Adapting to the Indian culture is not easy if you've never escaped a Western country. Cross-cultural gestures, words and customs occur far more often than expected, which lead you to think that you urgently need to read a book like "India for dummies" or something similar. It is unbelievable the amount of things that one can learn in just one day here. As I told in the previous post, I don't think I'm ever going to learn enough of this culture.
Let's start with food. A great percentage of south-Indian population is veg-oriented. Yes, there is meat here, but if you ask for other than chicken, it will probably cost you an arm and a leg, plus the difficulty to come across the right restaurant. Overall, Indian food tends to be very cheap and you can get huge quantities for the cost of one euro (or two if you are really hungry). Uni menu can cost you 45Rs (rupees) which if compared to euros it is like 50 cts or so. This menu (veg one) includes rice with dried fruits, beans, cheese and roti (Indian bread, like the one we use for kebabs in Spain). I must admit I've grown a dangerous addiction to this kind of bread. It is called "Naan" when you eat it fried in butter. Among other things, I've also tried "Thali" which is a combo of different Indian meals. Obviously, everything is utterly spiced with Indian flavours like turmeric (cúrcuma), tamarind, coriander (cilantro), mustard seeds and an endless list of Indian spices yet unknown to me. Indian menu usually goes accompanied with a glass of natural yogurt, sometimes seasoned with lime or cinammon. Here are a few meals I've tried (and I remember):
- Thali: as described above
- Roti: Indian bread (pan de pita)
- Naan: Indian bread fried in butter
- Dosa: sort of an Indian crêpe filled with vegetables (for example)
- Masala: means sauce
- Dal: pulses
- Tandoori: means cooked in Indian oven (don't even know what that is but something like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandoor)
- Tikka: way of cooking meat. Ex. chicken tikka masala = chicken with sauce at tikka style.
As you can imagine, Eastern customs for eating broadly differ from those in the West. Most importantly, Indian people eat with their right hand, they never ever use their left hand for eating (I'll explain it in some other chapter). Unless the dish requires a spoon (soups), everything is eaten with one hand, from rice to roti or beans. That's why they eat with roti, because they tear it in several pieces (with one hand. I'm getting used to it) and they grab the food using their hand covered in roti. Furthermore, Indian people tend to share their dishes so that they ask for different meals and then everyone tries a portion from every dish (closest thing to tapas I've ever seen). All in all, I must admit that Indian cuisine is a delicatessen in every sense, for although it takes your digestive system a while adapting to its flavours, the melange of different Indian spices together with its colours and smells makes eating a mystic experience (unless you go to KFC or Domino's. I've done it twice here).
When Alex, Stefano, Nikita and me were dinning at Udupi's veg restaurant "Woodlands" I couldn't help asking for almost every dish coming to our table. At a certain moment, Alex said the sentence that works as a title in this post: "when you are in India, avoid stereotypes, prejudices and thinking about your past experiences. Don't try to question everything, just let it be out, accept things the way they are, then you'll understand how people live in here". Amen to that.
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Quick update: hopefully I'll be getting my SIM card and internet dongle (USB modem) by this afternoon. House is looking nicer once I bought some mosquito plug repellents and air fresheners. I'm still on my search for a fridge (checking bargains), I might start cooking some Indian food after a while. I've still got tons of things left to tell you, wait for the next post, I didn't want to spoil the beauty of Indian cuisine with other experiences. Stay tuned and...
NAMASKARA!*
*(Namaste in Kannada language, the one spoken in the region of Karnataka)
Let's start with food. A great percentage of south-Indian population is veg-oriented. Yes, there is meat here, but if you ask for other than chicken, it will probably cost you an arm and a leg, plus the difficulty to come across the right restaurant. Overall, Indian food tends to be very cheap and you can get huge quantities for the cost of one euro (or two if you are really hungry). Uni menu can cost you 45Rs (rupees) which if compared to euros it is like 50 cts or so. This menu (veg one) includes rice with dried fruits, beans, cheese and roti (Indian bread, like the one we use for kebabs in Spain). I must admit I've grown a dangerous addiction to this kind of bread. It is called "Naan" when you eat it fried in butter. Among other things, I've also tried "Thali" which is a combo of different Indian meals. Obviously, everything is utterly spiced with Indian flavours like turmeric (cúrcuma), tamarind, coriander (cilantro), mustard seeds and an endless list of Indian spices yet unknown to me. Indian menu usually goes accompanied with a glass of natural yogurt, sometimes seasoned with lime or cinammon. Here are a few meals I've tried (and I remember):
- Thali: as described above
- Roti: Indian bread (pan de pita)
- Naan: Indian bread fried in butter
- Dosa: sort of an Indian crêpe filled with vegetables (for example)
- Masala: means sauce
- Dal: pulses
- Tandoori: means cooked in Indian oven (don't even know what that is but something like this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tandoor)
- Tikka: way of cooking meat. Ex. chicken tikka masala = chicken with sauce at tikka style.
As you can imagine, Eastern customs for eating broadly differ from those in the West. Most importantly, Indian people eat with their right hand, they never ever use their left hand for eating (I'll explain it in some other chapter). Unless the dish requires a spoon (soups), everything is eaten with one hand, from rice to roti or beans. That's why they eat with roti, because they tear it in several pieces (with one hand. I'm getting used to it) and they grab the food using their hand covered in roti. Furthermore, Indian people tend to share their dishes so that they ask for different meals and then everyone tries a portion from every dish (closest thing to tapas I've ever seen). All in all, I must admit that Indian cuisine is a delicatessen in every sense, for although it takes your digestive system a while adapting to its flavours, the melange of different Indian spices together with its colours and smells makes eating a mystic experience (unless you go to KFC or Domino's. I've done it twice here).
When Alex, Stefano, Nikita and me were dinning at Udupi's veg restaurant "Woodlands" I couldn't help asking for almost every dish coming to our table. At a certain moment, Alex said the sentence that works as a title in this post: "when you are in India, avoid stereotypes, prejudices and thinking about your past experiences. Don't try to question everything, just let it be out, accept things the way they are, then you'll understand how people live in here". Amen to that.
--------------------------------------------
Quick update: hopefully I'll be getting my SIM card and internet dongle (USB modem) by this afternoon. House is looking nicer once I bought some mosquito plug repellents and air fresheners. I'm still on my search for a fridge (checking bargains), I might start cooking some Indian food after a while. I've still got tons of things left to tell you, wait for the next post, I didn't want to spoil the beauty of Indian cuisine with other experiences. Stay tuned and...
NAMASKARA!*
*(Namaste in Kannada language, the one spoken in the region of Karnataka)
http://ifragrance.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/x-all-the-y-meme-generator-eat-all-the-food-142da9.jpg
ResponderEliminarI'll bring some turmeric to Spain
ResponderEliminar