As I have already talked about several times in this blog, chai (masala, milky tea) is a very popular drink in India and it is served multiple times in the day. Usually it is at least served in the morning with breakfast and in the afternoon, between lunch and dinner. It will also be served to welcome a guest (at any point in the day). Chai is also served by vendors on the street and on the trains, making it the safest street food.
The typical breakfast consists of idli, sambar, chutney, and vadas. Idli is a savory cake made from rice. It has a very mild taste and is eaten with sambar and chutney. Sambar is a vegetable stew. Each place makes their own variation of sambar and it is very delicious. Usually the sambar is poured over top of the idli and chutney is used as an additional taste. Vadas look just like mini donuts. They are savory deep fried donuts made of dal, lentil, flour, and potato. They are either eaten alone or dipped in chutney and sambar.
The lunches and dinners are very similar in that they are heavy and contain many different kinds of bread, rice, stew, and sauces. Nann is a bread of the north so I have not been getting much of it yet. Typically, I have been eating roti, chapatti, parata, and dosa. My favourite dishes are aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower), channa masala (chick peas), and dal (lentils).
The restaurants are easily distinguished as being vegetarian and non-vegetarian (although the non-veg restaurants have many vegetarian dishes on their menu. The food is very cheap- typically a meal will cost about 2-4 Canadian dollars.
Thali is a typical item at restaurants in India. Some restaurants will have such a limited menu that they will not serve much else than thali. A thali is a selection of different dishes, served in small bowls on a round tray. Each thali that I have had is different, served with the specialties of the restaurant or area. It is a great way to try new things without having to know what they are on the menu. Thalis are served with rice and different kinds of bread on a banana leaf. Along with the main dishes in the thali, there will be one bowl with yogurt (to cool the spice), one very spicy sauce or chili (to add- as if there isn't enough flavour), and one with some sort of dessert. I am still not totally sure what is the correct way to eat a thali because I don't know what is supposed to go together but it seems to taste great when I mix different dishes together and add yogurt.
I have not been able to find a type of Indian dessert that I like. I find that they are so sweet that they overpower any other flavour. The sweetness makes the dessert so rich that I can not eat more than one or two bites.
Indians have a specific way of eating thali that I have not been able to master yet. At first it looks as though they are really messy eaters but upon further observation I noticed that they are very organized and at the end of the meal, the plates are clean. There are no utensils used when eating thali and you can not use your right hand at any time. They pour the sauce from each dish on the rice and mix it around quickly with their fingers tips so that it is a good consistency then they pick it up and expertly bring it to their mouth without dropping a single grain of rice. This is surprisingly hard to do without getting your hands dirty or dropping your food everywhere.
Wow, that makes my mouth water when I am reading this. It all sounds so good but I am sure you will begin to miss more "North American" foods simply because that is what you are used to. And I am sure you are missing your fresh fruits and salads. Tonight in addition to Sheppards Pie which Veronica has asked for, I have made this great salad with mixed lettuce, blueberries, pommegranete seeds and cherry tomatoes. It looks beautiful.
ReplyDeleteDo you guess use cutlery to eat with or do you use your fingers? What happens if the food is very hot -- doesn't it burn their fingers?
PT
There are for sure times when I miss more "North American" foods but there are Pizza Hut and Dominoes restaurants in all of the major cities. In terms of fruit, I am able to eat apples(without the skin), oranges, bananas, pineapples, and pomegranates. These are in season here or are transported a fairly short distance and have many different varieties that I did not even know existed. I big salad would be nice but I do not want to take the risk here.
DeleteI will try to use my fingers sometimes but will also opt for a spoon when it is available. In some restaurants that are full of Indian people I feel like I should use my fingers just to prove to them that I can. When food is too hot I will let it cool down before I pick it up. In the meals there are always several different dishes that I can eat while waiting for some to cool down.