Gauracandra Posted July 15, 2002 Report Share Posted July 15, 2002 The Maharaja Mac: Fast-food Indian style Spicing it up for the Indian market July 14, 2002 Posted: 6:17 PM EDT (2217 GMT) NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- McDonald's and Pizza Hut are the latest U.S. fast-food giants trying to carve out a niche in the hearts of India's billion-plus diners. But they are finding that for a consumer raised on tandoori and curry you have to make it spicy or not at all. Hence the very Indian feel to the menu found beneath the golden arches on the subcontinent -- there's the Maharaja Mac, a chicken patty-based offering, and the all-vegetarian Veggie Burger. The menu completely excludes beef or pork, which could be offensive to Hindus and Muslims respectively. And rival Pizza Hut is pushing its range of Masala Pizzas, a spiced-up version of what you might find in the West. CNN NewsPass VIDEO CNN's Ram Ramgopal looks at how fast-food chains are adapting to Indian tastes by offering spicier and more vegetarian oriented cuisine (July 14) "We're not here to change the Indian customer's taste buds. We're here to give him a top quality product with a taste and texture that appeals to him," said Pankaj Batra, director of marketing for Pizza Hut's parent company. The Pizza Hut menu offers the Veggie Lover's and the Spicy Indian. But other U.S. companies have found the Indian market a tough one to crack and the cultural and culinary differences too wide to bridge. After an ambitious start in the late 1990s, KFC scaled back its expansion plans after protests against what some in India called cultural imperialism. It now has just one restaurant in India. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarun Posted July 20, 2002 Report Share Posted July 20, 2002 Families not honoring prasAd, not dining together daily at home means: The beginning of the end of any semblance of civilzation. Goodbye Govinda! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarun Posted July 28, 2002 Report Share Posted July 28, 2002 Whatever u do, just don't say McVraj. That'd be going too far. Unless all vegeburger flippers where RAdhA-kuNDa tilak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theist Posted July 28, 2002 Report Share Posted July 28, 2002 McDonalds should just be run out of India period. Dear Indian brothers and sisters.Please don't fall for the glitter and sparkles of our Western culture.It's just glass.Cheap. Adopt what you need in terms of infrastructure etc. but strengthen your own cultural roots. Like the proverbial bamboo in a wind storm, bend but don't break. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarun Posted July 29, 2002 Report Share Posted July 29, 2002 I was in Vraj'84 when BrahmAnanda was trying to remove all newly-introduced LOTTO from Loi Bazar. Not an easy task. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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