Since several of you have inquired about the food situation here, I'm finally devoting a whole entry just to that subject. Before I came I was a bit reluctant about how things would go, due to my aversion to strong spices and strange vegetables. I was guaranteed by many that I would get sick and have a hard time adjusting to the vegetarian habits over here.
It was hard the first few days, ordering arbitrary dishes at a spectrum of rooftop guesthouse restaurants and tiny shops at train stations. But over the past few weeks I've figured out the basic combination: some sort of saucy dish (vegetables, cheese, lentils, and/or potatoes with spices) mixed with either rice or (more often) nan, which is chewy flatbread, which calms down some of the spices as to not upset my tongue... just wake it up quite a bit.
Now that we're in Udaipur we have most meals in the apartment, made by Mina G, our fantastic cook. Breakfast is my least favorite, because it's usualy just toast and bananas, but occasionally an oatmeal-like mix as well. Cereal's avaliable, but the few days I had it my digestive system went a bit off, probably because of the milk. Chai is always avaliable, and I usually down 3 cups in the morning to replace my coffee addiction!
Then lunch and dinner are 2 "sauce dishes" like I described above, rice and bread, and amazingly sweet tomatoes and mangoes. We've gone out for lunch and dinner a few times as well, and each time I feel more confident when ordering. Part of our Hindi lessons last week included the names for every vegetable imaginable, and knowing these has proven quite useful!
My favorite dish that I've had so far has been "Paneer Butter Masala", which is large pieces of cheese in a rich sweet tomoato sauce with lots of herbs and spices, and combined with cheese nan. Aloo (potato) dishes are also good, and the handful of times I've had chicken (always in commendable restaurants) it's been wonderful as well, cooked in all those spices.
When we went for tea a few days ago we ordered chocolate and banana "Pan Cakes", which to our pleasant surprise actually turned out to be thick crepes. We've had other sweetened grain dishes a few times, and they're uniquely yummy.
I actually haven't had a bad meal here. Of course, I often find certain foods to be too spicy, but I eat more nan and drink more mango juice and the problem is solved. Other than the day or two when my stomach was a little upset (but nothing unbearable), I haven't really gotten sick. It seems like nearly everyone at the apartment has had this sporadic day-or-two bug, but once you pop some immodium you're good to go!
~christiana
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3 comments:
Hi Honey! Sounds like you are all set to go to Indian cuisine restaurants when you get home.
It's 6:30 pm now and you are probably all done with your farewell dinner and sleeping. How did it go? Did you wear your sari? How was the visit to your students village?
We were going to go to the boat show in St. Clair but the washer overflowed--it wouldn't stop filling with water! Daddy discovered it and we have been doing clean-up all day. So we are doing jobs around the house, not exciting, but needful.
Love, MOM
Now you're going to have to learn how to cook some of these and we can have a Chinese-Indian food cook-off :)
Can you order at restaurants by yourself? How is your Hindi coming along for that matter? Stay hydrated!
hey! Now I get to feel sweet leaving you comments and the like on your blog :)
I'm really proud of you, and I can't wait for us to have a long, long Caribou chat and for you to enlighten me on your adventures. I have a couple stories for you as well :)
Keep blogging about your discoveries; it all sounds fascinating. Love.
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