Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes • Hacker News Board

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#341

Post by setr » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 1:27 AM UTC

sarchertech wrote: post #242

t1o5 wrote: post #200

You will have a hard time balancing the spice levels. You can't satisfy both Indian and non-Indian demographic or you will have to have a spicy, less spicy type of each item. As an Indian, I cant stand the westernized non spicy versions of the supposedly authentic Indian foods. So I wouldn't buy them nor eat in those type of Indian restaurants. Its the same case vice versa. Non Indians may not like the spicy versions…

In my experience non-westerners tend to underestimate the level of spiciness that westerners can handle (particularly westerners who are culinarily adventurous), and overestimate the average spiciness of their cuisine. If it's too spicy for me, it's too spicy for 99% of the population of any country, but it's damn near impossible to convince servers of that.

I think it has more to do with how the westeners behave when things are too spicy; I've had a russian girl break down crying from a mildly spicy dish (lost half a gallon of milk and a ton of sugar for that one...), and while others are less extreme, whenever they can't handle their spice, they'll surely let you know it. I know maybe 2 people who both can't handle a high level of spices, and will behave themselves when its too hot.

Personally, I find worst-case behavior rude, offensive and downright childish; and more annoyingly, it's generally acceptable behavior. It's sufficiently annoying to stop me from serving spicy foods by default, if its to a non-asian. And worst of all, they always think they can handle a decent level of spices, so theres no warning before they start huffing and dying at the table.

I imagine most restaurants aren't as annoyed by it as I am, but I'm pretty sure its primarily that worst-case behavior that stops them from serving properly spicy food to westeners. At least with an indian, if they can't handle their spices, they'll drink their water and shut the hell up.

No one enjoys seeing someone huffing and puffing at the dinner table

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#342

Post by jkaplowitz » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 1:42 AM UTC

selimthegrim wrote: post #290

vram22 wrote: post #267

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ha ha, good point :) Yes, hing is a very strong spice. But it can be a light spice, if you use little enough. Normally just a tiny pinch of it is used. Also, in India, the packaged variety you get from shops is usually mixed with some filler material which makes it less strong. Not sure what, need to check. In a similar manner, for example, some mustard powder out here is mixed with some whole wheat flour (atta) and…

Yes my impression is it’s atta

Most commonly. I'm in North America and that's also true for the hing here. Though I have found other fillers, which is good for people who need to avoid gluten (atta has gluten).

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#343

Post by iamshs » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 1:51 AM UTC

Good luck to you. I absolutely abhor MTR and other Indian meals out there. They taste yuck and are unappetizing. Hopefully your company will change that. I like how you named it after lassi but buttermilk is not really lassi. I absolutely have no hesitation in saying that you will be successful, if your rasam tastes as good as you say it is. Hopefully you start doing saag soon. One of the old world Punjabi foods, before Portuguese came with their fancy la-de-da tomatoes. It is just mustard stalks, ginger, salt and chilli for the most part. So sits right there with your company's vision. If you are looking for an Australian contact, I will be happy to hear from you.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#344

Post by gandutraveler » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:11 AM UTC

neya wrote: post #11

How is this any different from MTR's line of products?[1] And given that MTR's products cost just $2.50 per pack where I currently live, $24 isn't exactly cheap. I haven't tasted your product, but I have tasted the MTR ones and they seem pretty authentic. And MTR being a very old, traditional brand, it's as authentic as it gets. Would love to hear about your differentiation strategy. [1] https://www.mtrfoods.com/prod…

MTR is shit. I haven't tried buttermilk but if they are as good as they claim then I am definitely going to be one of their target customers.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#345

Post by desireco42 » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:18 AM UTC

I feel like my Indian friends will just frown at this, most of them take pride of home cooked meals and they love to share it with us.

Having said that, I wish you luck, this is better business and idea then last 5 that were posted here (which I will not mention). It is like YC can find original people any more.

Anyhow, good luck!

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#346

Post by School-Cotton » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:22 AM UTC

roguecoder wrote: post #326

ForrestN wrote: post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you pause to think about why you were asked that series of questions so often? Your experience suggests that the case of a guest overestimating their own tolerance is vastly more common than the case of the restaurant underestimating the tolerance of a guest. Edit: my mother, for example, is constantly enamored of the idea of spicy food, orders it "medium" or even "spicy," and then struggles to eat it.

Why do you think the people who would not want to eat spicy food would order Indian food advertised as spicy and authentic when they have lots of other options already? Whereas people who want spicy food are underserved by current options, so selling to them seems like a smart move.

> Why do you think the people who would not want to eat spicy food would order Indian food advertised as spicy and authentic when they have lots of other options already?

Regardless of whether it makes logical sense, in practical reality, they do.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#347

Post by jeswin » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:23 AM UTC

js2 wrote: post #268

sarchertech wrote: post #242

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In my experience non-westerners tend to underestimate the level of spiciness that westerners can handle (particularly westerners who are culinarily adventurous), and overestimate the average spiciness of their cuisine. If it's too spicy for me, it's too spicy for 99% of the population of any country, but it's damn near impossible to convince servers of that.

A bunch of us Westerner looking types went to a Thai restaurant in Mountain View. This was many years ago and I don't recall the restaurant. We ordered some shared dish and were asked how spicy we wanted it, 1-10. We said 10. The whole "are you sure?" thing a few times. They brought the dish out. We said "this really isn't 10 spicy." The server said, "next time say you want it 10 on the Thai scale". Sigh. I live in N…

I went through the same experience once; instead of 1-10 I told them I wanted the "Thai spicy" maximum. I thought being an Indian it should be something I could handle; I couldn't have been more wrong. That thing burnt my intestines and "exit wound" was literally true. Took two days to feel completely alright.

"Indian spicy" is not really that hot - it's more about the strong flavor that comes with mixing spices of multiple varieties.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#348

Post by umeshunni » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:43 AM UTC

Mitra - your check out flow is a bit confusing (not sure if it's a standard Shopify template or whether it's something you customized).

Two things that annoyed me: 1. In the beginning of the flow, you show logos of PayPal and Google Pay (I'm on Android), but I didn't get a chance to pick them later in the flow. 2. I was asked for my address twice (once by your flow and then again after the Amazon Payments redirect). Why didn't it preserve my address between the redirects?

Looking forward to receiving the items I ordered.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#349

Post by MPSimmons » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:50 AM UTC

pen2l wrote: post #287

learc83 wrote: post #270

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Warning customers that your food is spicy is one thing. Refusing to accept that your culture isn't the only one on the planet that enjoys spicy food is something else entirely. There are white people who don't like spicy food, and there are Indians who don't like spicy food. There are probably more white people who don't like spicy food than Indians who don't (percentage wise). But if you use this heuristic instead o…

Roughly 10 years ago, I briefly worked as a waiter in an Indian restaurant in the midwest. Easily, more than 90% of the white people who wanted things "spicy" on the Indian spicy scale could _not_ handle it. So the heuristic of interpreting the definition of spicy in the context of their background more often than not works out. (If it didn't, Indian restaurants who have been established for decades would have learne…

Only two times in my life have I been brought to weep because of how spicy something was, and both times, it was the F'ing Cajuns. I have no idea what they did, but oh my god.

They showed up one time at an Octoberfest (!!!) with their damned salsa. Do you have any idea how hard it is to get something that will cut heat at a German festival? I had to eat a cream puff the size of my head to stop the pain.

And yes, every time, my nose runs like a sieve. I feel your pain.

Re: Launch HN: The Buttermilk Company (YC S18) – Homemade Indian Food in 5 Minutes

#350

Post by whoisninja » Thu, Aug 16, 2018, 2:50 AM UTC

Only suggestion in my opinion that matters : the food has to really taste great. Instant foods taste like hell generally. So this has to be significantly better.

Specially with Indian food, most Indians cook from scratch and the food only tastes good if cooked fresh with raw items/whole spices.