Eat, Pray, Love or Eating and Drinking my way through India...

Now I know Elizabeth Gilbert ate through Italy, prayed through India and loved through Bali. I am however eating my way through India! And as always culture is key. At home swirling the wine, smelling the bouquet, tasting the tannins, fruits, spices and varied flavors to the wines is a ritual very familiar to me. I nod approval. Here the nod of approval means I have touched the bottle and am satisfied that the liter of water I have just ordered is cold! Though I have not tried this I suppose if it was not to my liking I could send it back and repeat the ritual. Wind is secondary here. Though the development of wine is on the rise one is excited to find a South African Pinotage on the menu. I have been drinking more beer this last week than in the last several years! But the food is another story...

I am already aware that shortly I will be experiencing serious withdrawal from these sumptuous meals when I return to the West. As a vegetarian I am in heaven in South India. Tami Nadu (where I am headed) and Karnataka (where I am at present) are predominantly vegetarian. This is very exciting for me. For once I am in the majority. I spend so much of my life being in the minority that is as if I am home. Menu sections here clearly delineate non-vegetarian items as if those folks are the strange ones!

So it is Dosas for breakfast. Thali for lunch. Samosas brought by Sami for the train ride or a snack and a myriad of wonderful curries for dinner. But let's start with the Dosa, a large crepe like mixture of fermented rice flour and dhal (lentil dish) cooked on a griddle then stuffed with spiced potatoes, onions and curry leaves. This also works well mid-day for a snack. Also I am told that idlis, vada (deep-fired doughnuts made of lentils, or uttapans (thick rice flour pancakes with chopped onions, green chilies, coriander and coconut) are wonderful and make a good breakfast.

The Thali is the lunchtime meal of choice. In the south a typical Thali is served on a flat steel plate covered with a banana leaf topped with a mound of rice. Around the rice are servings of dhal, sambar (soupy lentils), mixed veggies, chutneys, pickles and dahi (curd/yoghurt). Eating Thali requires skill. Using the fingers of your right hand start by mixing the various side dishes with the rice, kneading and scraping it into mouth-sized balls, then scoop it into your mouth using your thumb to push the food in the mouth. It is considered bad form to stick your right hand into your mouth or lick your fingers so finger bowls of water are provided.

More on the samosa saga and dinner delights will be provided in a future entry. I am hungry just telling of this eating adventure and am off to breakfast before heading to Bangalore.