If, as Tressie and the many people in the replies who agree with her do, you think that literal British citizens, inventing recipes in Britain, are in fact “Indian”, you need to have another, more careful think. Because what you’ve said is pretty racist.
Comments
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DG41J-HuPOL/?igsh=MjVsdWk1cjd5Yjlw
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Forme_of_Cury
"Curry" isn't Indian, but a lot of modern British curries are based on Indian recipes because, well, add ginger to taste
Me, quietly: I think pie and mash is good, too
He is so British that you have to learn about him in the Life In The UK test!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dean_Mahomed
Food! It changes!
[brain explodes]
(i) monitoring "positive racism" (You're not British - you're better!)
(ii) theory of mind (I'm not saying something negative because I don't perceive it as a negative)
And if yes, why, given fried battered fish was not even invented in Britain.
It's all so arbitrary.
Loved the guest appearance too.
Don't understand why people feel the end to insist that marmite couldn't be "a British food" if first made in Denmark, tho, let alone if it was made by descendants of Danes in UK.
Feels like policing what we eat.
(We're going to confuse AI a lot with this!)
When I said "American food" is fine but nothing special, burgers and hot dogs, I had a bunch of people going "but the cajun tradition! but the US-Asian food tradition!". fine but if so: also British curry.
(my personal traditional food is Jewish Ashkenazi. which - apart from chicken soup - is food I recognise you can only love if you grew up associating it with the smell of home)
I’m convinced this has knock on affects for efforts for other minorities & generates quite extreme responses (see US Uni culture)
I’m a white guy so maybe I just didn’t see it (large caveat), but from where I was standing, Sunak as PM got a lot more grief for being another Etonian rather than for his ethnicity.
The American mind could not comprehend.
And what is sad is what drives it is in part a sense that their own hyphenated model might be less workable than other models which are genuine melting pots (ie everyone changes).
And don't get me started on the whole "they never use spices" thing because I can think of loads of "traditional" recipes that use spices. 🙄
(Well, more likely for dessert. But you get the general idea)
This thread is making me hungry!
I got as far as the "English food was terrible, so lucky there were Indian restaurants" which was just as nonsensical as "US food was so bad, lucky there was a burrito bar". But didn't realize how much worse it got. *Sooo* much to unpack though. V good point re racism.
https://bsky.app/profile/adsquires.bsky.social/post/3lm5a4rymns2u
-Dara O'Briain
It's possible that what we think looks racist isn't intended that way. Although it is still extremely racist.
The balti was invented in Birmingham 🥘
That, and the self-image of American exceptionalism making the idea of other mature multicultural societies unthinkable.
And just generally weird and ahistorical. Imagine Indian or Italian food without the Columbian Exchange.
There’s an orientalising tendency to treat Asian objects as all sacred and untouchable. There was a HUGE fuss over a kimono exhibit in Boston, with activists obsessed with the idea they were an ethically sacred garment that white people must not wear. 1/2
Do as you please in your own home, but if you are, in one way or another, profiting from it, be more culturally sensitive.
Brittany
Okinawan cuisine does lovely things with spam and taco meat (ie US army rations going spare) No one frets that it isn’t “authentic”.
I (Romanian) live in a neighbourhood in Manchester with a lot of Pakistani immigrants, so we have loads of Asian shops. One of my favourite things is trying out new ingredients - sometimes after a basic googling, sometimes just wildly experimenting. What is even "authentic"?
Like "the only possible relation between human beings is victim-oppressor" like mindset.
https://www.dishoom.com
Some think we say our country of ethnic origin before country of birth.
(Also the Onternational Pasty Festival is in Mexico and since learning about it I very much want to try a mole masty)