For those of you that don't know already, my meals have mainly consisted of food brought to my house made in the school hostel kitchen. While at first, I found the food exciting and interesting for its novelty, the same dish of rice, chapati, and dal have made my taste buds crave for something new. It's for this reason that I decided to try my hand at cooking some local dishes. I've already gotten several offers from people willing to teach me a thing or two, and as they teach me, I want to teach you guys!
Let's begin with a really simple, yet delicious, dish called pakora. To be honest, of all the food I've tried so far in India, pakora still remains at the top of the rankings. Thank you to Vimulbhai's family for offering to help me learn to cook and offering their kitchen as a classroom! I'm sorry if the recipe is hard to read/use. I promise to try to improve on them as the year continues!
Vegetable Pakora
Serves: 4
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1.5 cups chickpea flour (You can find this at Asian grocery stories, especially if they have an Indian section. Substituting with regular flour is ok, but will affect the taste)
2 medium sized onions
2 tablespoons minced small green chili peppers (food processor works best to bring out the flavor)
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon salt
1-2 cups water
vegetable oil (amount will vary)
Instructions:
1. Finely dice the onions.
2. If you have a sifter, sift chickpea flour into a separate plate. If you don't have a sifter, do your best to breakdown clumps of flour. The finer the flour gets, the better the consistency will be at the end.
3. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and diced onions.
5. Mix in the minced green chili pepper and salt.
7. To drop pakora batter into the oil, you can either use your hand or two spoons. Using your hand, scoop out a little less than a tablespoon of the batter mixture. Refer to the picture below to see where the batter should be positioned. Suspend your hand over the oil (not too high or oil will splatter) and use your thumb to push out the batter into the oil. It takes a little practice to get it them to turn out nice and ball-shaped.
Recipe: Pakora
Extra Power?
After Saturday classes, I went out into town with a small shopping list but decided to stop by and chat with my friend, our neighborhood tailor. We were sharing chai in the back of his shop, and he was describing how he makes chai back at his house. For the most part, I was able to piece together what he was telling me in Hindi until he started describing his favorite, special ingredient.
"_____ kya hai?" I asked, which means "What is _____?"
"Oh, best ingredient. Extra power!" he replied.
Every time he said the words "extra power," he winked and made an A-OK gesture with his hand. I was extremely confused, but he was so adamant about me knowing his favorite ingredient that he would use more and more complicated Hindi which, of course, did not help. "Extra power!" he kept repeating. Finally, he grabbed a pen and paper and drew what he was trying to describe. He wasn't even halfway finished drawing when I realized what it was. Marijuana. Extra power!
He assured me that he only uses a pinch (however much that is) to make several cups. After a hard day at work, I wonder if he still only uses a pinch. Because the way he says "extra power," winks, and gives me the A-OK sign is so hysterical, this post will hopefully be updated on Monday with an in-person interview when I ask him how he makes his special chai.
Leopard Attack
For the past couple of years, Kadod and nearby villages have had a leopard problem. I was made aware of this a few weeks ago. Every now and then, either someone will venture too far into the jungle or a leopard will find a way into someone's home, but in any case, the result is often not too favorable for team humans. Luckily, no one has yet to be killed by a leopard (please, knock on the nearest wood).
It was another normal day for a family in their house just a couple of kilometers outside of Kadod proper. The mother of the household was out in the market, leaving her 2 year old son, husband and father at home. It was around 4pm when the father heard a commotion in the kitchen at the back of the house. He froze at the doorway when he was met by the eyes of a full-grown male leopard. What transpired in the next few seconds is hardly believable. While screaming at his father-in-law to grab an axe, he lunged at the leopard with one of his elbows pointing outward. The leopard clenched his teeth on the father's elbow and began viciously gnawing away. Using all his strength to keep the leopard's head stationary, he screamed for his father-in-law to swing at the leopard's head with the axe. After a few decisive blows, the leopard was killed.
After replaying the story in my mind several times, I couldn't think of anything else the father could have done to protect his family, especially his two year old son. Throwing a chair or some other object would probably have just provoked the leopard, and running would probably have been a worse option. I think it's incredible that he was able to make the split-second decision to sacrifice himself for the sake of the people he loved. When the son grows up, I hope he'll always value and appreciate his dad's bravery and love.
How to Survive a Bear Attack: Could I substitute bear for leopard if I came back home to a leopard in the kitchen? What do you guys think? (thanks HY for the great advice!)
