Episode 0309

My name is Catherine and if you've been listening to our recent lessons, you know that we've been talking a lot about food.

That's right, and today we have another lesson all about food from a different country. Last time we took a look at Mexican food, uh Chinese food. Now we are talking about Indian food.

Okay, Indian food is very famous for being spicy, but not all of it is spicy.

Let's take a listen to today's dialogue and find out just what kinds of food you'll find at an Indian restaurant.

So, where is this mystery restaurant that we're going to?

Well, Indian cuisine actually doesn't serve beef. You see, cows are a sacred animal, a very important element in the Hindu religion, so beef is not eaten.

I see. So what are we having? Chicken?

Yeah.

Also, we can have some naan bread, which is baked in a tandoori oven. Since you don't use any utensils to eat, you can use this bread to scoop up the curry or rice.

What about veggies?

All right, we're back. So now let's take a look at a couple of words and phrases here on Language Takeaway.

Language Takeaway

So, in this first language takeaway today, we have words that are about the kinds of food we're eating today.

So the first one, the character said, I am craving some type of beef.

So to crave something.

Okay, so that is a verb to crave, and that means that you have a desire, you really want to eat something, to have a particular thing.

That's right, but it's particular. So it's something specific. Uh, for example, pregnant women are famous for craving strange foods.

Like pickles.

Yeah, exactly.

So, if you say I'm craving some ice cream, you specifically want ice cream, or maybe vanilla ice cream.

Exactly.

And this person wants beef, but unfortunately, there's no beef at Indian restaurants because cows are what?

Cows are a sacred animal, so they are sacred in India.

Sacred means special or somehow important in a religious way.

Uh, for example, you could say this is a very sacred place, so please don't use cameras or phones and take your shoes off.

Mhm.

That's right. So the word sacred refers to something that is uh religious and very important for that religion, specifically in and this occasion we're talking about the Hindu religion.

Okay, so the Hindu religion or Hinduism, Hinduism is uh a religion that's widely practiced in the world and maybe most commonly found in India.

Um, so you'll see a lot of Hindu temples in India and people don't eat, you know, beef like we said because cows are sacred in the Hindu religion.

That's right.

Okay, so now in India, uh or for Indian food, it's common to not use any type of utensil to eat.

Okay, so you might be wondering what is a utensil? I know forks, I know spoons.

Well, utensil is the word that describes all forks, spoons and knives, things that you eat with.

Okay, so utensils are tools for eating and uh it's a very general category.

Right, exactly. So utensils are spoons, forks, knives, everything.

Chopsticks are utensils even.

Okay.

Very good. And now since we don't use any utensils, you usually eat with your hand and you scoop up uh the food, the rice or the curry.

Okay, to scoop up, this is a verb, and usually you use your hands to scoop something.

Uh so in this case, I can use a piece of bread to scoop up or to pick up some food.

That's right. So the verb to scoop up, it usually means that you somehow make a little bowl or little uh figure with your hand so that the liquid or the food will fit inside, kind of like a little scoop.

Or a little cup. That's right. So to scoop up, scoop something up.

All right. So now let's go back, let's review this dialogue, and when we come back, we're going to take a look at the specific Indian dishes found in this dialogue.

So, where is this mystery restaurant that we're going to?

Well, Indian cuisine actually doesn't serve beef. You see, cows are a sacred animal, a very important element in the Hindu religion, so beef is not eaten.

I see. So what are we having? Chicken?

Yeah.

Also, we can have some naan bread, which is baked in a tandoori oven. Since you don't use any utensils to eat, you can use this bread to scoop up the curry or rice.

What about veggies?

All right, we're back. So now let's take a look at those dishes on Language Takeaway part two.

Oh, Marco, these lessons are making me so hungry. We've been doing them for a couple weeks now and this one is no exception. We talked a little bit today about chicken dishes and vegetable dishes, but a very general kind of dish in Indian food is a curry.

That's right, a curry. Now, this is a noun and it's a dish that has a variety of spices in it.

That's right. So there are many different flavors, not just one flavor.

You can have chicken curries and vegetable curries and mutton or lamb curries.

Um, but the thing that you need to remember in Indian food is that there's usually different colors of curry. Red, yellow, or green curries.

That's right.

Exactly. So, the the dishes are usually called curries and an example of a curry, uh we have a chicken tikka masala curry.

Okay, so we know that there's chicken in it and uh tikka means that it's grilled chicken and masala is the name of the spice or the the curry, the spice that's in that curry.

Exactly, exactly. So, a curry is kind of like a thick sauce with pieces of chicken in it. In this case for the chicken tikka masala, it's a little bit spicy and it's a color red.

All right, so we've got the chick- the chicken tikka masala, um, or masala, and uh, usually you eat this with rice or bread, but in India there's a special, there are many different kinds of bread, but the special bread we heard today was called naan bread.

Right, naan bread.

And it's just basically a type of bread. Now, it's not like the bread that you usually have at home, it's a flat bread, so it kind of looks like a pancake almost.

It does. It's not fluffy. It's flat. And uh the way they cook it is they use this special oven and they cook it inside the oven.

Now, the question is, what is that oven called, Marco?

That's right. The oven that we heard is a tandoori oven.

Okay, so tandoori is just the name of this oven. It's also a style of cooking in India.

Mhm. Exactly. So, a tandoori oven is a type of oven usually made from clay. That's why it's called tandoori.

Now, towards the end, we also have some vegetarian options because as we heard in India, they don't eat beef and many people are also vegetarians. They don't eat any type of meat at all.

So, the first vegetable based dish that we heard is a palak paneer.

That's interesting actually, because paneer is um is curd or like a cheese type of uh cheese type of thing.

So, it's it's usually white and comes in rectangles and um and paneer, you can have many different flavors of it, but paneer generally is a kind of a cheese, like a cottage cheese.

That's right. And palak is actually spinach. So it's a dish that it kind of looks like a thick uh sauce, green sauce, which is made out of spinach and within it, it has little pieces of this type of cheese.

Now, a samosa, what's that?

You see these on carts or on the street in India. Now, samosas are like pyramids or triangles and inside they have vegetables.

Okay? So you can have potatoes and peas or lentil. No, not lentils. You can have potatoes and peas and um they're a little bit crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.

I guess the equivalent would be to it's something like an egg roll more or less. Or like a dumpling because it is deep fried. It's deep fried.

And we also have uh dal. So, this is actually a type of lentil as you mentioned.

That's right. So, dal is a lentil dish and it can be flavored in different ways, but basically lentils are these very, very, very, very small round things. Um they're very good for your health.

And um dal is a is a kind of a soupy lentil dish.

That's right. So, lentil is a the category of this type of uh I don't know if it's it's not a grain, it's it's a legume, exactly.

So, it may sound a little bit weird, but uh we'll post some pictures of different types of lentils because it's uh it's like saying potatoes, there are many different types of potatoes, sweet potato and all this. And the same thing goes with lentils. So we'll post some pictures so you can see what it looks like.

Uh but now why don't we go back? Let's listen to the dialogue again. Let's review everything and we'll be right back.

So, where is this mystery restaurant that we're going to?

Well, Indian cuisine actually doesn't serve beef. You see, cows are a sacred animal, a very important element in the Hindu religion, so beef is not eaten.

I see. So what are we having? Chicken?

Yeah.

Also, we can have some naan bread, which is baked in a tandoori oven. Since you don't use any utensils to eat, you can use this bread to scoop up the curry or rice.

What about veggies?

That's right. And you know, what what people always tell me, um at least my Indian friends always tell me, is that Indian food, saying Indian food is like saying Chinese food.

We have some general idea, but every different part of India has its own special foods.

And so what we get in America at Indian restaurants might not be the same as what we get at Indian restaurants in India.

So I just want to say that, but uh, generally, you can find these dishes at any Indian restaurants in America.

That's right. Actually, if next time you're in an Indian restaurant or if you ever go, ask them for what region or what area of India the food is from.

Because it may be northern Indian uh cuisine and obviously that is going to be a little bit different than maybe the southern.

I think the southern is supposed to be spicier.

Exactly. And it's just like in every country, even in our own home countries, uh maybe the food from the coast or from the uh from the north will be different from the south or the inlands.

So uh a buffet is uh basically a self-serve of foods. So the restaurant will put out many different dishes and you can take as much as you want of each, but you pay one price.

Uh-huh.

All right, so it's 11.99 or something.

That's right. They're famous for being very good and uh not very healthy for you, but uh.

Yeah, exactly, they're very sweet.

If you're in an Indian restaurant, uh take, take note, look at look for these different things and uh let us know, do you like to eat Indian food? If so, what's your favorite dish?

The English Pod audio review.

Listen to the meaning, then say the vocabulary word.

Something that is unknown or lacking in information.

Mystery.

A person who adheres to the religion of Hinduism.

Hindu.

A style or quality of cooking.

Cuisine.

A stuffed pastry triangular in shape.

Samosa.

A meal containing lentils.

Dal.

Possessing qualities of unusual delicacy and fine craftsmanship.

Exquisite.

Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, served in tomato sauce.

Chicken Tikka Masala.

Holy.

Sacred.

Want something very much.

Craving.

Let's try that faster.

Holy.

Sacred.

A meal containing lentils.

Dal.

A person who adheres to the religion of Hinduism.

Hindu.

A stuffed pastry triangular in shape.

Samosa.

A style or quality of cooking.

Cuisine.

Chicken marinated in yogurt and spices, served in tomato sauce.

Chicken Tikka Masala.

Possessing qualities of unusual delicacy and fine craftsmanship.

Exquisite.

Want something very much.

Craving.

Something that is unknown or lacking in information.

Mystery.

Now say the word and hear it in a sentence.

Cuisine.

I'm a big fan of Italian cuisine. Always fills me up.

Cuisine.

My friend is coming over tonight to cook his regional cuisine for me.

Cuisine.

Indian cuisine is too spicy for my liking. I prefer Chinese.

Craving.

I'm craving for some chocolate right now.

Craving.

I've got such a craving for blueberry pancakes.

Craving.

My friend is always craving for cigarettes. He should quit.

Exquisite.

The new art at the museum was truly exquisite.

Exquisite.

Her voice is exquisite when she sings.

Exquisite.

His performance was an exquisite example of how to cook.

Sacred.

Cows are sacred in India. That's why they do not eat beef.

Sacred.

He always takes time off to visit the sacred temple.

Sacred.

Many religions around the world have sacred books or items such as the Bible.

Mystery.

It was a mystery as to who stole the cookie from the cookie jar.

Mystery.

No one knows how to solve this mystery.

Mystery.

She didn't know where her boyfriend was taking her. It was a big mystery.