Iron Chef Secret Ingredient: Yogurt

On Friday Christopher and I got together with some friends to cook an Eastern Indian feast and to watch Slum Dog Millionaire for the first time. We made two types of Naan, Samosas, Chicken Tikka Masala, Indian Spiced Rice Pilaf with Dates and Parsley, and Mango Lassis. I used recipes from the Spring Entertaining edition of Cook's Illustrated Magazine.
The flavors were fantastic but the food was Americanized in many ways. For example the Samosas had a beef filling. Due to the sacred status of cows to many Hindus, a more traditional filling would've been lamb or potato and peas. Also Cook's Illustrated noted that Tikka Masala is the most popular Indian dish at Indian restaurants in America (the spaghetti of Indian food if you will) but is not traditionally served in India.
Every recipe, except the rice, contained yogurt; a common ingredient in Indian dishes.
With the rise of Eastern Indians moving to the U.S., I wonder if Indian cuisine will ever catch on and be adapted to the American palate as much as Mexican food has been. In the International Foods aisle at Meijer food stores there is a "Hispanic" section filled with authentic items and a "Mexican" section filled with Taco Bell and Old El Paso items. Who knows, in the next few years perhaps Pillsbury will sell canned Naan next to canned croissants and Stouffer's will sell a frozen family sized Tikka Masala next to lasagna. The verdict is still out as to whether or not that would be a good or bad thing: sacrificing quality and flavor to bring a less exotic cuisine version of this cuisine to the palate of the American masses.
To be honest, I've only eaten Indian food a handful of times and this was my first time making Indian food from scratch. Feel free to leave a comment naming your favorite dish to order at an Indian restaurant. You don't need to create an account to leave a comment either, that's the great thing about blogger.com!