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I too have wondered about this idea.
The good thing about Thailand is the cheap labour here, because making authentic Indian curry from scratch is a fairly time consuming and labour intensive process. One problem you could face is the inability to provide anything cooked in a tandoor, unless you have access to one or can build it (curry without naan bread!!). I suppose it might be possible to do some kind of deal with an existing restaurant to get round that obstacle though.
What I think could be popular if done well and what it sounds like you're aiming for is authentic home-style Indian cooking, ideally representing the whole spectrum of Indian cuisine. It's unlikely most people have ever tried such food unless they've been to India, are Indian or fortunate enough to know someone who is that cooks. Unfortunately what most people know as Indian food is whatever's available from their local Indian restaurant, which is likely to be the same stuff offered at most of the other Indian restaurants. Of course there's nothing wrong with, say, a rogan josh, as long as it's cooked well with good quality ingredients, it's just that there are so many other fantastic dishes out there that people are totally unaware of but would no doubt love.
One of the nicest curries I've had the pleasure of eating was made by my friends father. It was like nothing else I've ever tasted, although admittedly he comes from Mauritius not India, but the point is it was real home cooking made with love and care and you could tell. Another wonderful concoction I've had was flavoured with red bell peppers and almonds, puréed to make a sauce - delicious, and something you'd struggle to find on your typical Indian restaurant menu. I also feel there's no point limiting yourself when it comes to the main ingredient used. For example using crab in certain curries gives excellent results but most people wouldn't necessarily think of using it simply because they've never seen it. The same can be said for duck, wild boar, goat, certain fish etc.
I know some supposed Indian (many are actually Bangladeshi) restaurants in the UK cut corners, for example using ginger and garlic powder instead of the real thing, plus many curries are made using one generic base sauce, meaning every dish contains the same amount of onion, garlic, ginger etc, when in reality each should have varying ratios which in turn goes some way towards giving them their identity. 'Toasting' whole spices is another technique that your average high street curry house is likely to bypass yet it's these small touches that make all the difference and something no self respecting Indian cook would ever overlook, so as far as the actual food's concerned I think it's things like this you need to consider. You say the food would be cooked by 'real Indians' but that doesn't mean anything unless they know what they're doing.
Assuming the food is good that's probably the easiest part of the business out of the way, the bigger challenge is likely to be the logistics of delivery, the marketing of your product, receiving payment from customers.....
Keep us posted on this venture, it may well work and prove very popular with the expat community here.
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In Topic: Cheapest/Locals Indian Food?
2012-03-27 21:48:02
wordchild, on 2012-03-27 21:24:28, said:
I have been taken by Indian colleagues to some great cheap places in little India as others have said that seems to be the place for quality Indian food. I also love Mrs B,s and go there often but for somewhere cheaper and also good on sukhumvit cross over to soi 8 then take the first tiny sub soi on the left 15mtrs down there on the right . i cant remember the name but its the only restaurant in the sub soi, great food and pretty cheap.
I forgot about that place, the name's Namuskar or something like that. The Indian owner's a nice guy. Think the staff might be Burmese.
