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

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

#361

Post by glial »

Mitra - Cool idea! I was always a bit envious of my Indian and Bangladeshi friends in college who came to campus on Monday with a Tupperware container full of food. Now I can try it out myself. Just ordered some.

FWIW, I really like the website and personally I do like that you sell it in pre-set packs. I don't know my way around non-Americanized Indian food very well and would be happy to try anything - happy to let you all pick what that is at first. It's nice that you let people buy multiples of 1 pack once they find something they really like.

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

#362

Post by enno_au »

MPSimmons wrote: post #349
pen2l wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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, ev…

One word of advice, capsaicin is an oil. Trying to dull the pain with milk, etc is a waste of time. You need to dissolve the oil off your tongue and for that alcohol is the best solution (no pun intended). Pure spirits work well to remove the capsaicin and then you can follow up with something that will soothe your raw nerve endings. So, German beer may have been the right answer for you at the time.

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

#363

Post by dbmikus »

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…

Half of my Indian-American (first generation born in America) can barely handle any spice. That's just an anecdote, but I'm not so sure you can draw the spice line on whether or not someone is Indian.

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

#364

Post by slededit »

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 was at a restaurant with my Indian friends, we all ordered the same dish and spiciness however my food came from a different container...

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

#365

Post by enno_au »

astura wrote: post #256
baddox wrote: post #227

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Coming from small-town Missouri and having traveled very little even within the US, I had literally never heard of any specific Indian dish (authentic or not) until I moved to San Francisco. I had no idea what naan or chicken tikka masala were until my company in SF ordered some.

You should probably know that chicken tikka masala is British, not Indian then. :)

Sure... and Vindaloo is derived from a Portugeuse dish. Which is not to say they aren't associated with India today.

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

#366

Post by RLN »

I'd love to give it a try but it looks like you only ship to the US. Are you planning to expand in the future?

I'd say the market is certainly there, and not just from Indians. In the UK curry is very widely eaten and many consider some dishes to be part of our national cuisine. While I've been abroad I've often struggled to find decent curry.

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

#367

Post by Hasz »

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…

The tricky problem with spice levels is there's a weird masculine/masochism vibe to it all, along with a highly subjective scale. So we end up with some way overestimating their tolerance, and some way underestimating. Both of these leave your customers with negative impressions, rendering them less likely to come back.

Really want to help your customers decide? Bring out a little bit of each sauce; and a bit of bread to try it with. Have them move from the non-spicy to the spicier -- let the server know which one they liked best. Not only is this an inexpensive course of action, it lets restaurants avoid disappointing experiences and allows for an inexpensive teaser at the start of a meal.

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

#369

Post by Zamicol »

mitraraman wrote: post #315
harigov wrote: post #211

I think the food is slightly overpriced but I would be willing to pay for high quality organic food. However, my key concern is how you deal with allergens. I am very sensitive to certain food items like gluten and dairy which makes it hard for me to find food when I travel. If you can handle food contamination and provide organic gluten/dairy free food, consider me a customer. I can totally see myself buying these f…

I understand your concern, and we're very careful to not cross-contaminate. All of our products are vegan and the only dishes that are NOT gluten-free are khichdi, upma, and our rices. We use our own kitchen appliances and actually cook the gluten-free and non-gluten-free dishes on separate days to ensure that we're being careful. You're right, these are great for trips!

I'm also a celiac. I'm surprised there's nothing about gluten free products on the FAQ page.

I'm also sensitive. This kind of product would be excellent for me if I knew it wasn't poisoning me.

This is a big issue for celiacs. We get treated like trash (not as bad as a decade ago) and have been burned countless times with so called "gluten free" food. One example, there was a local chief telling people that he was a celiac and then cooked "gluten free" noodles in the water with gluten noodles. We later found out he didn't have celiac, it was only a marketing ploy.

We've learned just not to trust people unless they are serious and "get it", show genuine understanding of our concerns and the serious consequences of cross contamination.

Best of luck, I hope this prospers.

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

#370

Post by nishs »

sumedh wrote: post #355
astura wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You should probably know that chicken tikka masala is British, not Indian then. :)

> You should probably know that chicken tikka masala is British, not Indian then. You have to be careful posting such comments, you might start a war :)

Right. A war over something as meaningless as this.
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