Help: Stupid white man thinks he just ate Indian potpourri

[John Coloccia]

Pictures to follow, but can anyone identify this stuff as either an Indian snack or Indian air freshener? It was right near other stuff that I know to be edible and have eaten before with great success. When I tried this stuff, though, I ended up having to spit it out. There are little things in there that are like chewing on thin strips of bark. There are some little balls that are wrapped with what I can only describe a aluminum foil.

What the heck did I eat?

Now, I will say that I put it in a bowl and stuck it in the downstairs bathroom. Bathroom now smells wonderful, if not a little like chicken Korma (which I like, so that's OK with me!).

Picture will follow soon.

edit: Here it is...

DSC02067.jpg

[Charlie Reals]

I don't know John but if the bathroom still smells wonderful after your morning constitutional you will know it has passed safely and with great success

[William Burgess]

I'm not sure what that is, but at a lot of Indian restaurants there are some herbs/seeds they put by the door that you chew on after a meal to cleanse the pallet. Kinda like mints I suppose. Your not supposed to eat them though.

[Jim Creech]

Kinda looks like critter food to me! But as long as it smells nice and is legal to possess ???

[John Coloccia]

I'm not sure what that is, but at a lot of Indian restaurants there are some herbs/seeds they put by the door that you chew on after a meal to cleanse the pallet. Kinda like mints I suppose. Your not supposed to eat them though.

That's what I thinking it MIGHT be, but it has absolutely no label on it. I do have several of the herb mixtures, and I really like them. This particular bag really didn't taste too bad and I would chew on it if I thought it was safe, but the little bits of what looks like aluminum (or lead, for all I know) make me a little concerned. I really am curious what the stuff is. I would take it back to the place I bought it from and ask them but we're in there all the time and I'd feel a little funny, but it may come to that. Anyone know how to say "dumb gringo" in Hindi? At least I'll be able to pick it out between the fits of extremely polite, uncontrollable laughter.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Anyone know how to say "dumb gringo" in Hindi

Not really - but - if I get the chance before I retire on Friday, I'll ask Microsoft Tech support.....

[Prashun Patel]

It's not aluminum; it's silver foil. It's typically found on Indian sweets. It's edible. Is it safe? That's another question.

Typically, you find roasted fennel seeds at the doors of Indian restaurants. Sometimes they put anise or licorice-flavored little candies in there too. But these 'digestive' after-dinner mixes can be comprised of a lot of different things like cinnamon bark, cloves, crystalized sugar, dried tamarind. Some of the more 'barkier' items are meant to be sucked and softened before eaten, or sucked and then spit out.

It's coincidence - or should I say irony - that this bit of Indian food actually smells good in yr bathroom

[Bryan Morgan]

Not really - but - if I get the chance before I retire on Friday, I'll ask Microsoft Tech support.....

Careful, some of the technical people at my company are in India and while they have the thickest accent you'd ever hear, they don't speak their native language, only English! I made the mistake of forwarding some stuff to them from one of our local customers that was written in their language and they just sent it back asking what they heck they are supposed to do with it. I told them I assumed they could read it... they understood my point but were a little offended. Doh!

[John Coloccia]

It's not aluminum; it's silver foil. It's typically found on Indian sweets. It's edible. Is it safe? That's another question.

Typically, you find roasted fennel seeds at the doors of Indian restaurants. Sometimes they put anise or licorice-flavored little candies in there too. But these 'digestive' after-dinner mixes can be comprised of a lot of different things like cinnamon bark, cloves, crystalized sugar, dried tamarind. Some of the more 'barkier' items are meant to be sucked and softened before eaten, or sucked and then spit out.

It's coincidence - or should I say irony - that this bit of Indian food actually smells good in yr bathroom

Thanks, Prashun. Chewing and spitting out makes a lot of sense, and that's precisely what I ended up doing when I tasted it. I'm a little unsure about the silver bits too...I'm just happy it's not lead or mercury!

[Mike Cruz]

Oh, I can only imagine the cooooool sensation of biting down on silver...right on a filling. Ahhhhhh, the good things in life! Hey, if it is anything like biting on tin foil (aluminum), I'll stay FAR away from that!!!!!!!

[Prashun Patel]

That silver foil is so thin, I'd be surprised if you even taste or feel it at all.

[Eric DeSilva]

That silver foil is so thin, I'd be surprised if you even taste or feel it at all.

Indeed, in a higher end Indian restaurant I went to, they actually had sheets of it that they put on top of the rice in a diamond pattern. Looked beautiful, but had absolutely no taste at all. Probably not something I want to eat every day until someone tells me silver is digestively inert, but it was an interesting decoration...

[Andrew Pitonyak]

They do not eat the fennel seeds do they? I thought that they chewed them up and then spit them out..... Was I mistaken? I have certainly seen bits of candy sometimes included (think little candy sprinkles that you might put on cupcakes).

[John Coloccia]

They do not eat the fennel seeds do they? I thought that they chewed them up and then spit them out..... Was I mistaken? I have certainly seen bits of candy sometimes included (think little candy sprinkles that you might put on cupcakes).

I certainly eat the fennel seeds. The only things I don't eat are after I chew on it for a few minutes and decide it's more like bark than food. That's what threw me on this particular batch of stuff. I'd never seen anything like that before so I wasn't sure if it was just simply not edible or if it was a sort of chew designed to be spit out, almost like sweet gum resin or sassafras twigs.

[Prashun Patel]

The fennel seeds are eaten, yes. In fact, most of the other stuff - even the barkier things like cinnamon bark are sucked, then eaten.