I used to rent a farmhouse in the country out in New Jersey - every once in awhile I caught a whiff of a hog farm down the road. Of course the city people moving into the new developments were always complaining about the country stuff. Smells, somebody hunting, etc.
A family from India just moved in next door to us. I almost have to plan my outdoor activities to avoid being outside from about 4 pm to 6 pm while she is cooking! Whatever it is, it sure is nasty smelling. Funny - I smell somebody with burgers or steak on the grill and my mouth starts watering. I don’t know how - but I’m guessing her husband thinks the same thing when he gets home.
They are renting, so hopefully after he works at Microsoft for awhile he can move out to a mansion somewhere.
(Hmm - I don’t suppose I could win a lawsuit??)
Depends where they are from, I guess—the cuisines vary widely from north to south, east to west in India, just like here before the great homogenization since the 70s. Probably the relative wealth of the family influences the smell, also, just like here.
A friend of mine used to work in a craft store. She said that when the Punjabi Indian ladies bought fabric or yarn and then returned it, even though the corporation made them give the customer their money back, they could not resell the fabric because it had absorbed those strong cooking odors.