Indian restaurants-on-wheels becoming hip in USA

Food trucks serving cuisine of India are becoming hip across USA.

These restaurants-on-wheels, some of which claim to be serving gourmet and off-beat foods, have become popular in California, New York, Texas, North Carolina, Philadelphia, and Washington DC.

With interesting names-"Curry Up Now", "Naan Stop", "India Jones",  "Dosa Truck", "No Tomatoes", "The Desi Food Truck", "Bansuri Indian Food Truck", "Copper Chimney"-they offer eclectic Indian fares of dishes with creative titles, like  "Punjabi By Nature Burrito", "Deconstructed Samosa", "Mumbai Madness Dosa", "Roti roll-up", "Calcutta Royal Biryani", "Slumdog Dosa",  "Indian Evening Breakfast" (4-9 pm), "Lassi-pop", etc.

Well known Indo-American statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that cuisine of India, which was characterized by sophisticated and subtle use of various spices and herbs, had a remarkable influence on cuisines across the world. Curry originated in India and over 1,200 Indian food products had reportedly been introduced in USA since 2000.

Rajan Zed, who is chairperson of Indo-American Leadership Confederation, further said that Indian cuisine, one of the most popular cuisines across the globe, went back to around 7,000 BCE when sesame and eggplant were domesticated in Indus Valley. By around 3,000 BCE, black pepper, mustard, turmeric, and cardamom were being harvested in India. Ancient Hindu scripture Chandogya Upanishad said, "Through food comes the end of all ignorance and bondage." In ancient Sanskrit textbooks, cookery appeared to have been a highly cultivated art and even Byzantine Emperor Justinian employed an Indian chef in his palace, Zed added.

Various items served at these food trucks included buttery kathi-rolls, dal-rice, korma, parantha, saag, dosa, samosa, curry, butter-chicken, biryani, mango-lassi, masala-fries, chicken tikka-masala, roomali roti, shammi-seekh-gola-burra kababs, ginger lassipop, etc.

Some such food trucks are reportedly using social media, including Twitter and Facebook, and other creative marketing tools and attracting long waiting lines of loyal customers. One describes itself as "a travelling culinary carnival"; some have ever changing menu; one aims to serve genuine street foods of Chandni Chowk and Chowpatty; one defines dosa as "sourdough crepe"; one claims to use napkins made from 100% recycled paper and bags which are certified biodegradable and compostable.