Here it is....not short and sweet, perhaps, but long and sweet and salty and sour and spicy, and all of it delicious. India has one of the most regionally distintive, delicious, complex, sophisticated, incredible cuisines in the world, and when I ate my last masala dosa (in country) this morning, I was satiated but left wanting just one more dosa.. I think I shall have to try to learn how to make that delicious shell. On to the list...
YOGURT: ELIXIR of the Gods and savior of my g.i. track. These folks have found 
new and delicious ways to make this most healthy pro-biotic tempting and addictive. Check out the picture to the left to see the incredible variety of choices for yogurt goodness at one of our hotel’s breakfast buffets. My motto for yogurt consumption was/is “eat early, eat often.” I was able to eat much more highly spiced (cayenne and pepper variety of spice) food than normal because I learned the Indian trick of tempering the heat of a dish with a big dollop of "curd" as it's called here.
MASALA DOSA: Ok, maybe there is an order of sorts to this list, because after yogurt. I sought out this South Indian dish whenever I needed a fall-back delicious treat. Many of the hotels served great ones via room service, and, along with my dear mango lassi, it wa
s a savory meal. For the unlucky, Masala Dosa (always in caps, to signify serious importance) is a thin crepe of sorts (sorry, P, I know this is your specialty and is NOT a crepe, but I’m trying to relate this to the uniformed) which is filled with a well spiced potato filling…. I can’t say enough about it, except that I think I missed the boat not encouraging my South Indian friend P to start a Dosa shop while she was still in Iowa City.
MANGO LASSI: Manna from heaven…. I’ve loved the yogurt/mango drink for years, but had to make my own in Iowa City and rely on the hope that there would be decent mangoes to be had. Here it is omnipresent on menus, and for that, India, I thank you.
MANGOES: King, queen, and ace of the fruit world. Here, however, there is a new level of mang
o love for me, because there are so many varieties, and it is used in chutneys, salads, drinks, and just about everything else. There was a mango festival outside of Delhi that some of us were hoping to eat our way through, but no time for the hungry during that part of our trip.
10 Course Tasting menu at VEDA. I wrote about this before, so I hope you were paying attention…. If you happen to live in Delhi, make your reservation today. Don’t miss the kulfi, the almond ice cream that has no equal, or anything else on the menu, for that manner. Good company enhanced my meal, but I would have eaten alone there, for the mutton, the shrimp, the flash fried okra, the exquisite tamarind sauce… .
Lunch at DAKSHIN, South Indian restaurant in Chennai. Again, a good friend and fellow good cook greatly enhanced my enjoyment, but I would travel far to taste the 12 banana mini pancake again, as well as some other dishes.
ALL TROPICAL FRUITS: especially the holy trinity of pineapple, mango, and coconut. God knew what she was doing when she created the weather for these to grow in.
new and delicious ways to make this most healthy pro-biotic tempting and addictive. Check out the picture to the left to see the incredible variety of choices for yogurt goodness at one of our hotel’s breakfast buffets. My motto for yogurt consumption was/is “eat early, eat often.” I was able to eat much more highly spiced (cayenne and pepper variety of spice) food than normal because I learned the Indian trick of tempering the heat of a dish with a big dollop of "curd" as it's called here.MASALA DOSA: Ok, maybe there is an order of sorts to this list, because after yogurt. I sought out this South Indian dish whenever I needed a fall-back delicious treat. Many of the hotels served great ones via room service, and, along with my dear mango lassi, it wa
s a savory meal. For the unlucky, Masala Dosa (always in caps, to signify serious importance) is a thin crepe of sorts (sorry, P, I know this is your specialty and is NOT a crepe, but I’m trying to relate this to the uniformed) which is filled with a well spiced potato filling…. I can’t say enough about it, except that I think I missed the boat not encouraging my South Indian friend P to start a Dosa shop while she was still in Iowa City.MANGO LASSI: Manna from heaven…. I’ve loved the yogurt/mango drink for years, but had to make my own in Iowa City and rely on the hope that there would be decent mangoes to be had. Here it is omnipresent on menus, and for that, India, I thank you.
MANGOES: King, queen, and ace of the fruit world. Here, however, there is a new level of mang
o love for me, because there are so many varieties, and it is used in chutneys, salads, drinks, and just about everything else. There was a mango festival outside of Delhi that some of us were hoping to eat our way through, but no time for the hungry during that part of our trip.10 Course Tasting menu at VEDA. I wrote about this before, so I hope you were paying attention…. If you happen to live in Delhi, make your reservation today. Don’t miss the kulfi, the almond ice cream that has no equal, or anything else on the menu, for that manner. Good company enhanced my meal, but I would have eaten alone there, for the mutton, the shrimp, the flash fried okra, the exquisite tamarind sauce… .
Lunch at DAKSHIN, South Indian restaurant in Chennai. Again, a good friend and fellow good cook greatly enhanced my enjoyment, but I would travel far to taste the 12 banana mini pancake again, as well as some other dishes.
ALL TROPICAL FRUITS: especially the holy trinity of pineapple, mango, and coconut. God knew what she was doing when she created the weather for these to grow in.
MURG TIKKA: Score one for North India! This delectable chicken in curry is always a good idea.
PAPPADUM: This bread-like wonder deserves capital letters. Called pappad in the North, there are several versions, some with cumin seeds or other spices in the black lentil “dough’, others plain. Whichever you get, they are a crispy, tasty treat, often used for scooping up other culinary treats. I think it's made with rice flour, but it could be wheat, or perhaps chick pea flour? P, HELP!
TANDOORI: I didn’t see much of this, but hope to get some at a well known tandoori restaurant in Delhi yet today. It may mean I get less sleep before a 2:30 a.m. departure, but so be it. I had some tandoori chicken a couple of different times in a couple of cities, and it was all good.
RUNNER BEAN DISH IN KOCHIN: Can’t describe it.
FLASH FRIED OKRA: WOW, but still, can’t describe it.
PAPPADUM: This bread-like wonder deserves capital letters. Called pappad in the North, there are several versions, some with cumin seeds or other spices in the black lentil “dough’, others plain. Whichever you get, they are a crispy, tasty treat, often used for scooping up other culinary treats. I think it's made with rice flour, but it could be wheat, or perhaps chick pea flour? P, HELP!
TANDOORI: I didn’t see much of this, but hope to get some at a well known tandoori restaurant in Delhi yet today. It may mean I get less sleep before a 2:30 a.m. departure, but so be it. I had some tandoori chicken a couple of different times in a couple of cities, and it was all good.
RUNNER BEAN DISH IN KOCHIN: Can’t describe it.
FLASH FRIED OKRA: WOW, but still, can’t describe it.
UTTAPUM: a crispy rice and lentil flour dosa *(snack) that is fried but not oily... Go figure. I get this confused with pappadum; one is crispy and spicy and made with a black lentil flour and sometimes baked and other times fried, the other is definitely fried, but not spiced and very crispy, and white. I'll have to come back to get these two distinguished, I think. The important thing is, I know which is which when I see them on my plate.
MASALA: The Hindi word for spices defines what I like best about Indian cooking and eating: The incredible mix and variety of spices available here. It's great fun to make a curry by mixing up 7-8 spices in a grinder, so don't miss the fun if you've yet to experiment with the likes of coriander, cumin, tumeric, mustard seeds, cardamom seeds, cinnamon, clove, etc.
LADOOS: A great word for my favorite food group, sweets. 
Yesterday in Jaipur we went to LMB, famous for lots of good food, but particularly its sweets. Their sweets involves lots of nuts, dried fruits, and tropical fruits, accompanied by sugar and cream, so what's not to like?
Yesterday in Jaipur we went to LMB, famous for lots of good food, but particularly its sweets. Their sweets involves lots of nuts, dried fruits, and tropical fruits, accompanied by sugar and cream, so what's not to like?I could go on and on, but that would just make you hungrier, so shut off your computer and go find a local Indian restuarant and experience the real deal. Better yet, get a cookbook and make your own feast. Madhur Jaffery has the best Indian cookbooks on the market in the U.S. on both Indian food in general and, a particular favorite of mine, South Indian snack foods. She has made it easy to be successful, so explore this most delicious of cuisines in your kitchen soon.
Enjoyed your blog on food and we seems to like the same foods, ladoo being my favorite sweet. Did you try the south indian ladoo, it is less sweet and my favorite.
ReplyDeletePapadum is a wafer or crisp made with lentil (Black gram) or rice flour. In Kerala, you also get jackfruit papadum. They are made into thin discs and sun dried. They can then be kept for a long time. Did you get a chance to buy some, if not I can send some when Ram comes.
Uttapam is usually made with the dosa dough, when the dough gets sour. It is made a little thicker than a dosa and onions, cilantro and chillies are sprinkled on top.
Runner bean dish: Very easy to make. Chop them finely (You can buy them at Chongs in Iowa City). Heat a table spoon of oil (in Kerala they would use coconut oil), add some mustard seeds, curry leaves and a dried red chilli. When the mustard splutters add the beans and stir fry. When the beans are almost cooked, add some shredded coconut. You can do the same with regular green beans too. Add some finely chopped carrots to the beans and you get a colorful dish.
In Iowa City, I would make mango lassi with the canned mango puree.
I would recommend Dakshin by Chandra Padmanabhan if you are looking for a south indian cookbook and I have seen them in Barnes and Nobles.
Preethi