amazing that would be (sorry, MW, it was).

They're not dry at all by the way, how did that even get said?
And that's with dry-frying them from the freezer!

Chapati are the shittest of the Indian breads. I still don't know exactly where a paratha slots in for me yet (urgh) but fresh made roti probably remain the greatest.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Matt Morrison wrote: Wed Dec 21, 2011 2:45 pm Had paratha for the first time last night. I don't know what took me so long, they're awesome.
I didn't realise they were so pancakey (sorry Gevin, they are) but I also didn't realise how amazing that would be (sorry, MW, it was).

They're not dry at all by the way, how did that even get said?
And that's with dry-frying them from the freezer!

Chapati are the shittest of the Indian breads. I still don't know exactly where a paratha slots in for me yet (urgh) but fresh made roti probably remain the greatest.
When I had a roti, it was pretty much indistinguishable from a chapati - pointless dry bread.

Peshwari naans are good too (better than garlic naans) as are puris.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Image
I agree on chapati coming across as dry. Flat and chewy and not particularly interesting.
Importantly though, and I don't know if this is a rule or anecdotal experience, typically wholewheat/wholemeal, which obviously means boring.

Image
The roti is similar I guess, but more like white bread to the roti's boring wholemeal bread, so obviously better. A bit more fluffy and floury. And yeah, I've never had chapati made properly like I have with roti in India, so that too.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

But yes in the time that has passed since 2011 I've had tons of paratha and probably no more than one roti, so it's clear where my favouritism now lies. Naan are good too but I find too often you get the almost Westernised bready version of a naan, akin to something you could just pick up from a supermarket.

A naan should be a bit thinner, a bit crispier, noticeably less bready and awesome. When done well from a decent Indian restaurant the difference is noticeable. One place you can always get a good garlic naan from is Dishoom:
Image

Wanna go one weekend soon in London Gev?
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Yeah, sounds good, although I don't like their website and their menu looks a bit odd.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2017 6:13 pm Yeah, sounds good, although I don't like their website and their menu looks a bit odd.
Racist, that's a shame.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Jon O'Neill »

Dishoom is fantastic.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Jon O'Neill wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2017 8:27 pm Dishoom is fantastic.
Let's make this a thing then guys.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

I went out for a curry today and had a paratha. It was pretty good. I also had a curry on Saturday but didn't have a paratha. So there you go.

I probably now look like some sort of crazy lunatic who eats out on alternate days, but it was just coincidence that these events were close together.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by sean d »

I'm quite a fan of Indian. I'm in the naan camp at present, I've yet to discover as satisfactory paratha. Dishoom looks fookin awesome, I'm putting it on the list for when I'm in London in the summer.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Matt Morrison wrote: Sun Feb 05, 2017 5:44 pm But yes in the time that has passed since 2011 I've had tons of paratha and probably no more than one roti, so it's clear where my favouritism now lies. Naan are good too but I find too often you get the almost Westernised bready version of a naan, akin to something you could just pick up from a supermarket.

A naan should be a bit thinner, a bit crispier, noticeably less bready and awesome. When done well from a decent Indian restaurant the difference is noticeable.
I actually prefer naans not to be crispy. The same as pizza bases. I find it just makes them less pleasant to eat. I don't care what "tradition" says.

Also, according to the Wikipedia (always right on everything), chapatis and rotis are the same thing! I think the roti you had probably wasn't a roti.

And while I'm here, when I'm in an Indian restaurant, instead of ordering one of the "official" vegetable main courses, I often ask for a sag aloo (which is normally listed as a side) as a main, so I get an extra large sag aloo. I do find it odd that vegetarian mains are always just generic vegetable rather than anything specific. You wouldn't just order a meat curry, so why would you with a vegetable curry?

But anyway, I was wondering how far you could take that. Something like a sag aloo is obviously pretty reasonable, but what if you ordered an extra large portion of onion bhaji as a main? Where would that rank on weirdness? Or an extra large rice. Or an extra large portion of naans - so like three naans or something as your main course. Or an extra large portion of poppadoms - so 17 poppadoms.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Matt Morrison »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmI actually prefer naans not to be crispy. The same as pizza bases. I find it just makes them less pleasant to eat.
For the record, I don't want a naan to be super crispy, it just needs to have more of a crust, not be doughy from top to bottom without that crispiness, can still be a bit bready inside. Look, we do still order a bready-supermarket-style naan usually when we order a takeaway, so I still enjoy them, they just don't feel as special, perhaps as much from their availability as anything.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmAlso, according to the Wikipedia (always right on everything), chapatis and rotis are the same thing!
I haven't got a great deal of experience with rotis and chapatis admittedly, but I find that chapatis tend to be more wholemeal-y. And honestly I've only ever had roti at decent Indian places - and in India itself. Maybe I've just been lucky with rotis and/or unlucky with chapatis. If they truly are the same thing then I'll use pictures from your Wikipedia articles to show what I would say is a good roti vs a lame chapati.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmAnd while I'm here, when I'm in an Indian restaurant, instead of ordering one of the "official" vegetable main courses, I often ask for a sag aloo (which is normally listed as a side) as a main, so I get an extra large sag aloo. I do find it odd that vegetarian mains are always just generic vegetable rather than anything specific. You wouldn't just order a meat curry, so why would you with a vegetable curry?
Ah, the old sag aloo as main story. Classic Gevin.

To be clear, are you saying you'd like the option of ordering, for example, a carrot dhansak, or a potato korma or something? It's an interesting idea but I don't like it much. I think nearly all people who order vegetable-based curries would prefer to have a mix of vegetables, and even given the explicit option of making changes most would ask to drop out one particular vegetable rather than have the vegetables consist of only one type.

Or if you were denouncing the despicable act of the only vegetable curry on a menu being a generic "vegetable curry" (the "anything specific" in this case referring to the lack of a listed style of sauce), then I agree with you but that's another story.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmBut anyway, I was wondering how far you could take that. Something like a sag aloo is obviously pretty reasonable, but what if you ordered an extra large portion of onion bhaji as a main? Where would that rank on weirdness? Or an extra large rice. Or an extra large portion of naans - so like three naans or something as your main course. Or an extra large portion of poppadoms - so 17 poppadoms.
A sag aloo is fairly reasonable, but is this an extension of your dislike of a mixed set of vegetables that you keep ordering it? Or a massive penchant for sag aloo? Or just being restricted by limited Essex menus? I don't even think the onion bhaji is insanely weird. Some people order dry tandoori dishes with no sauce, so it's weird in a similar way to that being weird, but not totally crazy. I think the trouble is that you don't need to restrict yourself with these things. Unless you're currying on your own and you can only justify one side, there'd usually not be a reason why you couldn't experience the joys of sag aloo and onion bhaji alongside a more interesting/normal main course. Whereas the reverse - asking them to give you a miniature side-style version of a unique main course - is not an option. Eating solely poppadoms is obviously mad bags.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Matt Morrison wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:43 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmI actually prefer naans not to be crispy. The same as pizza bases. I find it just makes them less pleasant to eat.
For the record, I don't want a naan to be super crispy, it just needs to have more of a crust, not be doughy from top to bottom without that crispiness, can still be a bit bready inside. Look, we do still order a bready-supermarket-style naan usually when we order a takeaway, so I still enjoy them, they just don't feel as special, perhaps as much from their availability as anything.
Interesting. Where do you stand on crispy pizza bases by the way? When I'm in Pizza Express, I normally order my pizza with the "Romana" base, which is thinner and crispier than their "classic" base. But the reason I have that is because it's bigger. Ideally I'd have a large classic. Currently it's always a bit of a dilemma. I always think "Maybe I'll have a classic if I feel like eating a bit less", but that never seems to happen for some reason.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmAlso, according to the Wikipedia (always right on everything), chapatis and rotis are the same thing!
I haven't got a great deal of experience with rotis and chapatis admittedly, but I find that chapatis tend to be more wholemeal-y. And honestly I've only ever had roti at decent Indian places - and in India itself. Maybe I've just been lucky with rotis and/or unlucky with chapatis. If they truly are the same thing then I'll use pictures from your Wikipedia articles to show what I would say is a good roti vs a lame chapati.
I'd say that roti looks pretty lame actually. It's all fluffed up to look nice, but it looks really dry, like you'd be eating cardboard. As for the chapati, that's probably rubbish too, but the colouration of it looks like it might be quite nice and "juicy", even though that's probably an illusion.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmAnd while I'm here, when I'm in an Indian restaurant, instead of ordering one of the "official" vegetable main courses, I often ask for a sag aloo (which is normally listed as a side) as a main, so I get an extra large sag aloo. I do find it odd that vegetarian mains are always just generic vegetable rather than anything specific. You wouldn't just order a meat curry, so why would you with a vegetable curry?
Ah, the old sag aloo as main story. Classic Gevin.
Nice to see that you pay attention to my posts. Either that or you just did a search for "sag aloo" before posting. I prefer to think it's the former.
To be clear, are you saying you'd like the option of ordering, for example, a carrot dhansak, or a potato korma or something? It's an interesting idea but I don't like it much. I think nearly all people who order vegetable-based curries would prefer to have a mix of vegetables, and even given the explicit option of making changes most would ask to drop out one particular vegetable rather than have the vegetables consist of only one type.
Actually, I was more thinking of things like sag aloo being offered as a standard main course rather than as an afterthought - "All vegetable side dishes can be served as a main for an extra £x" (although some don't even have it as an afterthought and I have to demand it from them). But now you mention it - that might be pretty good (potato korma etc.).
Or if you were denouncing the despicable act of the only vegetable curry on a menu being a generic "vegetable curry" (the "anything specific" in this case referring to the lack of a listed style of sauce), then I agree with you but that's another story.
That would be awful, but I think all the places I've been to have offered different types of vegetable curry.

But anyway, Woodlands is a chain of vegetarian Indian restaurants in London, and they don't even seem to bother with side dishes. They offer the standard vegetable dishes (sag aloo etc.) but as a main by default. Personally I think the best compromise would be to have the heading "Vegetable dishes" and then a subheading saying that these can be served as a main for £x and a side for £y, so it's neutral on the menu.
Gavin Chipper wrote: Wed Feb 08, 2017 5:11 pmBut anyway, I was wondering how far you could take that. Something like a sag aloo is obviously pretty reasonable, but what if you ordered an extra large portion of onion bhaji as a main? Where would that rank on weirdness? Or an extra large rice. Or an extra large portion of naans - so like three naans or something as your main course. Or an extra large portion of poppadoms - so 17 poppadoms.
A sag aloo is fairly reasonable, but is this an extension of your dislike of a mixed set of vegetables that you keep ordering it? Or a massive penchant for sag aloo? Or just being restricted by limited Essex menus? I don't even think the onion bhaji is insanely weird. Some people order dry tandoori dishes with no sauce, so it's weird in a similar way to that being weird, but not totally crazy. I think the trouble is that you don't need to restrict yourself with these things. Unless you're currying on your own and you can only justify one side, there'd usually not be a reason why you couldn't experience the joys of sag aloo and onion bhaji alongside a more interesting/normal main course. Whereas the reverse - asking them to give you a miniature side-style version of a unique main course - is not an option. Eating solely poppadoms is obviously mad bags.
I order sag aloo because I think it's really good and prefer it to the standard vegetable curries. But this bit generally is just a crazy thought experiment about what could be ordered as a main. It's interesting you see onion bhaji as fine because I asked someone else about this yesterday and he thought it was crazy, although he seems to accept me ordering a sag aloo as a main. Onion bhaji would be interesting because you'd get a definite indication of the proportional difference between a side and a main and which is better value for money. You can easily count the pieces of onion bhaji but you're not going to weigh your sag aloo. So there you go. A main course portion of parathas it is.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

In Dishoom now with the Morricocks and Jono. This is on.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ryan Taylor »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:03 pm In Dishoom now with the Morricocks and Jono. This is on.
All 3 of them clearly don't care about the Liverpool v Spurs game then. Unless there's a TV in Dishoom. Poor form.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

Ryan Taylor wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2017 7:55 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Sat Feb 11, 2017 4:03 pm In Dishoom now with the Morricocks and Jono. This is on.
All 3 of them clearly don't care about the Liverpool v Spurs game then. Unless there's a TV in Dishoom. Poor form.
We caught most of it afterwards (well I wasn't really watching). I'll post a review (not of the football) in due course.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

So Dishoom then. When we turned up (at about 3:30 I think), we were told we'd have to wait about an hour and a half, but in the end they managed to fit us in this extra room that was almost completely empty - what were they planning on doing with this space otherwise? It was a bit cold in that room though, so maybe they generally didn't want to use it.

But anyway, I didn't think it was all that great to be honest. Compared to a normal Indian restaurant, the menu was very limited. The food was fine - no better or worse than you'd generally expect each dish to be - so there was nothing there to say it was great.

Matt Morrison recommended the garlic naan. We had a few of them to share around the table, and they were OK, but I thought they were a bit too crispy if anything, but maybe that's more personal taste. They also didn't have much of a selection of breads - just plain and garlic naan, and a roti. No paratha or peshwari naan etc. In any case, the garlic naan didn't particularly stand out to me - you can get crispy ones elsewhere if that's your thing. It was fine, but the main thing that stood out about the breads was the limited menu. We had a roti too, but that was a bit boring, like rotis are.

With the other food, we just shared it around the table too. They didn't have sag aloo or bombay potatoes, but instead had these gunpwder potatoes as their potato thing. These were OK, but not really as good as your standard potato dishes at normal restaurants. We had a couple of cheese dishes as well, which were quite good, but no better or worse than you'd expect somewhere else.

There were also no poppadoms or onion bhajis!

They had a few puddings - I had a pineapple and pepper crumble. It sounds odd, but we were in hipster central - it was actually OK though. But not awesomely brilliant or anything.

It is a very popular restaurant, and I am left sort of wondering why. I think it might be partly because it appeals to the hipster crowd who don't want to go full Indian. There was nothing really better about it than a normal Indian restaurant, because the only real difference was that the menu is more limited.

I liked it, but other places are better. I wouldn't recommend it though because when you're in London there's always going to be a better place nearby.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by James Laverty »

I went for a curry last night and meant to order a paratha purely because of this thread. I forgot when it came to ordering. Bugger.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Ryan Taylor »

Me and Michelle went to Cook & Indi's World Buffet for a Sunday lunch yesterday. We had garlic naan and I had some lamb bhuna. We talked about this thread. I asked what a paratha was. Michelle asked if I'd even read this thread. There were no parathas at Cook & Indi's.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

James Laverty wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:49 pm I went for a curry last night and meant to order a paratha purely because of this thread. I forgot when it came to ordering. Bugger.
What better reason to go for another curry?
Ryan Taylor wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2017 11:09 am Me and Michelle went to Cook & Indi's World Buffet for a Sunday lunch yesterday. We had garlic naan and I had some lamb bhuna. We talked about this thread. I asked what a paratha was. Michelle asked if I'd even read this thread. There were no parathas at Cook & Indi's.
If it's a world buffet, I'm not surprised it doesn't have parathas. I don't think Za Za Bazaar in Bristol did last year and I'm not expecting to this year (this coming Saturday!) either. I'm glad this thread has got people talking though and that it's managed to raise some awareness of the plight of the humble paratha.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

In preparation for Saturday, I've been looking at Za Za Bazaar's menu, and under their Indian stuff, they've got sag aloo listed as a main, and they've also got gulab jaman. No paratha listed though unfortunately. It looks like they've got some pretty decent stuff though because as well as the main Indian section, this month's "star guest" is Indian street food, so we're doubling up on the Indian.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by James Laverty »

Gavin Chipper wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:02 pm
James Laverty wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:49 pm I went for a curry last night and meant to order a paratha purely because of this thread. I forgot when it came to ordering. Bugger.
What better reason to go for another curry?
Corrected this tonight and had a paratha. It was nice but I think I'll stick to my usual peshwari naan in the future. It has more flavour.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Gavin Chipper »

James Laverty wrote: Mon Feb 20, 2017 10:24 pm
Gavin Chipper wrote: Mon Feb 13, 2017 10:02 pm
James Laverty wrote: Sun Feb 12, 2017 11:49 pm I went for a curry last night and meant to order a paratha purely because of this thread. I forgot when it came to ordering. Bugger.
What better reason to go for another curry?
Corrected this tonight and had a paratha. It was nice but I think I'll stick to my usual peshwari naan in the future. It has more flavour.
I think peshwari naans probably do have more flavour and I do sometimes go for them. In paratha's favour is the nice texture and the juicy fattiness of them. They're also denser than a naan and have a nice weighty feel to them. Parathas are very consistent in quality. Most places will give you a high quality paratha, whereas naans are more hit and miss. I'd never pick a plain or garlic naan in preference to a paratha.
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Re: Why do you never order a paratha?

Post by Charlie Reams »

I have switched to paratha since reading this topic. Never going back.
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