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Ramakrishna
23 February 2012, 12:53 AM
Namaste all,

Here is an interesting article about the emergence Indian fast food restaurants in the United States: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/dining/step-by-step-to-assembling-indian-fast-food-united-tastes.html

It is becoming more and more popular in America, being modeled from well-known American fast food chains and adjusted in a western manner while still representing authentic Indian food for the most part. I like this trend for a couple reasons. Indian food is much healthier than popular western style fast food that many Americans gorge themselves with. That being said, it is important to cook the food in a healthy manner and not resort to the popular fast-food tactic of preparing food in the least-healthy and cheapest manner. A rise in popularity of Indian food will also lead to an increased interest and respect for Indian culture.

Jai Sri Ram

PARAM
23 February 2012, 04:10 AM
Indian food is much healthier and cheap than popular western style fast food. Amount will go up or down as the place is, the ad banner of Bombay Bowl is showing $3 for chat Tuesday, this is much higher than in India.

Eastern Mind
23 February 2012, 08:32 AM
Namaste all,

Here is an interesting article about the emergence Indian fast food restaurants in the United States: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/15/dining/step-by-step-to-assembling-indian-fast-food-united-tastes.html

It is becoming more and more popular in America, being modeled from well-known American fast food chains and adjusted in a western manner while still representing authentic Indian food for the most part. I like this trend for a couple reasons. Indian food is much healthier than popular western style fast food that many Americans gorge themselves with. That being said, it is important to cook the food in a healthy manner and not resort to the popular fast-food tactic of preparing food in the least-healthy and cheapest manner. A rise in popularity of Indian food will also lead to an increased interest and respect for Indian culture.

Jai Sri Ram

Vannakam Ramakrishna: Indeed it is much easier to find Indian food, but I am a bit skeptical. They could do away with so much deep fried. Many westerner's first taste is the samosa, and often I wonder about the oil content. I've had samosa that literally drip from the oil. I'd be happier if some chain like PitaPit came up with Indian wraps as the mainstay, staying away from the deep fryer, and the sugar. Still it is a nice start for a trend, and if they can keep it healthy, I'm all for it.

Aum Namasivaya

Believer
24 February 2012, 01:00 PM
Namaste,

Thanks RK, for the interesting article. Restaurant business is one of the toughest ones, that requires constant attention. So, I would wish good luck to anyone daring to make a foray into it and expanding it with franchises.

The line in the article,

“Indian entrepreneurs are now trying to serve the American mainstream, whatever that is,” said Dr. Krishnendu Ray (http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/faculty_bios/view/Krishnendu_Ray), an assistant professor of food studies at New York University.

made me crack up. We have professors with PhD's in food studies in American Universities? That is a sure sign of prosperity. :)

Pranam.

simoom
14 May 2012, 05:03 PM
Namaste

In Paris' Little India quarter, there is my favourite restaurant: "fast Food Indien". It includes many a dish, home made by family, in a very casual & simple decorum. I love going there every time I go to Paris!

The fast food everyone should have around the corner!

HK

sanjaya
25 May 2012, 12:49 AM
Sounds like a great idea. Personally I hate Indian food (yes I know, I'm a bad Indian/ABCD), but I eat it because it's healthy. I'd be all for the proliferation of Indian fast food places for this reason alone. It'd be a halfway decent alternative to the steady diet of Subway I've become accustomed to.

Eastern Mind
04 September 2012, 03:55 PM
Vannakkam: On a related note .. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-19479013 I'm not sure what I think of corporate America doing this, but I hope it becomes so popular they bring some of that menu here. Traveling can be so hard some days.

Aum Namasivaya

Arjuni
04 September 2012, 05:28 PM
Namasté,

McDonald's apparently thinks people have a very short memory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/us/for-hindus-and-vegetarians-surprise-in-mcdonald-s-fries.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/us/for-hindus-and-vegetarians-surprise-in-mcdonald-s-fries.html)

Since finding out that I apparently hadn't been vegan during the time I thought I had, I haven't consumed anything in McDonald's, not even coffee. Who knows what they put in it. :p

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

Eastern Mind
04 September 2012, 06:10 PM
Namasté,

McDonald's apparently thinks people have a very short memory.

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/us/for-hindus-and-vegetarians-surprise-in-mcdonald-s-fries.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/us/for-hindus-and-vegetarians-surprise-in-mcdonald-s-fries.html)

Since finding out that I apparently hadn't been vegan during the time I thought I had, I haven't consumed anything in McDonald's, not even coffee. Who knows what they put in it. :p

Indraneela
===
Oṁ Indrāya Namaḥ.
Oṁ Namaḥ Śivāya.

Vannakkam: Yes, my friends at Hinduism Toady were part of that settlement. I can't remember the figures but it was no small sum. As far as I know, they still haven't changed whats in it, just stopped portraying it as such. Austere vegans and vegetarians have to be pretty aware of fast food places and their veggie burgers. Could well be they're all cooked on the same grill. In earlier days my daughter worked at Pita Pit, and many staff didn't really take vegetarianism that seriously, so there was cross contamination going on, I'm sure.


Aum Namasivaya

Viraja
04 September 2012, 06:32 PM
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/us/for-hindus-and-vegetarians-surprise-in-mcdonald-s-fries.html (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/05/20/us/for-hindus-and-vegetarians-surprise-in-mcdonald-s-fries.html)



Oops! Now I have made the discovery I haven't been vegetarian all this time either since I love McDonald's fries! (No wonder I haven't made much spiritual progress!!;))

Gaurapriya
13 January 2013, 04:23 AM
Oops! Now I have made the discovery I haven't been vegetarian all this time either since I love McDonald's fries! (No wonder I haven't made much spiritual progress!!;))

To be honest, Indian fast food is pretty terrible for the health, or at least the ones present in my locality. Most of the Indian fast food places in food courts at malls are generally a very sloppy idea of Punjabi fare, generally loaded with oil; it's enough to see your curry and sabji glisten in the light as you eat them! :eek:

Although... dosa houses are the greatest inventions of human food sources! :D

One of my goals this year is to support vegetarian and vegan restaurants more than anything. I think that I'm very blessed to have a small scene of vegetarian eateries that make a point not to serve animal flesh.

Viraja
13 January 2013, 01:47 PM
To be honest, Indian fast food is pretty terrible for the health, or at least the ones present in my locality. Most of the Indian fast food places in food courts at malls are generally a very sloppy idea of Punjabi fare, generally loaded with oil; it's enough to see your curry and sabji glisten in the light as you eat them! :eek:


They are serving a vegetarian Mushroom curry these days at Indian restaurants in USA. Not sure if you've tried them, but they are very good... kinda on the spicy side owing to which they are my favorite. Not sure about the oil used, but Mushrooms are good in proteins so they are 'healthy' in my opinion...

Also, they generally avoid eating daily hotel food in India.. they say hotel/restaurant foods have added 'baking soda' in them, especially in the rice, to give 'quick fullness' to the eater... But other than that, it shouldn't be really bad to eat in Indian restaurants once or twice a week...:)

Gaurapriya
13 January 2013, 02:44 PM
They are serving a vegetarian Mushroom curry these days at Indian restaurants in USA. Not sure if you've tried them, but they are very good... kinda on the spicy side owing to which they are my favorite. Not sure about the oil used, but Mushrooms are good in proteins so they are 'healthy' in my opinion...

Also, they generally avoid eating daily hotel food in India.. they say hotel/restaurant foods have added 'baking soda' in them, especially in the rice, to give 'quick fullness' to the eater... But other than that, it shouldn't be really bad to eat in Indian restaurants once or twice a week...:)

I make mushroom curry/sabjis all the time... ;) Either with brown basmati rice or whole wheat chapatis.

I live in Canada, so I am not very privy to what goes on in the United States. In Canada, our largest Indian diaspora consists of Punjabis, and thus their culinary fare invades what most people think with 'Indian food,' from restaurants to fast food places (such as "Curry Express") in malls.

If I ate at an Indian restaurant once a week, I would get fat! It's way healthier to make Indian food at home than to eat it so regularly as once a week! :p

Viraja
13 January 2013, 03:42 PM
If I ate at an Indian restaurant once a week, I would get fat! It's way healthier to make Indian food at home than to eat it so regularly as once a week! :p

:D (Saves on your pocket too..!)

Jogesh
13 January 2013, 05:09 PM
Some of these 'Indian Fast Food' are being run by Muslims and sell 'Halal Meat'...
but will advertise themselves as 'Indian and offer all Indian dishes, but the non-veg is Halal...

Buyer Beware

Sadhaka
22 January 2017, 08:51 AM
Although there are many Indians living in Vienna nobody came up with the idea to open an indian fast food Restaurant. This is Something I always wondered about ...
I would be the first one to go there if they would offer yummy veg food for moderat prices.
Lets hope that someone will do it in future!

markandeya 108 dasa
24 January 2017, 02:33 PM
Namaste,

Interesting that this thread came up. I am in the process of starting up a free food distribution programme in my home city. A friend of mine gave me a catering van to use and when the food distribution is set up I will use the van to make and try and make it into a vegetarian/vegan fast food counter, and travel to different places. At the same time give out some simple info on simple living and high thinking, to get a gentle and simple message to look after ones health and soul and spread more awareness on environmental issues. Its not out to prove any point but only to have a good positive identity that people can relate to. Havent even planned it, its just kind of unfolding, I dont have any material ambitions and I will be encouraging more or as many to get involved with something like this, for me its a great prop, and one can do festivals and meet new people. In one festival my friend gave out 15,000 plates of free vegetarian food, and more than 100,000 a year in London as a daily service in London. There is so much interest in this food and a great way to communicate an idea.


Over the past couple years there has been so much more awareness raised about the food industry in general, what goes into food and what happens to food before it ends up in the supermarket, on ones plate and ultimately into the body. So its good to use best ingredients possible, sattva is profit enough, all good things come through sattva.

The problem is lack of choice, many people gain awareness but have no real outlet. Over 400 million less animals were killed last year in America alone last year due to people cutting down, trying to go veggie or vegan, trying to be healthy, weight loss, helpful for meditation and compassion and the rest, so whatever information that came out has had an impact. In UK they want to try to push people be a vegetarian/vegan one day a week, in London on the tubes ( underground rail lines ) they have posters of animals likes cows, chickens and pigs saying we are life too, or something like that, tens of thousands of people are walking past these images and messages everyday.

I really want to encourage people who have time or inclination to reach people through food that now is the time for this type of market, and its growing and I cant think of any negative as a karma yoga to society that is related to giving out and selling or sharing vegetarian/ vegan foods, people understand it more now, many will appreciate that alternative, people are more conscious on what they eat, they understand more the devastating effects in bad choices of food, but have no choice or not enough choices.