I now know that, before arriving in India, my experience with Indian food was one-dimensional. Like many Americans, I would say "Sure, let's go out for Indian!," eagerly chow down on butter chicken, naan, aloo gobi, and gulab jamun, and feel satisfied with my appreciation of Indian cuisine.
But India is a big country, like America is. Its cuisine has a lot more variety than what's on the standard menu at most Indian restaurants in America. Living in India for a few years has given me the opportunity to sample many other dishes and gain a better understanding of the wider range of Indian food. I've shared below some of my favorites that I'd never even heard of before arriving.
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| Enjoying jalebi at Holi |
Probably my favorite Indian treat is jalebi. The easiest way to describe jalebi is to say it's a bite-sized funnel cake covered in honey instead of powdered sugar. The best part about jalebi is the size. I often hesitate to buy funnel cake in America because it's an investment of an entire plate of fried dough and refined sugar. But one jalebi is only the size of my palm. So I can eat just one . . and another . . and another . . and it doesn't SEEM the same as eating an entire funnel cake. Even though, let's face it, by the end of "just one more jalebi," it probably is!
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| Chole butura...and more jalebi! |
Another dish I enjoy is chole butura. Chole is chickpea curry and butura is dough, fried into a golden-brown puff ball. The authentic way to eat this dish is to break open the butura and then use it as a scoop to gobble up the chole. It's a popular breakfast food and street food snack. The picture above is actually from a breakfast street food tour I took in Old Delhi - a fabulous experience with a ridiculous amount of food! You'll also notice that I ate this chole butura with a side of jalebi!!
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| A beautiful dosa with a trio of dipping chutneys |
Jumping to southern India, I discovered the dosa. A dosa is essentially an Indian crepe. The most common dosa is a masala dosa, which is filled with seasoned potatoes. But dosas come in a wide variety of styles and ingredients. There's actually a dosa restaurant walking distance from me, with a multi-page menu of different dosas to choose from. Shout-out to my choir director Sharmila for taking me to the restaurant and helping me navigate the dosa menu.
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| Hmm, what's on the buffet today? |
Finally, I must pay homage to the Indian buffet. Now, I know some expats leave India and say they never want to eat at a buffet again. Because buffets are EVERYWHERE...every hotel meal on every weekend trip, every diplomatic reception, every holiday gathering with Indian friends. Honestly, I'm mildly thankful coronavirus has saved me from the battle against the buffet. BUT the buffet has been a marvelous way for me to sample so many Indian dishes. I know there is so much I didn't get a chance to taste, but I sure tried my level best!
