I have a problem, maybe someone has a solution.
Over the past few years, at 3-4 different Indian restaurants, toward the end of dinner I start coughing and choking, a lot. I guess the spices get to me. I love Indian food; don’t know why this doesn’t happen when I cook it at home.
Perhaps there’s an ingredient used in restaurant dishes that you don’t use at home. Or used in a more assertive quantity.
You likely don’t use as much heat/chilies.
I wonder if I order a mango lassi will that protect my throat?
I’m a mild-medium type, am not eating HOT spicy in restaurants. Never raw serranos.
What constitutes mild / medium / hot to any given person is subjective. I have a very high tolerance for heat / spice, and I am often disappointed if the spice level is lower than I expected.
That said, I am not familiar enough with the type of chilies used in Indian cuisine. More often than not, they seem to be incorporated within the spice mix (dried, toasted, what have you), which might explain that you are not actually seeing any “raw serranos,” (unlike, say, many Thai or Sichuan dishes), where chopped raw or dry chilies feature rather prominently (and therefore can be avoided if one desires - not that it’ll tame the overall heat of such a dish).
Yes. Or order a raita to eat alongside. The yoghurt will coat your throat to a degree.
In the UK, it’s unusual to see raw chillis in South Asian food. When you do see them sliced, they’ve been incorporated into the cooking of the dish.
Is the Food you are eating more spicy than normal to you?
If not, I would imagine that there is more likely an Ingredient that you are becoming sensitive to.
When you cook at home you are either exposed to less of it or not using it at all.
This is every time, at every one of those places?
What are you ordering there vs. cooking at home?
If the ingredients and spices used at home are the same, it may be something else.
For eg, my mom is suddenly coughing/choking sometimes as you described – my own observation is that it happens when she is talking while eating, and the chewing takes a skip, so some larger pieces stick in her throat or go down the wrong way. Never used to happen before, so it may also be related to aging.
Three different restaurants, one is Banana Island, Malaysian, they make big, beautiful dosas.
I do have allergy problems that seem to be year round now. Sinus congestion.
I wasn’t talking, was with a group where it’s hard to get a word in, anyway. Last restaurant, new, veg Rajasthani in Fremont CA, music was way too loud for a conversation. Food excellent, especially delicate rotis.
So not just Indian then.
Could be anything that triggers histamines, unrelated to food type. Fermented foods trigger histamine allergies, so does seafood, meat (especially eaten well after it’s cooked), and so on.
An allergist may be the solution you seek.
I don’t think it’s meat or seafood, the other restaurant was Udupi, veg restaurant in SF. Is dosa batter fermented? No dosa at restaurant in Fremont.
Maybe some spices are irritating my throat.
Yes, dosa batter is fermented.
Why guess at what’s causing an allergic reaction when a doctor can actually test and tell you?
Is it all the Indian restaurants or certain ones?
I get hives from certain dishes at some Italian, Thai and Korean restaurants, and some chain restaurants. I have a sulfite and nitrate sensitivity. There are no sulfite or nitrate tests available because they’re a salt sensitivity and not a protein allergy. Preventative antihistamines or antihistamines after a flare-up would help.
Luckily, I haven’t had issues at any Indian restaurants so far.
I keep a list of what I ordered and where I ordered it.
And has it been several meals at each, or just one each?
Lassi’s are very heavy (to me). I’d jump at Chaas (Indian Buttermilk) if available. Great way to start a meal.
ETA: scroll down on the link to the paragraph about ‘benefits.’
I don’t eat out very often now, so just once at each restaurant.
Doesn’t happen at seafood restaurants like Tadich.
Ingredients-wise, mustard oil is sometimes used in Indian cooking and can be intense.
Yes
I’ve never used it in my home cooking
