Food pics

I've been enjoying delicious meals here in India. I don't take pictures of all my meals, but when I do, I'll share them here. Check back regularly to see the updates!

This was dinner my first day. The yellow soup is dal, which is a lentil based dish. This is a creamy version of dal that I'm not crazy about. In the dish to the left of the dal is subji, which is the broad term for a vegetable dish. This is a subji of peas and carrots. The winter carrots are red in India. They are spiced nicely! To the right of the dal is a salad of chopped carrots, cucumber, and onion. I squeeze some lime or lemon juice on there and sprinkle some black salt, and I'm all set. Now, I have received cautions about eating raw vegetables. But let me tell you, the cool crunch of the raw veggies is so refreshing in this heat. So, I follow the same rules for raw veggies that I do for fruit. As long as the skin can be peeled off, it should be fine. So far, so good! There are two different types of bread - chapati first, and papad to the left of that. Chapati and papad are served at lunch and dinner every day. The chapati makes a handy scoop for the subji and dal/rice. The papad is thin and crunchy and I love dipping it in coconut chutney. It reminds me of chips and dip, but this is much healthier. There is a lot of protein and fiber in these Indian breads. It's an important part of getting enough protein in the meal. Here's an article about the difference between the various Indian breads, if you're interested in learning more - https://www.sbs.com.au/food/article/a-beginners-guide-to-indian-breads-the-difference-between-roti-and-naan/n7k3dujy7

Another yummy meal - my salad is shredded this time. The accompanying bread is called Puri. Matar paneer covers the rice. Paneer is a delicious Indian cheese and Matar paneer is prepared with peas. That little mountain of deliciousness next to the paneer is coconut chutney. I love coconut chutney. I could eat it with everything. Actually, I do! I don't know what Pushkar (the chef) did to those baby potatoes next to the chutney, but they were divine.

Pusher changed up the salad presentation today with slices. Yum! The rice is seasoned with saffron and chopped veggies. There's dal and the subji is chopped green beans, onions and spices. Front and center are the coconut chutney and papad. I have to exercise good discipline to eat my subji before my papad and coconut chutney!

This was my favorite breakfast so far! I always get fruit salad and nuts. The real treat was the dosa, which I love. Dosas are a thin and crispy crepe made of ground white gram and rice. They are perfect dipped in coconut chutney. The dosas just kept coming... it reminded me of eating pancakes fresh off the griddle. And the coffee to the left is another morning staple. At home, I don't take sugar in my coffee, but here, the milky sweetness is perfection!

Lunch includes salad, papad, chapati, and rice. Next to the rice is Bhaji, which is a fritter made from vegetables. This Bhaji is made from bottle gourd. The subji next to it has potatoes and methi (fenugreek).

For dessert, a sweet. This sweet is a ball of bread that is reminiscent of a donut. It's soaked in a sweet syrup. When I cut into the ball, the syrup it contained filled the bowl 1/3 full. I find most of the Indian sweets are too sweet for me.

My friend, Seema, invited me over for dinner. This watermelon was my appetizer. Seema sprinkled sandwich masala (a blend of spices) on top, which gave the watermelon a wonderful sweet and savory flavor.

Dinner was a delicious kitchari, which is a bean and rice dish that is very easy to digest. Seema is from North India, and her kitchari is spicier than I'm used to. Thank goodness I asked her to make it only a little spicy! The bowl above contains yogurt (or curd as they call it here), that is seasoned with chili powder and other savory spices. The curd goes on the kitchari, which cools down the spice quite a bit. To the right of my plate are a couple bowls of various pickled items. I am not a huge fan of the pickled things here - they have a very strong flavor. I try them all, though. You never know when I'll find one I like. To the left of my plate are a couple of sweets in a bowl. I wish I could tell you what they are, but everyone just calls all of them sweets.

Some of these items should be looking familiar at this point. The papad, chapati, rice and coconut chutney are staples at most meals. The dal had black eyes peas (bowl on the left) and the subji has broccoli and mushrooms.

Pushkar added some corn to the salad today - so good! The main dish is Aloo Mattar (potatoes and peas in a tomato based broth). The subji is lady fingers (otherwise known as okra) with tasty spices mixed in. And I have a glass of lemon water. I was delighted to discover that lemon water is actually lemonade and they keep it in the fridge. It is cool and refreshing!

I was invited to another friend's house for dinner, and this custard apple was my appetizer. It was so tasty! I use a spoon to scoop out the insides, and then spit out the seed. Custard apples, where have you been all my life?!

The main course was Indian pizza. They don't sell the pizza crusts in Ganeshpuri. Kundan brought them back with her from a trip out of town. The pizza is topped with lots of veggies and sauce made from ketchup and hot sauce. Kundan turns up her nose at cheese on a pizza. It was awesome and very messy. The thing I liked best about this meal is that Kundan, her grandson Labesh (who invited me) and her sister sat down and ate with me. It felt like I was part of the family.

Usually, when I am a guest in someone's home, I eat alone while they watch me. It definitely took some getting used to, and that's just how they roll here. Even at Yogini's, I'm the only person staying there right now, so I'm eating alone at the table. I'm used to eating alone in the US, but without the spectators. I didn't realize how much I would appreciate people eating with me. I appreciated it a lot!

This breakfast was another winner. In addition to the fruit and nut salad, and coffee, I had yogurt. And this delicious savory pancake made from rava, which is lightly toasted semolina mixed in a batter with chopped onions, peppers and tomatoes. It's made for dipping in chutney, like the dosa. It was so good... chef's kiss!

I'm finding that breakfast is the meal with most of my favorite dishes. This breakfast was Methi paratha. Methi is fresh fenugreek, and it's chopped and added to Flatbread (paratha). You dip it in curd (plain yogurt). It's a delicious combination! The Flatbread and curd both contain a fair amount of protein. I also have fruit salad with nuts, fresh squeezed orange juice, and coffee. Puskar stopped offering the fruit yogurt after several mornings of me not eating it. Lol!

This was a very tasty lunch! My salad is chopped today, with cucumbers, carrots and onions. A squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of salt is all it takes to elevate those flavors. On the other side of the rice is the subji, which is peas and squash. In the bowl is kofta, which are meatballs in onion gravy. You should have seen how big my eyes got when I thought the meatballs were made of meat! They are actually made from lauki, or bottle gourd. They were very good! And my favorite part, the papad and coconut chutney. I put the coconut chutney on other things, and I love to dip the thin and crispy papad in it.

Breakfast today was poha, which is a flattened rice dish traditionally served for breakfast or snack. The flattened rice makes it easy to cook quickly. It is usually served with peanuts, mustard seed, fresh herbs, and sometimes vegetables. Puskar makes his poha with carrots and onions. I also had some cubed muskmelon (cantaloupe-esque), fresh squeezed orange juice and coffee. It was a great way to start the day!