when in India, eat like the Indians
I admit I was concerned about the food as I was preparing for this trip. I am not a spicy fan. India is known for spices. In fact, there was this thing called the spice trade in the first millenium BC...
Anyway, the food was an adventure all in itself! Firstly, I got overwhelmed by the amount. My hosts, be they family of friends or waiters in restaurants/hotels, seemed to enjoy feeding me. For example:
I get to my first rest stop, and aunt Nikita asks if I would like breakfast.
"No, they fed me on the plane."
"Oh, well here are some chocolates and nuts. Do you want milk? How about tea? Do you like fruit?"
Or, in Goa:
"You only ate two naans! Eat more!"
To avoid overstuffing my stomach while simultaneously not offending anyone, I learned some tricks. I'd say I was chewing gum, or sucking on a cough drop (which would ruin the taste of their excellent cooking), or that I had just brushed my teeth, etc.
Secondly, I had a lot to learn on what I was eating. Puri, pani puri (aka golgopa), daal maharani, daal makhani, momo, palak paneer, papur, biruyani, lassi...
I probably spelt things incorrectly, but in my defense, we're going from a character langauge to the roman alphabet. In fact, sometimes there isn't a way to transliterate. My favorite word to try out was "gu- (tongue)" The "tongue" sounded kind-of like a glottal L or R. My friends enjoyed listening to my attempts.
Thirdly, I had to learn how to eat it! I started out with utensils, and scooping the daal or puri or chutney onto the naan. Then I noticed I looked like a foreigner doing that, since those around me were eating by using the naan to scoop up the bean/vegetable/whatever. I also had to learn about the use of yogurt. In America, yogurt is sweetened and eaten by itself. In India, it is plain, usually made at home, and used as a condiment. In fact, I loved having it as a condiment, because it helped bland-ify my food. I finally started looking (in technique, at any rate) like a native when I saw that people only ate with their right hand, using it to tear the naan, scoop the stuff, mix the rice into the stuff, etc.
My friends were very helpful in finding me the least-spicy stuff on the table, but sometimes I'd sample the real deal. When asked how I liked it, I'd reply, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." It tasted good, but I couldn't handle the burn.
Speaking of real deal, I had so many fantastic un-processed things! Fresh grape juice, figs (I'd only ever had Fig Newtons), custard apple (looked like an artichoke, but tasted like...a custard apple), coconut, chicku (which tasted like brown sugar), pomegranate, and so many others. Absolutely wonderful.
What I liked most? Beans with yogurt and naan, biruyani (it's like chicken curry with rice cooked in it), nimbu pani (a honey-lime drink. Tamanna's mother brought it to us every morning, and since I was the first one up, sometimes I was tempted to drink my friend's share as well), and banana lassi (a yogurt drink).
And I miss it.
Anyway, the food was an adventure all in itself! Firstly, I got overwhelmed by the amount. My hosts, be they family of friends or waiters in restaurants/hotels, seemed to enjoy feeding me. For example:
I get to my first rest stop, and aunt Nikita asks if I would like breakfast.
"No, they fed me on the plane."
"Oh, well here are some chocolates and nuts. Do you want milk? How about tea? Do you like fruit?"
Or, in Goa:
"You only ate two naans! Eat more!"
To avoid overstuffing my stomach while simultaneously not offending anyone, I learned some tricks. I'd say I was chewing gum, or sucking on a cough drop (which would ruin the taste of their excellent cooking), or that I had just brushed my teeth, etc.
Secondly, I had a lot to learn on what I was eating. Puri, pani puri (aka golgopa), daal maharani, daal makhani, momo, palak paneer, papur, biruyani, lassi...
I probably spelt things incorrectly, but in my defense, we're going from a character langauge to the roman alphabet. In fact, sometimes there isn't a way to transliterate. My favorite word to try out was "gu- (tongue)" The "tongue" sounded kind-of like a glottal L or R. My friends enjoyed listening to my attempts.
Thirdly, I had to learn how to eat it! I started out with utensils, and scooping the daal or puri or chutney onto the naan. Then I noticed I looked like a foreigner doing that, since those around me were eating by using the naan to scoop up the bean/vegetable/whatever. I also had to learn about the use of yogurt. In America, yogurt is sweetened and eaten by itself. In India, it is plain, usually made at home, and used as a condiment. In fact, I loved having it as a condiment, because it helped bland-ify my food. I finally started looking (in technique, at any rate) like a native when I saw that people only ate with their right hand, using it to tear the naan, scoop the stuff, mix the rice into the stuff, etc.
My friends were very helpful in finding me the least-spicy stuff on the table, but sometimes I'd sample the real deal. When asked how I liked it, I'd reply, "The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak." It tasted good, but I couldn't handle the burn.
Speaking of real deal, I had so many fantastic un-processed things! Fresh grape juice, figs (I'd only ever had Fig Newtons), custard apple (looked like an artichoke, but tasted like...a custard apple), coconut, chicku (which tasted like brown sugar), pomegranate, and so many others. Absolutely wonderful.
What I liked most? Beans with yogurt and naan, biruyani (it's like chicken curry with rice cooked in it), nimbu pani (a honey-lime drink. Tamanna's mother brought it to us every morning, and since I was the first one up, sometimes I was tempted to drink my friend's share as well), and banana lassi (a yogurt drink).
And I miss it.
Sounds awesome! So glad you had a great time! :)
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