Food for thought

And so comes the end of another memorable trip in India. Below is a collection of various thoughts and internal discussions I have had in these last 3 weeks. I couldn't write them out like a proper blog because that would make it longer than it already is. Let me know what you think.

Final Thoughts:

• According to Wikipedia, India has 28 states, 7 union territories, 22 official languages, 26 "other" languages and more than 6 religions. 

• Contrast throughout the country: "Big city life" of Delhi vs small town in UP, Himalayas in Himachal vs beaches in Goa, Thar desert in Rajasthan vs farms in Jharkhand, modern development vs ancient structures and practices, rich vs poor. 

• Some think I love India too much. My excuse: Emotions, celebrations, food, family and religion are all combined and dependent on one another. There aren't too many countries that have this. This blog was just an excuse for me to attempt to articulate this passion of mine.

• When people describe India they only say how crowded and dirty it is, conveniently ignoring that dirty little secret: Its beautiful. Those who have seen the Taj or Shimla in winter (with snow) will agree.

• I think that those who refuse to give India a chance are not necessarily scared of India; they're actually scared of what they may find out about themselves. Scared that they will not be smart enough and strong enough to go through what 1.3 Billion people go through on a daily basis. 

• "Jugaad" is a Punjabi-Hindi word which basically means "a quick work-around or improvisation". I think this is India's greatest strength as well as its greatest weakness: Strength because people are able to adjust to the perpetually-changing environment around them, allowing India, with its massive population, to operate. One example of this happened in Tanda (small town in UP). When all the water had been used up and there was no electricity, my family was able to take a bucket next door, fill it up using the old hand-pump and then warm it over an open fire so we could shower. If this happened in another country, chances are that not many of us would know how to react and some would probably act as if its the biggest problem in the world. However, "Jugaad" is a major weakness because these adjustments, and this mentality doesn't provide a solution for the root cause of problems.  

• Message to India: While stereotyping is fun, it shouldn't be Punjabis vs Bengalis, Delhiites vs Mumbaikars, North vs South. Whatever the goal is, it should be done together with a united front. I'm sick of having a new state carved out every five years.
• Message to the world: Give India a chance. There really is something for everyone. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. And if you don't want to give it a chance - that's also fine, but please keep your negativity to yourself. With a population exceeding 1.5 Billion (including those who have left the motherland in search of a "better" life), there are enough people who have negative things to say about India without actually providing a solution or trying to do anything about it. 

As always, I'm taking back with me an increased waist size and countless memories of my home. I'm already missing it and planning my next visit. But until then, I hope you all get a real taste of the motherland and have enjoyed mine.

Thanks,

Zain

Rickshaw stand in Delhi

My dream facial hair

Mosques, Temples and Churches

some mouth watering delights which deserve mentioning - Chicken lolipops, kabli mutter chaat, bhel puri, imirti, kachi tikkia, zarda and jelebi

the tri colour waving high on Karnataka's state government assembly hall

Best Chole-Bhature in Delhi

After some shopping in Palika Bazaar (underground market) and CP (Connaught Place), dad and I caught a rickshaw to Bengali Market -  a small suburb of central Delhi known for its concentration of 2 things that are generally synonymous: Bengalis and delicious sweet shops.

Nathu's Sweet House is the place we would often have lunch at when I was younger so today we took a stroll down memory lane and had Nathu's famous chole-bhature - a Punjabi meal. 

Chole-Bhature
Category: Main vegetarian meal
Nostril Flaring (hygiene issues): None identified
Personal Rating: Best chole-bhature in Delhi, my favourite vegetarian meal.

The first thing you notice when you get a plate of chole-bhature is the bhature (similar to puri). Nathu's bhature are huge! Both of them were about the size of half a basketball. Luckily these ones were not stuffed with anything - that would have made it impossible to finish. These ones were fresh out of the kadhai (fry pan) and incredibly soft making it easy to break.

The chole (chickpea curry) was full of flavour and mildly spicy (not too much but had a slight kick). I think the fried/roasted zeera (cumin) seeds and deep fried aaloo (potatoe) that garnished the chole gave it a distinctive taste and added a different texture. The chole is what makes or breaks this meal; this chole definitely made it.

Chole-bhature is normally served with onions, green chili, pickle or chutney.  The chutney that was served at Nathu's was spicy and added a lot of flavour to each bite. 

We also had masala dosa (a South Indian meal), lassi and Ras Malai (a Bengali mithai). All of these were incredible but probably deserve their own blog so I'll leave them out for now.

Nathu's Sweet House is an amazing restaurant which serves authentic and very tasty food at a reasonable price (< Rs 200 per meal). Ironically, if you're looking for a delicious Punjabi meal, go to the Bengali part of town and order Nathu's Chole-Bhature.

Delhi's No.1 Chole-Bhature

Entrance of Nathu's Sweet House with their vast range of mithai on display

Rasoi - Where it all begins

I've never been a fan of Indian restaurants outside of India. They commercialize and dilute the taste of real Indian food. This is what makes me appreciate the food made in my mom's Rasoi (kitchen)  made by the hands of my friends and family. I'm in Tanda (Uttar Pradesh), my Dad's very small hometown, to catch up with family and attend my cousin's wedding (summary shown in picture 1). Tanda is about 180 km East of Lucknow and by "very small", I mean by Indian standards - a population exceeding 150,000. I've had the pleasure of experiencing many family traditions - a lot of which involve eating and preparing delicious and traditional recipes that no 5-star restaurant can replicate.

Indian weddings consist of many functions and ceremonies, all of which are incomplete without a grand feast. Unlike bigger cities, Tanda prefers to follow traditional processes of preparing meals for these ceremonies - e.g. where all of the older women in the family spend hours (waking up early) to prepare the ingredients before cooking the meal in large pots over open fires which will serve hundreds of people (picture 2 shows the gulgules made at 4am). The men also get involved in the process too. They are the ones who collect the bulk ingredients from various markets and sellers before cooking and serving some of the meals themselves (picture 3). 

After the beautiful wedding (Nikkah) ceremony, when my new bhabhi (sister-in-law) a.k.a. the new bahu (daughter-in-law) entered our house, there is a small game that is played where the younger Devar's (brother-in-laws) have to try to eat mithai from their bhabhis' moving hand 7 times. This meant that in 5 minutes I had 7 pieces of mithai (picture 4)

The traditions above are just some of the rituals I got to see. Its tough to truly explain and convey the emotions that go into Indian weddings; whether its the stress of having to cater for such a large group and make a good impression, the joy of having the extended family together, the adrenaline from the monkey attack on the house and even the sight of seeing your dad walk around in a lungi while speaking the local Urdu/Hindi dialect of Tanda. It all just seemed to make the food taste better.

This experience has confirmed my belief that some recipes are better left in the rasoi and away from those who wish to commercialize and dilute the emotions that go into each meal.