We have, of course, been doing a lot of things besides eating. But as a basic requirement of life and an important element of culture, not to mention an enjoyable social experience, food naturally commands a lot of our attention. So here are a few of our dining experiences thus far.
Every morning starts off with the phenomenal breakfast buffet provided by our hotel, the Radisson Blu GRT airport hotel:
- At least a dozen cooked Indian dishes (more on those in a later post)
- Waffles, omelets, dosas (see below) and pancakes made to order
- Fresh papaya, pineapple, apples, bananas, dragon fruit, figs, oranges
- Halvah (a sweet dish made from sugar, ghee, and pumpkin, carrot, beets, or other starches)
- Tea, coffee, lattes made to order, “South Indian filter coffee” (see below), masala chai, fresh squeezed orange juice, fruit smoothies, a salted yogurt drink, a sweet yogurt drink that tastes like my mom’s eggnog (way better than the fake store bought stuff you get at Christmas time), watermelon juice, grape juice …
Assorted curries, adai (a sort of spicy pancake), idli (a fluffy white South Indian cake made from rice- and lentil-flour), parathas (fried flat bread), savory porridges, and noodle dishes