I don't know if I was supposed to eat this
Hubby and I have recently been exploring Indian cuisine, and had lunch at an Indian restaurant last Friday. Food was great. As we were leaving, there was a counter by the door that had toothpicks, peppermints, and a small bowl of what looked like seeds of some kind - mostly green and red and a few yellow. There was a small spoon in the bowl. I didn't think they were for eating, but hubby took a handfull, popped some in his mouth, and said they were good. I tried a few and it tasted like perfume...it tasted like the scent of the incense in the restaurant. I quickly spit it out, which made me feel bad, cause I did it right in front of the restaurant window, and I really did enjoy the food. It took a good hour before the taste left my mouth. Hubby got a good laugh and no ill side effects that I know of. Can anyone shed some light on what I ate? I feel dumb for asking, but I need to know :-}
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14 Comments:
yes, you are supposed to take a small pinch and chew them thoroughly. they are candy coated fennel seeds and sweeten the breath after eating so much onion, garlic, and spice. i love them and buy them for myself at the indian grocery.
cybercita at 10:43AM on 11/17/08
Is there a name? Seeing as I don't really like fennel, that's probably why I didn't care for them. You learn something new everyday, don't ya, haha!
erinlovestoeat at 10:46AM on 11/17/08
They appear to be called mukhvas. [chowhound]
Adam Kuban at 10:52AM on 11/17/08
Thanks you guys, yet another reason why I love SE!
erinlovestoeat at 10:57AM on 11/17/08
Oh no... did anyone see you spit? :(
I got a packet of these on British Airways, and I have to say, I really liked them.
mongoose at 11:35AM on 11/17/08
I don't know if anyone saw, I certainly hope not. It was just my gut reaction, I would feel bad if I offended anyone :(
I will be going back because the food was tasty.
erinlovestoeat at 11:37AM on 11/17/08
@erinlovestoeat--I dislike fennel strongly as well and probably would have done the same thing, if that helps!
Christina at 12:07PM on 11/17/08
I think they're wonderful and really do freshen the breath, but I find a lot of people disagree with me.
marzipanda at 12:35PM on 11/17/08
Oh, and they're okay to swallow. I think the proper way to eat them is to take about 1/2 teaspoon and suck on them like hard candy.
marzipanda at 12:36PM on 11/17/08
Wow! I always wondered what those were, but was too embarassed to ask or do anything with them. Thanks for the information!
Traveller at 12:53PM on 11/17/08
there is another indian treat called pa'an that is a bunch of highly flavored seeds and pastes wrapped up in a leaf. you are definitely not supposed to swallow pa'an. my friend and i got some at an indian grocery on 1st avenue at my suggestion. i forgot to tell her to spit it out and she swallowed it. ugh!
cybercita at 1:31PM on 11/17/08
My (Indian) family has always called those seeds "saunf" (pronounced kind of like "soanf"), although I think that may be the name of fennel seeds in general, not the sugar-coated ones specifically.
kmalladi at 1:57PM on 11/17/08
I don't like fennel either, and would have also spit them out...but then again I wouldn't have put them in my mouth in the first place because I never eat anything without knowing what it is.
I am so not an adventurous eater/taster.
Southern_bella at 2:16PM on 11/17/08
It is a digestive and consists of assorted fennel (saunf).
Try and spit it out politely outside the restaurant in future.
flakevanille at 10:46AM on 11/18/08