Can people who know Indian culture help me out?

Question

I saw a recipe for something called "Indian Beef Patties with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce" in Better Homes and Gardens.

http://recipes.bhg.com/recipes/recipedetail.jsp?sssdmh=dm17.263656&recipeId=R083951&esrc=nwdr&email=484091488

All I could think was, the spices and cucumber yogurt seem familiar, because I love Indian food. But don't most Indians *not* eat beef? I remember reading that even the McDonald's there use ground mutton instead of beef, because the Hindu majority wouldn't eat it. But I know not all Indians are Hindu. Do the non-Hindus eat beef?

Basically, I'm wondering whether it's me or the Better Homes and Gardens recipe creator being ignorant. :-)

Answer 1

It's a good question actually. As the previous people have stated, non-Hindus often do eat beef. But in India, where the majority are Hindus who don't eat beef, even those who would eat beef often stay away because there's the question of the quality of beef. Not too many places in India raising cattle for beef, so I get nervous about the beef.

Personally, I'm Hindu and I eat beef. This recipe you've posted is ok looking but I have a better one if you're interested. The recipe I have is from Sara Moulton and although it's not a totally Indian style recipe (kind of Greek/MiddleEastern/Indian), it's a great recipe. I've made it at least a dozen times and I always get lots of compliments.

The only change I make is I increase the cayenne.

Enjoy!!

Regards,
mari

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,,FOOD_9936_28385,00.html?rsrc=search

Answer 2

Non-Hindus can eat meat. It is not an ignorant dish. There are 1 + billion people in India, about 750,000,000 are Hindus. The others need food to eat as well. As far as the recipe is concerned, there is not really much ethnicity about it. Its only good spice is cumin. Indians use tumeric, chili powder, corrianderm and fennel. Otherwise this is an okay dish. Just remember, it is not an ignorant recipe, just not ethic.

Answer 3

Not all Indians are Hindus, and not all Hindus are "good" Hindus.

But many Indians, who ordinarily would not dream of even touching beef while in India - are very happy to make exceptions when they travel abroad.

At my house in India, I have often had "strict" vegetarians eat prawns as well as chicken, even though plenty of vegetarian food was also served at the same meals.

Answer 4

True Hinduism actually advices vegetarianism. Many are not, those who eat meat are taught not to sacrifice the cow because it has a religious significance. There are many hindus today who do eat beef because of exposure to to other communities. Beef, pork and mutton are very important constituents of the Christian and Muslim communities. I belong to a community of Indian Christians; my forefathers were converted by Thomas, the disciple of Christ. The muslim faith has been part of India for several centuries.

In fact in India restaurants that served meat used to be called Military restaurants because they catered to the British Indian armed forces.

If you need to more E mail me at [e-mail]

Answer 5

You are right,beef is not eaten by the 'majority ' population of Hindus,the cow being accepeted as a sacred animal.it's slaughter is frowned upon . However no such restrictions are observed by other communities & religious minority groups ,of which there are sizable numbers,so the slaughter & consumption of beef is quite a regular affair in towns & cities in most parts of India. As you see there ignorance is not involved at all.

Answer 6

Indian muslims will eat beef, if it is halaal. You can get halaal beef at most butcher shops, but it is more expensive. Most non-Hindus will eat beef. No one really cares though they eat what they are served out of courtesy.