Don't Yuck My Yum

This is a long awaited post for some of my foodie friends out there who have been asking me since day one...what have you been eating. I hope that this post satisfies your curiosity, but there is still have a huge gastronomical expedition ahead of me.

Commonly asked questions about my food habits:

1. Are you a vegetarian?

Yes, one that eats all meat :) I get stereotyped often as a vegetarian, because I love tofu, granola, and could live off of vegetables for the rest of my life, but if a steak looks great, it is on my plate. I love lentils but I live for Bacon. The way that I describe it is I am a very non-picky eater who prefers veg dishes and takes advantage when going to a place famous for it's meat like Karims where I went with my roommates the first week of Delhi that is known as a "non-vegetarian delight"

2. Do you like Indian Food?

Love it! The only time I got sick of it was right before I left Boston when everyone who I told that I was moving to Delhi wanted to take me out to an Indian restaurant to celebrate. I have since learned that the only kind of Indian food that I had tried at home was Northern Indian. I have also discovered a much different version of Southern Indian which I also love.

3. Does India have anything besides Indian food?

Yes, Delhi has many different types of food, but that doesn't mean that it is prepared well. The mexican was less than average and didn't even come close to comparing to Anna's or the food that I had in San Diego the month before I came here. I have had plenty of Thai, there is seafood, sushi (which I haven't had yet) and Subway, McDonalds, PizzaHut...and the like. I have not had McD's yet, but the Subway is right next to work and on a typical day I would get an Aloo Patty or Corn and Peas sub with one type of cheese...cheese. Yeah, I know, doesn't sound that appetizing huh? Well, I resisted for a while and when I tried it, it wasn't that bad.

3. Are you scared that you will get sick?

Been there done that...Not too badly in India yet. They commonly refer to it as the "Delhi Belly" and I hear that when it hits, you know. I was sick for almost a month in Costa Rica and I almost died in Budapest with some Goulash gone bad landing me in the hospital. Thanks for the ride to the ER that day Jack. I still owe you! So needless to say, I have convinced myself that I have been sick so many times that I have built up a little bit of resistance to play with.

Let me continue by saying that I am no food expert. I may or may not have waited (I did) until restaurant week was over in Boston before moving here, but I have just started learning about French cuisine and terms like " amuse bouche" and how to say french fries in the fancy way...frites. But I do like to think of myself as an adventurous eater. I think that started when I was a little kid. With my parents not allowing me to leave the table without trying whatever they were eating. How was I supposed to know if I liked it without trying it. I have learned that I like things spicy, and if they are a little dangerous or weird it just makes it even more fun. I still have to find something more strange than crispy caterpillars to beat Jeff. The worst part is that he had to pick the legs out of his teeth when he was done. What can one-up that?

So back to the Indian cuisine. The indian that you are used to in Boston and elsewhere in the states is typically Northern Indian foods like Palak Paneer, Chicken Tandori, Tiki Masala and Dal. It is heavier and it is usually meat or veg in some sort of gravy(sauce) and delicious. The Southern Indian food is more like Dosas and Uttappam. Southern Indian food is generally eaten with your hand and I am getting good at scooping the rice in three fingers and using my thumb to push it into my mouth.

Within the two cuisines I have tried all sorts of things. Usually I go into a restaurant and look at the menu, that looks something like below:

Murg is Chicken

and I just ask for something that I have no clue what it is and learn if I like it or not. It sometimes works and sometimes has been a disappointment. I also ask for their recommendations and see what is brought to the table. For those who are indecisive a great option is a Thali this is a bunch of little samples of many different types of food. It usually comes with rice and a few roti to eat all sorts of delectable. After one such southern indian meal I was asked if I wanted Paan.

Thali and a Lassi in the background

Alison and I eating our Dosas

paan

I didn't know since I had never had it, so I said sure. It was explained to me that is was a bunch of spices wrapped up in a leaf that is eaten to cleanse the palate after a meal. I could def benefited from one of these so when it came to the table I popped it in my mouth, chewed for about 30 seconds before it became unbearable and I embarrassedly spit it out. I learned that day that I do not like Paan.

Bread is another adventure. There are so many different kids that you can choose from. There is Naan, Roti, Chapati, Appam and I am sure many more, but those are the ones that I eat most oftenly. I describe the Appam as the squishy one shaped like a bowl. I really like Naan and I have Chapati's for dinner every day.

Which leads me to another great point...what do I eat for dinner you ask? Well that was a question that my very concerned and interested team asked me today. I been lucky enough to have my maid Punita cook for our house 5 times a week. We, meaning Saabria my Indian roommate and the only person in the house who can speak Hindi orders the veggies and then based on what we have Punita will cook up something delicious. She made Aloo Gobi two days ago and I loved it, and today we had a Okra Curry, which I scarfed down. Alex and Saabs get their meats form the market or have the chicken place deliver to the house. They have been eating these delicious, seasoned and spiced chicken kebabs.

something Punita made thrown in with some of Alex's chicken Kebabs and Meatballs

I have been being told since day one...don't eat the street food. You don't know how long it has been there and how sanitary it is, so of course I couldn't resist. I was at the Sarojini Nagar Market the first time I tried Gol Gappa. I was kind of hungry and with my roommate Saabs who said casually, want to try this? Trustingly I was hoping that she wouldn't put my stomach or health in danger, so I said yes. The guy gave us two little tin bowls and he took a tiny puff pastry, shoved something that looked like potatoes inside, and then dunked it in broth and served it bare-handed to our bowls. Saabs looks at me and says pop the whole thing in your mouth at once like sushi. I did and it was quite good. I thought we were just getting one, but I soon found that as soon as you were finished he would just pop another on in the tin. I think that we got 6 each not a bad deal.

So there is still so much to try and I haven't even ventured that far into the options. I am sure there will be many more delicious tries and some that will be disastrous, but for now good night, and remember don't ever yuck someones yum, especially if you haven't tried it yourself.