On the morning of Day 6, I had the best train ride ever. At first I resisted the food offered to me for breakfast by the young Indian couple I met. Being a picky eater, I was sure it would be something I wouldn’t like. But it looked pretty good, and they told me that the husband’s mother was the best cook. I relented, and it turns out that they were right. Delicious!
I had spiced cold potatoes cubes, paneer (firm cottage cheese) and peas in a sauce, plain bread, and deep-fried bread. Considering that I never cared for Indian food, I couldn’t believe how much I liked it. My compliments to the mam! (I just had to look up Hindi for “mother”.)
I didn’t have time for lunch, so I had a big appetite when it was time for dinner. I went to a place that caters to tourists. It was a little pricier than other meals I had. But still a bargain compared to what you’d pay in the West. The service and presentation were also more in a Western style than I had had so far in India. I didn’t complain. It was nice to eat in the style I’m used to for a change.
I started off with “mushroom duplex”. See? Even the name sounds Western! It was “fresh mushroom stuffed with flavoured spinach, Amul cheese and serve with hot garlic sauce.” (I think Amul cheese might be the Indian equivalent to American cheese.) That’s it above. It looks pretty tasty, don’t you think? And it was!
For the main course I had butter chicken (boneless). Butter chicken is a very popular Indian dish consisting of pieces of chicken in a rich tomato sauce. Yes, lots of butter is cooked in. To me, “curry” signifies curry powder, which I don’t love. So that makes me initially nervous when a menu item has “curry.” But I’ve learned that curry in Indian food is a dish, usually with meat or possibly cheese, with a thick sauce. There’s something about this type of food I’m not crazy about. I like pasta with marinara sauce. I wouldn’t want a bowl of marinara sauce with some pieces of chicken in it. Bottom line, this dish was tasty. I just don’t like that style of cuisine.
Of course I got a side of butter naan to go with my butter chicken. Mmmmmm.
What was really fun was this after-dinner assortment that came when I was done with all my butter stuff. Don’t ask me what it was. I think some of it was candied fruit.
For dessert, I had something interesting called gulab jamun, also called milk balls. It’s a sweet made from milk solids. I’m not even quite sure what that means. I enjoyed them enough and I might try them again if the opportunity presents itself.
So, I didn’t really enjoy the sightseeing portion of Day 6. But I definitely enjoyed good Indian dished up with Western service and presentation.
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