Food, Glorious Food!

When it comes to foreign travel, I am no sissy in the food area.  I go all in with the local scene, exploring markets, looking for new ingredients, taking restaurant recommendations from locals.   We students refer to our much vaunted Pune Guide, a compendium of recommendations from previous Institute visitors as well. 

So, let's go shopping...

During the Pune Heritage Walk our first Sunday morning, the market in the Old City pulled us in with its vendor calls and vibrant colors. 

This 8-sided building has been in continuous operation for over a century, built by the British in concentric rings to house the vendors indoors.  Demand is so great for foods and other things, that the market place spills out into the streets, sometimes smack dab in the middle.    This photo courtesy of our tour guide.

Spice gal just spreads her sheet on the ground practically in the middle of the street and sets up shop. I picked up a large handful of cinnamon bark for our chai for 12 cents...I probably paid too much!  Yoga Students:  Note the casual use of Malasana!

Inside the market building, the vendors arrange themselves in concentric circles according to the type of food.  Some are quite artful in their presentation.  

Bindhi is my absolute favorite here...Okra or Lady Fingers

Cilantro for days...

Our local apartment arrangement comes with a cook (par for the course here) who makes a meal for the 6 of us to share at mid-day.  I'm not going to lie...it's pretty nice to have someone else cook for you every day!  Chef makes a dal or yogurt-based soup, a fresh vegetable, and a bean or sprouted bean dish every day.  There is always rice and fresh chapattis as well.  He is very gifted with the spices.

And then there's eating out.  

A Maharastran meal must is thali, which literally means "plate".  At a thali place, you sit in front of a stainless steel tray with little bowls which are then filled up with a variety of soupy dishes.  The servers come through and add to the empty spaces of your plate different types of breads, condiments, vegetable dishes, and of course, rice.  Servers stop by frequently offering to refill your bowls or serve more of the other foods or breads. 

Did I mention that they keep serving you until you say "whoa"?  This photo above is from one favorite establishment where the $5 tab is considered pricey.  Tonight we ate at super local spot, Asha Dining Hall, where the servers are in uniform but barefooted, and the thali price was $2.15!  

Another scrumptious item is the dosa, which is a slightly soft, slightly crunchy pancake made from a fermented batter.  Urad dal (lentil) and rice are soaked, then blended then left overnight to ferment.  

Cooked like crepe, the finished product is crunchy and buttery.  It's served with a delicious potato filling and coconut chutney and tomato sambar.  One takes off a bit of the dosa, scoops up some of the potato and then garnishes with the condiments.  They often come flat or folded in half, but special super large dosas that feed a whole table come looking like this: 

The roomies enjoying a "paper" dosa. 

The Vaishali Special Masala Dosa

Last but not least, beverages.  I've mentioned the post class fresh coconut water for rehydration, and of course there are drinks made with yogurt like sweet or salty or mango lassi, and local fruit and yogurt shakes are nice, but my favorite tradition is a quick cup of chai.  

Black tea brewed in milk with spices like fresh cardamom, ginger, lemongrass, cinnamon or clove in any combination and with a little sugar.  Do it yourself is good, but I love the little cups served by our favorite chaiwala on the side of the road for 10 rupees...15 cents.

Until next post, cheers!