Surviving India: Food & Fun
Posted by Scott Windsor on March 28, 2009
This is my follow up to Surviving India.
So, after the basics of getting by in India, my next tips are all about enjoying the food & nightlife that India has to offer.
Food Basics
India has such a wide spectrum of food, it's hard to know where to begin. First, I'll start with some of the basic health stuff. Make sure to only eat throughly cooked food & veggies. Fruit is ok, provided it's not already been pealed. Also, it's best to avoid drinking tap water anywhere unless you've been told that it's filtered. You can usually ordered bottled water along with your meal (ask for 'bottled mineral water'). Another tip I got before I left (thanks Natala!) is to make sure to have a good amount yogurt along with your food. One, you can use this to tone down the spice of anything that's too hot, and two it's chock full of the local good bacteria that you don't have but the locals do. This will help you do your best to avoid the dreaded Delhi Belly.
Veg. vs. Non-Veg.
A large portion of the Indian population is vegetarian. Therefore, most of the menus will clearly state wether something is Veg or Non-veg. Sometimes these are indicated by a small icon with a square and a dot in the middle that's green (for Veg) or red (for Non-Veg). Vegans, though are pretty much out of luck - it's not very common and much of the food options include ghee (clarified butter) or yogurt.
Best Dishes
Of all the dishes I had, here are my top 3 favorites:
1. Pork Vindaloo in Goa.
This dish was invented in Goa as a re-interpretation of a Portuguese dish. It's way spicer in India compared to the watered down British version of this dish you tend to get in most Indian restaurants in the US. The local pork also made it super tasty. Pork in curry? Of course it's going to rule.
2. Homemade Dosas at Bharti's house.
When we were in Banglore, we stayed at Sam's grandmother's house. His mom was also visiting, and made us fresh Dosas. Amazing! Dosas are a South Indian breakfast dish. They're a fermented chickpea and lentil batter cooked in a pan with a curry inside (typically potatoes masala), usually served with a mint chutney. They are very similar to crepes but have way more flavor.
3. South Indian Lunch at Comet in Banglore.
Our first day in Banglore, we drove all around looking at stuff. Ravi, our driver, was getting pretty hungry, so he stopped off at what I assume is a local favorite of his for lunch, called Comet. We sat down at a nice open air table and got one of the two available options. They brought out banana leaves and not too long after a waiter came out with what looked like a bucket with multiple compartments. Immediately, we all got a nice sampling of all kinds of varied Veg. curries. My personal favorite was an okra dish that was super spicy. Very nice.
Nightlife
There's lots of great bars, pubs, & clubs in India. First off, things tend to close down pretty early in most areas (11pmish). But, because of this, everyone seems to go out every night! Especially in areas like Banglore, Delhi, & Goa where there are lots of younger (college and just post college) kids that want to go out after a long day of working/studying. In the north, though, you'll want to make sure ahead of time if where you are going does serve alcohol - they tend to be more conservative, and many restaurants don't serve beer/wine.
Beer-wise, you're pretty much only going to get Kingfisher (India's only beer), but occsionally you'll get some english or danish import beers. Kingfisher grows on you pretty quickly, and soon you'll be clamoring for it by the end of your trip. India's also starting to get it's wine-making off the ground, and have a few different wines available which aren't bad at all. Some bars also serve the standard fare of mixed drinks. Just make sure that if you get a mixed drink, that the ice is made from filtered water or you ask to hold the ice.
My favorite drink that I had in India was the tomahawk at the 13th floor in Banglore...
The Tomahawk
- 1/2 pint Kingfisher beer
- 1/2 pint Sprite
- 1 shot Whiskey
It was pretty awesome and suprisingly refreshing!
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