Those of you who follow my Instagram page (foodtravelsldn) will know that I recently got back from an amazing 2 week trip to India.
There are so many things that India is famous for, but one of the most significant is its food. I knew I was heading to an absolute foodie heaven.
HOTEL FOOD
I ate so much over the two weeks that I couldn’t possibly cover everything. I’ve broken it down into 10 of the most interesting things that I came across, so here’s my best attempt at a round-up of those delicacies…I’ll start with hotel food. Often when eating abroad, hotel food is a bit of a cop-out. Generally they offer less authentic dishes and a wider range of international cuisine. One of the first striking things about food in India though is you can get great food from anywhere. It doesn’t matter whether it’s on the streets, in a small hotel or from a 5 star restaurant – the quality is still there, and you can be sure that nothing is coming from a packet. I’m not saying that each one of the meals below was a 10/10 but food in low-budget UK hotels doesn’t begin to compare.
STREET FOOD
One of the most exciting things for me was the prospect of trying street food. Not one to be scared off by talk of Delhi belly, I was fearless when it came to trying everything. My first day in Delhi was one of my favourite meals. I paid 20 rupees (25p ish) for a delicious potato curry with fried I-don’t-know-whats. It was probably the spiciest thing I ate there as it hadn’t been toned down for the foreigners but that’s exactly how I liked it. No cutlery, just hands. A delicious meal on the capital’s busy streets.
MASALA CHAI
I can’t even recall the number of times I’ve found myself saying ‘I don’t drink tea’ in my life. Yet despite that, something quite extradinary happened to me in India. I developed an OBSESSION for Masala Chai. It is exquisite. And yes it may well be because it’s so sweet and sugary and milky that it just tastes like a dessert but that’s not the point. I gave in to tea, with all its gingery, cinnamony flavours. The best chai by far is the tiny cups you get in the street, on the go. I’m not sure I’m quite fully converted to tea, but it’s a step in the right direction.
SPICE MARKETS AND FRESH PRODUCE
Arriving in Delhi, I’d read that one of the main attractions was the city’s spice market, and so being such a keen cook I had to check it out. To be completely honest, it wasn’t what I’d imagined. In my head I’d conjured up images of bustling streets and market stalls full of every colour and tone of spice you could imagine. The reality is all the little shops are nestled below buildings running along the side of each street and the takeaway images aren’t as striking. Having said that I still bought away an exciting haul of turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and some unknown substance that I’ll just shove in a curry and hope for the best.
Big chain supermarkets aren’t really a thing in India so local people buy all their fresh groceries from people selling on the street. In Jaipur the side pavements were awash with every kind of veg you could imagine, and for me it was a whole lot more interesting than what Delhi had to offer.
RESTAURANT FOOD
So we come to one of the biggest areas of intrigue for me – the restaurant food. I was really interested to see how it compared to the kind of Indian food we would eat at home. I had really mixed experiences – some absolutely delicious meals, some pretty good and some just ok. One of my highlights was having breakfast at Kyani & Co. in Mumbai, which is one of the Iranian café style restaurants that the London-based chain Dishoom is based on. In all the two weeks there were of course occasions where I strayed from Indian food because 2 weeks of curry for lunch and dinner can become a bit too much…
I’ve also taken away the fact that India is the best place in the world to eat vegetarian. There are almost more options on one menu than you’d find in most of London’s restaurants combined. Whether it’s curried okra, aubergine, daal or a selection of 3849595 paneer (cheese) dishes, it really is veggie paradise. I tried to mix it up a bit, sometimes avoiding meat and sometimes embracing it.
FLATBREADS
An absolute staple of Indian cuisine is the humble flatbread. From rotis to chapatis, naan to paratha, again, there are so many combinations to choose from. What struck me straight away was that our idea of Naan bread here in the UK, doesn’t actually exist in India. Indian naan is a thin flatbread rather than a bready doughy teardrop shaped creation like we eat here. I’m not saying one is better than the other but it was just interesting to see how things differed. For me, chapatis were the most disappointing as they tended to be the driest and were plain without a selection of exciting flavours and toppings, whereas the naan and paratha were endlessly pleasing. Cheese, garlic, chilli, butter –whatever your topping, they’re the perfect way to scoop up your curry when there’s no cutlery in sight. Peshwari Naan is also a delicious sweet alternative with dried fruits and nuts.
GLOBAL BRANDS
So I’m a complete sucker for trying new menu items, limited edition products, or just things that I know I won’t be able to get my hands on elsewhere. So for that reason I did venture to Pizza Hut (Agra), Mcdonalds (Ahmedabad) and KFC (Mumbai). I’m all about embracing every aspect of Indian cuisine – but for me, this includes eating at these places and trying menu items that I will never be able to get in the UK.
Pizza Hut was a great experience – not only was my Tandoori Paneer Pizza delicious, but the whole staff insisted on performing a very well-choreographed and rehearsed dance routine before we left.
Mcdonalds and KFC weren’t quite as exciting, and were more quick meals on the go before travelling from one city to the next. The McSpicy Paneer was a highlight but I’d give KFC a miss next time.
SWEET TREATS
This section is basically dedicated to the God of desserts – Gulab Jamun. I’d tried these sweet, sticky, syrupy balls at Dishoom here in London, and at the time had had no idea what I was actually ordering. They really are beautiful though – like a slightly less heavy small syrupy doughnut ball. And the ones in India are even smaller than the ones I had here, so you don’t have to feel as guilty! I’d also really wanted to try Rasgulla Balls which are similar but it seemed that every time I asked for them, the restaurant didn’t have them. I guess I’ll have to make it my mission to find some here.
Just a quickie before moving on – best hot chocolate I’ve ever had @Oludar Village Café in Udaipur (They also did an amazing chicken burger). Not where I was expecting to find the most delicious hot chocolate in the world but there you have it – and I made sure to sample 2 so I knew it wasn’t a fluke…
HOME COOKING
The group I was travelling with were lucky enough to visit a local family’s house in Udaipur where we were given a cooking demonstration of some classic dishes. A year ago, the lady giving the demo spoke no English whatsoever, so it was crazy how now, she was able to speak freely and spontaneously about technical elements of cooking and answer any questions we had. She made some delicious pakora, okra, chickpea curries and chapatis. It was a lovely afternoon, despite the power cutting out multiple times (meaning we were in darkness and with no air con) and I’ll definitely be trying to recreate these dishes at home.
TOP MEALS
I’ll finish with a couple of highlights. Where were my best meals and what were they? Our group ‘leader’ was fantastic with his solid recommendations and letting us know where the best places were to eat each dish.
Hunter’s Delight @ Dagla, Jaipur
This mutton curry was delicious. Incredibly tender meat, a lovely curry sauce that wasn’t too runny like some of the others I’d had, and lots of chillis and heat! I never asked for the spices in my dishes toned down like they often do for westerners because I love the firey kick!
- Keema Baati @ The Courtyard Café and Bar, Udaipur
This was a really interesting-looking dish and I didn’t really know what I’d ordered until it arrived. They’re basically big bread balls (the bread is quite tough, definitely not soft and airy, but it’s supposed to be like this) and the centre is stuffed with minced mutton. On the side you get a mutton curry and melted ghee so my tactic was just to smother them with the curry and ghee making it as indulgent as possible. So much flavour.
- Paneer Kathi Rolls @ Hotel Royal Dezire, Udaipur
So I can’t say this was the most impressive dish, skill or flavour-wise but in terms of setting yourself up for the day with a solid breakfast, this was it. Basically tasty, stodgy wraps filled with cheese, chilli and other veg. A beautiful start to the day.
- Keema with Fried Egg @ Kyani & Co., Mumbai
One that I have mentioned already, but probably my favourite meal in my favourite city. The keema (minced mutton) almost felt like a spiced Bolognese, and topped with a fried egg was delicious when scooped up with the bread rolls. I could eat this every single day.
So that’s about it! It’s tricky to condense 2 weeks of foodie adventures into one post, especially when you have a tendency to waffle like me, but there are my highlights, observations and general thoughts. India was a massive adventure, and I loved every minute of it.
I wonder how long it will take me to save for my next adventure in China – I might need a few years but watch this space…
¡Comemos!
xo
¡Comemos! 