Some people have a foolish way of not minding, or pretending not to mind, what they eat. For my part, I mind my belly very studiously, and very carefully. For I look upon it, that he who doesn’t mind his belly will hardly mind anything else. —Samuel Johnson
I have a few more posts of holiday snaps, and while I was perusing my photos of a visit to a rural village (next to come), I saw photos of noms, which of course I had to put up immediately. Here is some food connected with our four-day stay in Santineketan.
We stayed in my hosts’ house right outside the town (they also have an apartment in Calcutta and one in Delhi aside from their major residence on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi). There was a cook—a nice woman named Rupali (which, I believe, means “silver” in either Hindi or Bangla); but my hostess, who has stringent criteria for food, also worked in the kitchen. The result is that we had breakfasts like this, consisting of fresh fruit and (from left to right on bottom), rasgulla (sweet cheese balls in a syrup), a spicy soup (like sambar, but thicker), and luchi, small disks of freshly fried bread filled with mashed peas. This was all washed down with coffee and Darjeeling tea. The combination of sweet and savory foods makes for a great breakfast.
Breakfast on another day. Rice, pakora (vegetable fritters), a kind of Bengali kedgeree made with a mixture of stuff (perhaps an Indian reader can give me the name), mashed eggs with spices, and, at the left, pati sapta: Bengali crepes filled with a cooked mixture of coconut, condensed milk, and jaggery (sugar made from palm sap):
We arranged a special lunch at Mitali Homestays, which is a B&B but also a kind of restaurant where one must reserve well in advance (you’re competing with the residents). There was ample food, including these dishes of mixed vegetables, red cabbage, fish in mustard sauce (katla), rice, curd (raita), and several other dishes on another table. You could eat as much as you wanted.
My plate before the main dish was served (see below). This has mixed veg, red spinach, tamarind chutney, dal (lentils; upper right) and eggplant in a sweetish sauce with sesame seeds, as well as rice:
I believe I’ve posted this photo before, but here I am in the rooftop garden, about to add to my plate some large prawns cooked in a sauce with butter and spices. I am a happy man: this dish was so large that even four of us couldn’t finish it, and believe me, we would have if we’d had more tummy room (there was dessert of rice pudding and fruit to come). I treated everyone to lunch, and the tab for four, at this fairly fancy place, was about $20.
The next day the other guest on the trip treated us to lunch at an unprepossessing but famous place that had terrific food. It’s called Bonolakshmi and is in the country—in the small town of Bolpur. It’s the Indian equivalent of a roadhouse, and also has a sweet shop and a souvenir shop. People come long distances to sit in the dark dining hall and chow down on traditional Bengali dishes. Some of the patrons tucking in (with their hands, of course):
Lunch is served on thalis (metal trays); here is what they put on your plate immediately after you sit down: dal, fried potato sticks, rice, and an unknown vegetable dish. These are replenished as often as you want:
The pièce de résistance: Bengali style seafood. The two dishes on offer were bhapa ilish (the steamed fish hilsa [Tenualosa ilisha] with turmeric and mustard sauce)—one of the most famous Bengali dishes—and lobster in coconut sauce. We had the fish, and it was stupendously good, even though I’m picky about my fish.
Back in Santineketan, my hostess, Shubhra, was kind enough to give me several cooking lessons. Here I am taught to make a dish of stir-fried cabbage with other vegetables (left) and a Bengali rice pudding (right). It’s not hard—if you know what to do, have years of experience, and have the Indian ingredients on hand! Most Indians who are reasonably well off cook on these small gas burners fueled by propane canisters, for gas lines are not practical, and you can’t cook Indian food on an electric stove.
Indian street food at the Poush Mela fair in Santineketan. This man was selling cubes of unripe guavas with a mustard sauce, which doesn’t sound like a terrific snack (and indeed, I tried it and didn’t like it much), but one that was bought up avidly by the locals:
My host had a cone of the guava and nommed it eagerly:
But I love most Indian snacks dearly, and here’s one of my favorites: jhal muri, a Bengali snack made with puffed rice (muri), peanuts, raw onion, coconut, and a sweet and spicy dressing (to see more, click on the “jhal muri” link on this page). It is always served in a paper cone, and the ingredients vary widely. This one, served on the train between Kolkata (Calcutta) and Santineketan, is renowned; I was told to buy the stuff from a particular guy who roams the aisle, mixing the jhla muri freshly in a big metal can, with the ingredients and sauces stored separately in a box around his waist. It was 10 rupees per cone (16 cents) and is a substantial snack.
It was great: a real melange of flavors. This photo is out of focus because I took it with one hand on a moving train:
You are making me feel hungry.
I must try and make these dishes!
For southern Indian recipes,
see http://www.vahrehvah.com/
He links to his YouTube videos as well.
He also covers other Indian cuisines.
All of that looks great, but the steamed fish with tumeric and mustard sauce is the one I would choose out of all of them. That sounds absolutely delicious.
I’ll have some, too, please!
So fish is not meat, then.
I want that lobster in coconut sauce too!
Yes, both would be best;-)
With a nice red . . .
Alright, now were just turning into foodie fanboys.
I think you should compile and publish a food travel guide. Your photography is very good, and your descriptions are excellent. I now know more about Indian food than I ever thought I would…
Mmmm… Pakora. An old colleague of mine used to bring in bags of homemade pakora every now and then. So moreish.
Indeed. There’s a place in Oakland near the Univ of Pittsburgh (India Garden) whose pakoras look just like those. I think I could have a meal entirely of pakoras, raita and achar.
And dal and naan:-)
The funny thing is that while the “steorytypical” Indian food in the US seems to be “Naan and curry”, no “typical” Indian, whether in the North or the South, would eat Naan on a daily (or even weekly) basis, for the simple reason that it is considered too unhealthy. The real staple bread (in most parts of North India) is roti.
Also roti is just more delicious than naan. Although I tend to eat more paratha, because I don’t care if I get so fat I can’t go through doors.
The hot buttery garlic naan at our favorite Indian joint is better than any rotis I’ve had. If the roads weren’t so bad, I’d dash out and get some, now that you mentioned it.
Way to start the digestive juices flowing on a snowy morning:-). YUM.
I notice plenty of utensils here so this is not eating with the hand – good thing.
No. Utensils are there to help you serve the more fluid dishes (like dal). In most parts of India, you are still expected to eat your bread and rice with your hands. There is nothing unhygienic about it.
In fact, I would like to see someone try eating Indian breads with “utensils” only. It would be quite a spectacle.
Damn. Is it lunch time yet? It is not fair of you Jerry to put up posts like this when it will be hours before I can eat!
Another great culinary adventure! You could put all your food/travel threads into a coffee table book. I love reading your reviews of restaurants & the foods you encounter while traveling. The pics you provide are fantastic too.
Oh man, I am so hungry now!
I said it before and I’ll say it again: I could eat Indian food FOREVER (well, except for breakfast).
Even breakfast!! Scrambled eggs with caramelized onions and coriander/cilantro🐸
I would venture to suggest that this last caveat exists only because you have not come across South Indian breakfast food yet.
One of the links didn’t work. Sorry.
Jhāl murī is an Indian universal: it is called Churmura in Uttar Pradesh, Bhel Purī in Maharashtra and I don’t know what else in other parts of the country. But almost anywhere in India, you can be sure to find a local snack featuring puffed rice with spicy local condiments, onions, and peanuts.
Yum! I get the crispy stuff packaged and then add tamarind sauce, onions, lime juice…Some little spice packets come with the dry stuff.
Right! I’m going to my local Indian place in 15 minutes!
It was good, too! 🙂
Is it soup yet?
I’m stuck here today with a can of Campbell’s.
Lobster? Wow, where is that obtained from? (I am reminded of how I had lobster chow mein at Golden Ocean, in Vancouver – a Cantonese style fish place.)
Does look very nice …
Another mouthwatering post, Dr.C! Thanks.
I get vicarious pleasure from these posts.
All the ingredients are available on Devon Street. There even maybe closer Indian stores in Chicago since last I checked.
Interesting how the dining hall is arranged with everyone eating “last supper” like.
That wouldn’t be too popular here I would think; I know it wouldn’t be with me!
It would be great to have fancy food at a place like that – it would (presumably) be cheaper.
The only aspect I meant to refer to was the everyone-facing-everyone-else seating arrangement. I hate seminars or meetings in rooms like that (unless the size of the audience and the room is suitably intimate) as well.
Reblogged this on Shashank Patel.
Mmm… I love indian food and these photos and descriptions are making me hungry. One detail in the photos I can’t get out of my head, though: the little pile of pills and capsules at the base of the spoon stand in the first (breakfast) photo. That’s quite a pharmacopoeia for someone to be starting their day with…