Following a full day of filming for the Netflix series ‘Ugly Delicious,‘ the American chef David Chang and his buddy Aziz Ansari visited a McDonald’s in Nariman Point. The curiosity about how McDonald’s Indianized its menu and what the people there thought of it, as well as the desire for quick cuisine. It’s interesting to observe how local preferences vary from region to region; for example, Italy offers Nutella buns while Japan has shrimp burgers.

Chang was identified by the McDonald’s young manager from the previous season of Ugly Delicious, who hurried over to Chang to express his gratitude for having a well-known chef in the restaurant. They were not permitted to film inside the store, but they were allowed to display the menu and even recommended PiriPiri potato fries. He asked Chang repeatedly whether he had any intentions to expand his Momofuku restaurant franchise to India.

Since Indian cuisine is such a diverse and essential component of culture, Chang began to question why it is not more popular internationally. International shows such as Ugly Delicious always have high hopes. However, a lot of individuals appeared to be solely curious about the solution.

As soon as the word of his arrival in India broke, social media was flooded with recommendations about the locations he should visit, and as usual, there were accolades and criticisms of the sites he chose.

Since individuals are enthusiastic about food and want to see their recommendations taken seriously, this is to be expected. According to Chang, Indians are so enthusiastic about their cuisine that they don’t care about anybody else’s acceptance or approval. Through a single Netflix episode, Chang suggests that what and how he eats in India will not affect anybody else in the world.

If this kind of audience encourages new viewers to ask questions, value their perspectives, and engage in polite discussions about food-related topics, then the response of the young manager at McDonald’s in Mumbai does contribute to the work done in these kinds of shows. Netflix is an intercontinental platform that extends beyond the English-speaking world to other nations that one would not expect to see Indian cuisine.

Although primarily geared toward the American market, the issues raised by Chang are readily applicable to other European nations as well as to Asian nations, such as the Indian subcontinent, or even to South America and Africa. Those nations that were formerly a part of the British Empire, those where the British forcibly transported Indians to their many colonies, or those that saw later-day migrations are the ones that truly understand Indian cuisine.

Despite the fact that the concept of “curry powder” is also used in Ugly Delicious, one does find association with Indian cuisine in nations like the UK and Australia. Mouclade, a traditional French dish made with mussels flavored with curry, is one example of how curry is used in French cuisine.

No Indian could ever conceive of the set amount of curry powder in Larousse Gastronomique, the encyclopedia and guide to French cuisine. The makeup of curry powder was established by legislation at the Universal Paris Exhibition in 1884: 34 grams of tamarind, 44 grams of onions, 20 grams of coriander, 5 grams of chili pepper, 3 grams of turmeric, 2 grams of cumin, 3 grams of fenugreek, 2 grams of pepper, and 2 grams of mustard.

Obviously, programs like Ugly Delicious have debunked the idea of a universal curry powder that can be used in all dishes, but they have also fostered the myth that Indian food is complicated due to its abundance of spices and ingredients. This has led to the misconception that Indian food is rather spicy, but the amounts of the spices used in the cuisine are not apparent; rather, one can see through the extensive list of components.

Indians indeed utilize a combination of spices known as ‘masalas’ in certain foods in order to make it easier to add each spice one at a time. One notable aspect is the texture that these blended spice mixes achieve by utilizing particular spices that enhance the texture of the meal, such as coriander powder, which, in addition to imparting flavor, also functions as a great thickening agent, giving curries a consistency that complements rice or chapati. In a similar manner, the well-known East Indian bottle masala from Mumbai contains a significant quantity of roasted and ground wheat, which gives the thin curries a base to complement rice.

Issues of this nature can be addressed when interactions with Indian cuisine are on the move and when it is difficult to address all the limitations of presenting issues in one episode, as demonstrated by programs like Ugly Delicious. The young manager at McDonald’s, among others, bridges the gap for a variety of culinary interests.