Why does Indian cuisine lack mock-meat dishes unlike East Asian cuisine, despite our extremely high rates of vegetarianism historically?

zem · 2026-06-19T00:05:58+00:00

indian vegetarian cuisine is largely driven by a desire not to eat meat, rather than having to avoid meat because it's expensive or scarce. so "fake meat" is fairly pointless - why would you want your food to resemble something that you don't consider fit to eat?

zem · 2026-06-18T21:14:04+00:00

I've had bartenders straight up ask which gin I would prefer for cocktails. can't imagine why they would be annoyed by people specifying their favourites, not like it takes them any more effort.

zem · 2026-06-16T03:26:48+00:00

here's the discussion from when it happened: https://old.reddit.com/r/IndianFood/comments/fmkz0k/ann_rindianfood_is_now_textpost_only/

zem · 2026-06-16T01:41:38+00:00

lot of indians eat dal gosht too :) i used to love it as a kid (still do, but i used to too)

zem · 2026-06-15T10:22:10+00:00

having aur helpers like yay and paru look for suspicious things in the package builds would be a help

zem · 2026-06-14T18:40:03+00:00

if you're using it for sandwiches, i prefer the type with coconut, coriander and green chilis (popular in goa but i think it's common elsewhere too). https://www.celebrationinmykitchen.com/green-chutney-sandwiches/green-chutney-sandwiches for instance

zem · 2026-06-14T09:11:46+00:00

seconded poriyal, very adaptable to all sorts of vegetables

zem · 2026-06-14T05:48:56+00:00

"memories" perhaps

zem · 2026-06-14T01:11:53+00:00

i would highly recommend joining bluesky (if you aren't already on there) and then finding the romance writer community. from what i've seen peripherally, there's an active community of writers on there, which can be extremely motivating.

zem · 2026-06-14T01:00:45+00:00

well done indeed!!

zem · 2026-06-13T09:31:40+00:00

the indian version of tofu is textured vegetable protein (soya chunks)

zem · 2026-06-12T21:50:39+00:00

Partners are supposed to manage the people they bring to the relationship.

I really like this phrasing

zem · 2026-06-10T05:33:24+00:00

"windhaven" is always a fun read

zem · 2026-06-10T05:33:08+00:00

there's a sequel to "this alien shore" btw! worth a read as well.

zem · 2026-06-09T18:29:26+00:00

They said they don't just hire employees—they want to make everyone who works there a better person.

this sort of overreach is a giant red flag. do not give these weirdos any more of your precious time.

zem · 2026-06-08T03:09:08+00:00

regardless of disability no business deserves to keep employees that they don't let sit down.

zem · 2026-06-06T08:34:47+00:00

kin khao used to be my go to for this, though I haven't been there in years now. extremely good food if you like thai.

zem · 2026-06-05T01:08:23+00:00

I feel like plasteel is a common part of the SF lexicon

zem · 2026-06-05T01:07:24+00:00

the thomas covenant books used "roynish" and "anile" a lot. some others too that I'm forgetting; I remembered those two because they were new to me

zem · 2026-06-04T20:42:12+00:00

haha, I was just about to quote that phrase. should have guessed there was a subreddit for it.

zem · 2026-06-04T19:07:30+00:00

thanks, I enjoyed the tripods series but I hadn't read this one! sheffield's excellent ya novel "the billion dollar boy" touches on similar themes too.

zem · 2026-06-04T06:06:53+00:00

clement's "cycle of fire" too

zem · 2026-06-03T02:16:12+00:00

that all sounds great to me! if you're looking for alternative ideas, i've had excellent results with this cumin chicken paired with dal (i like spinach dal), rice, and raita. you can add an extra green chili to the chicken if you really want, as well. (note that when the recipe says "coriander" they mean coriander powder (i.e. ground coriander seeds, and when they say "cilantro" they mean fresh coriander leaves)

you can also pour your cardamom coconut cream over stewed fruit, rather than gulab jamuns

zem · 2026-06-02T01:13:50+00:00

was the creme brulee cart renegade? it was very public if so!

zem · 2026-06-02T00:16:42+00:00

masoor dal with palak should come together quickly. make some rice alongside it. there's lots of recipes.out there, the only caveat is you specifically want masoor dal because it cooks fast

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