Food in India

This post is dedicated to Alan Harmon, who has turned me into a person that takes pictures of their food. LOL! I never thought I'd see the day, but on this trip, it has become second nature. I've added a description of the food in the photo's caption. Enjoy!

Croissant and a flat white at the airport in Frankfurt

Ahhh... my first Indian food, at the airport in Mumbai. This is tomato and onion Uttapam, which is a savory pancake traditionally served for breakfast. Have I mentioned that I love Indian breakfast foods most of all? It's usually served with Sambar, which is a spicy soup that you dip the food in, and coconut chutney. And a chai, of course!

Dinner in Varanasi on Thursday night - this is a thali, which means plate or tray. An Indian Thali is a complete meal with rice, bread, vegetables, lentils and a sweet dish. Next to the rice going counter clockwise is chapati, an unleavened flatbread made with only three ingredients - whole wheat flour, water, and ghee or oil. Sometimes salt is added. You can use chapati to pick up your food and eat it. Top right is another Indian bread, papad. It is made from black garam bean flour, and is either deep fried or cooked over an open flame. It is crunchy, and I love to dip it in coconut chutney. To the left of the papad is Sag Paneer. Paneer is an Indian cheese, similar to cottage cheese, but larger and firmer. Sag means spinach, and this was a wonderfully spiced batch. The subji (vegetable dish) is mildly spiced cauliflower and peas. Then the dal, which is a lentil soup. I love dal! You can pour it on your rice or drink it straight (my preference). There was a salad that I did not eat. The bottom left corner has a little kheer (sweet milk, rice and cardamom) and some pickle. Good dinner!

Dinner after a full day at the Kumba Mela was a tasty and simple kitchari with curd (yogurt). Kitchari is a rice and lentil dish that has a porridge consistency. It's very easy to digest and quite nourishing! You can tell it was a long day because I didn't remember to photograph my food until my friend reminded me to. LOL!

This was my first foray into street food. I have diligently avoided eating any street food per my doctor's instructions, but I couldn't resist this treat. It's called Malaiyo, and is available only in winter in Varanasi. That's about three months, from November through February. It's basically flavored milk foam, and at the bottom of the clay pot it is served in is a bit of very sweet milk. There's pistachios and almonds garnishing the top, and a hint of rosewater, saffron and cardamom in the dish. Fog is necessary to make a proper batch of Malaiyo, because the dew drops from the fog initiate the foaming of the milk. Read more about Malaiyo here. It was delcious, light and refreshing!

This is Matar Poha, which was my breakfast Sunday morning in Varanasi. Poha is one of my favorites - it's a flattened rice dish seasoned with curry leaves, peanuts and this one had peas (a nice shot of protein). It was tasty! So was the Chai. We had all of our meals in Varanasi at this restaurant. It had four tables, and was a Pure Veg restaurant, meaning no meat is prepared here. The owner seems to take care of the same people day after day. It was nice to have a regular place, even for the weekend!

Not technically a food pic, this is the chef and owner of the restaurant where we dined, and our table. Home away from home... so sweet!

My first breakfast at Yogini's house - poha and fruit salad. And coffee - 2 cups!

Lunch at Yogini's includes a salad of shredded cucumbers, carrots and onions that is perfect with a squeeze of lemon and a dash of salt. Pushkar has inspired me to include this in my meals at home every day. Two fresh chapati, because one is never enough (at least in Pushkar's opinion). The two subji dishes are cauliflower and potatoes. Papad, that crunchy flatbread, dipped in coconut chutney is my favorite kind of chips and dip! The dal (lentil soup) has drumsticks in it - that asparagus looking stalk is called a drumstick. You split it open and scrape the insides out. It's tasty. Pushkar also makes fresh lemonade for me at lunch and dinner every day. So refreshing!

I'm given a sweet at the end of most of my meals. This tastes like a fig spread of some sort with cashews, pistachios and almonds.

Another one of my favorite breakfasts... Upma, which is made with rava (or cream of wheat) and veggies. It is served with coconut chutney. I loved this so much when I was here in 2023 that I learned how to make it for myself when I got home. Also, the fruit salad had strawberries today!

Sometimes my salad comes sliced - cucumbers, moolee (radish - the white slices), and carrot (the carrots in winter are red, not orange) - also perfect with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt

This dinner rice has some Methi (fresh fenugreek leaves) in it. And there's dal - I love dal! The subji is shredded cabbage with seasonings. And there's always fresh made chapati and coconut chutney.

This breakfast was a grain dish featuring pearl cous cous. Very tasty!

One morning was fruit salad was chunks of fresh, juicy papaya

A tasty dinner of papad with coconut chutney for dipping, shredded salad with a squeeze of citrus, fresh chapati, sauteed methi (I think!), dal and rice. I can tell this is a picture from dinner because there's only one subji dish. At lunch, Pushkar usually makes 2 different subji dishes.

I took my lunch photo prior to receiving the standard fresh chapati (or two - Pushkar has a hard time taking no for an answer!). The vegetable dishes are chopped lady fingers and a mix of cauliflower, peas and carrots. Papad, dal, and rice round out this (and every) meal.

This is another of my favorite breakfasts. Yes, I know I say that about most of the breakfasts. Indian breakfast food is my favorite, and I could eat it for every meal! This is Methi Paratha. Paratha is an Indian flatbread made from whole wheat flour (atta), water, salt and oil or ghee. This has Methi in it, which is fresh Fenugreek. It's served with curd (yogurt) for dipping.

Fruit at breakfast this morning was fresh watermelon that was prasad from a sacred ceremony I participated in. Prasad is a blessed treat. It was extra tasty!

For this lunch, I had puri, which is a fried whole wheat bread... so good! Pushkar also fried the papad instead of cooking over an open flame. He served channa dal - the beans are chick peas. The subji dishes are caulifower and peas, and some nicely spiced potatoes.

This is aloo pakora, or fried spiced potato patties. I attended a women's event with a friend of mine, and they served this to everyone there. I was a little hesitant about eating it, since I wasn't familiar with the kitchen and preparation methods. That being said, there comes a point where I find I have to throw caution to the wind to be a gracious guest and receive what is being offered to me. These were delicious, and a little spicier than I am used to. The bread helped with the spice. Tasty!

This day's lunch consisted of the standard breads (papad and chapati), spiced potatoes (aloo) and a flat bean of some sort. Instead of dal, Pushkar made curd curry, which is a spiced yogurt soup. I prefer dal, and the curd curry was a nice change of pace.

This lunch's subji dishes include a sauteed squash called Tinda, a mixture of peas and carrots, and Channa dal. These chick peas are split in half, though, and are more tender. This dal is spiced differently than the dal Pushkar makes with the whole chick peas. I prefer this one!

Another amazing breakfast - poha, coconut chutney and fruit salad. You may be wondering about the grapes in my fruit salad. My doctor told me to only eat fruit you can peel. Those grapes are not peeled - lol! There is a very effective water filtration system at Yogini's house. Pushkar uses the filtered water to wash the fruit, so it is safe to eat. Good thing, because those little grapes are so sweet!

This is Gulab Jamun - a sweet dessert that Pushkar whipped up. To be honest, most Indian sweets are too sweet for me. These are pretty tasty, though.

They are fried dough balls (think donut holes) that are then dropped in a simmering simple syrup.

In addition to sugar, the simple syrup can contain cardamom, ginger and other spices. They are really good.

My friend's Mom makes the best Gulab Jamon I've ever had. Her recipe is not too sweet, and full of cardamom flavor. Pushkar's are a close second.

This is my last food pic currently. I don't know if I'll add more to this post or not. I have so many posts to catch up on! This was a snack that Pushkar made for me the afternoon I moved back into Yogini's house after the retreat with Gurudevi. I was feeling a little peckish and went in search of some chips. Pushkar had no chips to offer me, but he said he would make me a sandwich. Initially I said no, but I am sure glad I changed my mind! He served me four triangles of toasted white bread with the crust cut off. On the sandwich he layered thinly sliced cucumber, tomato (with the skin removed), and red onion and added a tangy, slightly spicy spread. It was so good I had eaten almost all of it before I remembered to snap a picture. It made me even happier to be back in my Ganeshpuri home.