LadyJane remarked:

>> There's no such thing as "getting the mixes right" when it comes to
>> Indian cooking.
>
> Possibly she was talking about her own personal preferences. Which it
> IS possibly to get right.

True enough, but I got the impression that she was trying to come up with a
flavor that her Indian friends would like, and that they would identify as
"authentically Indian." I just wanted to reassure her that there's no ONE
such thing. :-)

Furthermore, unless her Indian friends are all from the same part of India,
chances are good that they've got differing ideas about the "right" way to
make Indian food. Northern Indian cooking (which is what is best-known in
the USA) has only a little in common with Southern Indian cooking. Much like
Italy, regional cuisines depend on what is available locally. Unlike Italy,
the cuisine is further shaped by the predominant religions of the regions;
e.g., Northern Indians use asafetida instead of garlic because of a Jain
superstition that garlic "heats the blood." To further complicate the
Indian culinary landscape, two cities -- Goa and Hyderabad -- have cuisines
all their own: Goa's cuisine was strongly influenced by the Portuguese who
settled there, and Hyderabad's cuisine was shaped not only by its historical
status as a crossroads, but also by the creativity of the Sultan's cooks.
(Thailand's "royal" cuisine is another example of that phenomenon.)

(http://tinyurl.com/pj77b gives a more complete overview of Indian regional
cuisine.)

So -L, feel free to tweak recipes as you see fit, and have fun!

Bob