Food in India

I had a chance to go to the vegetable market today with Brother Chendra who is in charge of the Bishop’s House operations. Markets are basically the same the world over, but I was surprised at the incredible friendliness of the vendors. I snapped a picture of a Muslim fundamentalist and he very kindly explained to me that only photographs of nature are allowed in his religion. I apologized and erased the picture, he was satisfied and another international incident was averted without collateral damage. The tolerance of the various religions in India is legendary and I have never seen or heard a single disparaging remark about any faith.

Our meals here are largely vegetables and grains with a little chicken and “mutton” (aka goat), and very occasionally fish. Each dish is made with a its own variety of spices. But what largely comes through for me is the chili. Every dish is spicy hot it seems, even breakfast food. This morning we had noodles for breakfast, for example, and they are spicy hot enough to not only wake up your tongue, but your whole body. So far the only dish that didn’t appeal to me was boiled bitter gourds. At first I thought maybe the cook had made a mistake but as it turns out it was not only made correctly, it is a favorite dish. I am now closely monitoring the dishes for any bitter gourds that are slipped in. I told them that in Texas we would slice them and deep fry them with spices and everyone would like them. Turns out, they make them this way too and while they’ll never replace chips or fritos, they aren’t bad.

I have only been eating at parish houses and convents so I haven’t had a chance to try street food yet. But I was given a box of sweets to try and they are teeth-cracking sweet! It’s like eating a block of solid brown sugar with some odd combination of spices thrown in as a surprise. A tiny bite goes a long, long way. I don’t think I’ll be replacing my Croatian nutrolls with Indian concoctions for our Christmas parties. Not unless I want to throw everyone into a diabetic coma!