Palak Paneer

Tonight Abdul taught me how he makes Palak Paneer and so I am teaching you. At every opportunity, I eat this dish and have become a bit of a connoisseur; Abdul's ranks very near the top. On the topic of food, tonight I realized that I now eat most Indian meals with my hands. This is how Indians eat the food and I've grown accustomed to dipping bread in the gravy and grabbing chunks of paneer and chicken with paratha. And I try to use my right hand exclusively because the left hand is considered unclean.

All of the measurements are approximations because no measuring instruments were used. Ok, here is the recipe.

Palak Paneer (Spinach with Cottage Cheese)

1/3 Cu cooking oil in a super hot pan
5 dry whole red chili's (add to oil and stir)
2-3 Tbs whole cumin seed (add to oil and stir)
2-3 Tbs chopped garlic (add to oil and stir, wait until brown)
1/3 Cu chopped onion (add to oil and stir, wait until brown)
1/2 Cu chopped tomato
1Tbs garam masala
1Tbs cumin seed powder
1Tbs chili powder
1Tbs tumeric powder
3 Tbs fenugreek aka methi

Add 2 Cu boiled spinach that has been pulverized in the food processor and let the gravy reduce.
Add salt and butter to taste and add 1/4 Cu milk.

Lastly add 1 Cu chopped paneer

Ek, Do, Tin

One, two three. I've started Hindi language lessons this week which means I have a much better understanding of what is going on around me. It may seem pathetic that I've waited this long now that the learning has begun I'm really happy now that I can communicate with the people around me on a daily basis.

And for a total non-sequitur. I am convinced that cars in Delhi are all destined to break down in the diagonal position and block two of the four 'lanes' of traffic in the process.

Next up, yoga classes.

More Random Thoughts....

...Went shopping at a wholesale sari shop (not sure which is more correct, sari or saree) and now I'm looking for an occasion to wear my new Southern Indian sari...
...Sunday brunch has become the most decadent part of my week. Seriously, it might keep me in India longer that planned...
...I love having guests!!!!! Thanks Wallace and Patricia...

Mohan's Wedding

Wallace Holland (Tam's husband) came into town and he was my first official guest. After working in Bangalore for two weeks he was in Delhi to attend his coworker's wedding. Lucky me, I was also invited.

The bride is from the North and the groom is from the South and so the wedding was a mix of different traditions. The couple had been dating for around 10 years and so this wedding was a 'love marriage' and not arranged by the families. It was such a different experience than an American wedding that every single part was eye opening. Despite being almost two hours late, we arrived in time for the 7 circles around the fire, the most important part of a Hindi ceremony. The timing of the ceremony, noon to 12.30 on Valentines Day, was chosen by a priest who read the couple's horoscopes to choose the exact time. Essentially, the stars predicted a Valentine's Day wedding.

The sari's were beautiful and most of them were in the Southern style. Stiff raw silk with detailed gold embroidery on the edge and beautiful colors. Northern sari's tend to be silk georgette with a lot of crystals sewn on and they are nice but not really my style so the opportunity to see a very different style of sari.

Perhaps my favorite part was at the end when we were sitting and talking with Mohan's friends. It was casual and and I could tell their friends were really happy that everything worked out. Indian weddings are about the joining of the families and the bride becoming part of the groom's family. This is very different from American traditions where the new couple tend to become independent from both families. However, the support from friends is exactly the same.

Less that 24hrs in Jaipur

Jaipur. I've been hearing about Jaipur for weeks now and with no real plan in place, Megan and I bought bus tickets for a 5+ hour bus ride into Rajasthan Friday night. A moment about the bus stop; it is a stretch of road about 3 blocks from our house that looks exactly like every other stretch of road in India. And when we were standing on this stretch of road, all we had for guidance was that we were to get on 'the Volvo.' Luckily we also had a co-worker to help guide us.

We arrived in the middle of the night and all Megan and I wanted to do on Saturday was shop for textiles in the Pink City. I know shopping is not the best mission when in the middle of a state with an incredibly rich history with amazing castles and elephants and tigers and cannons, but that was really our only ambition.

So with no plan in mind, Megan and I were lucky enough to get a fabulous tour from our co-worker Palavi. We went to the City Palace (where the 11th King of Jaipur still lives!) and really had a good time in the textile museum. The palace guards had great uniforms as well.

Then we headed for the hills to the Jaigarh Fort where we saw the worlds larges cannon and then down the hill to the Amber Palace. These two stops are rather touristy but well deserved. They are totally impressive, massive buildings nestled into the hillside and each of them are large enough to house an entire city. I have finally gotten used to the labyrinth of rooms in these palaces and it's fun to climb the towers and turn corners and unexpectedly find another huge courtyard. In Jaigarh we followed the sound of music to find a puppet show....along the road back to the Pink City I finally saw elephant and camel traffic (very cool!).

After a quick delicious meal, a Lassiwalla and a fervent hour of bargaining for textiles we were heading back to Gurgaon on the 7.30pm bus. I'll be returning to Rajasthan a couple of times but I doubt I'll be able to cover as much ground in such a short amount of time.

Hyderabad

Early last Monday I was on a plane to Hyderabad (south and in the middle of India) for work. When I left Delhi it was freezing cold and foggy and I arrived in Hyderabad it was a balmy 80 degrees and the women were all dressed in short sleeves colorful sari's. It was really fun to see another city and contrast it to my construction zone of a home. Looking forward to more trips to Hyd and some warmer weather.

Random Thought

I eat a HUGE bowl of chopped papaya every morning and for about 5 minutes a day I'm convinced that I'm back in Hanalei.

Lal Qil'al

Megan and I explored Old Delhi and Lal Qil'al (or the Red Fort) on Sunday. This was the first time I used my Indian residency papers to get the non-foreigner fare at a tourist attraction (for residents the fare is Rs20 for foreigners Rs200). I got chuckle at the admission gate attendant's shock when I presented an Indian resident ticket.

I'm quite sure it was an impressive palace in it's day but once through the impressive red sandstone gate the rest of the fort was falling apart. The remaining structures give very little evidence of the extravagance of the 15th century but when I realized that it was a string of buildings dedicated to bathing my opinion changed. Water, the Stream of Paradise to be exact, was meant to flow through the string of pavilions. Adding visions of flowing water, lush grass, gold plated ceilings and rich fabrics I could even envision myself lounging around on a lazy Sunday.

After the Red Fort I impressed myself with some serious bartering for a pair of camel skin Punjabi shoes and ate a fabulous dinner at Karim's. The one regret was that we did not get into the mosque in Old Delhi; it's the largest mosque in the entire city....good thing I'm here for a while.

Karim's

This is my favorite Indian meal. Palak Paneer, Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken and Naan. Thank Ganesh that the royal chefs know how to cook it! Karim's in Old Delhi is one of the best places in town for great tandoori.

My well being

This man is responsible for my well being. This week he has said things like, "I will take some of your illness so you will have less" and "when you are happy, I am happy." And he really means it. Today Capil, Megan and I went grocery shopping. The goal was to find some snack foods and I thought we were going to an American style grocery store. In fact we went the Gurgaon bazaar but not before we crossed a few major intersections on foot - and this is a really big deal for me because it's TERRIFYING to cross the road. I could blame it on Saturday morning laziness but I did not make a grocery list. And when we got to the bazaar I was totally over stimulated. Needless to say, Capil was very patient as Megan and I picked out a couple of things (cashews, almonds, pasta, sugar and sweet potatoes and a pair of socks). After the morning adventure I felt so much more confident walking around Gurgaon and later that afternoon in Delhi. And that is why Capil is a good protector of my well being.

Combiflam or Sinarest

I have a cold....nothing too horrible, but I'm congested and have a bit of a sore throat. A couple days ago I decided that I wanted some medicine and was totally lost. For my entire life, the first call at the slightest onset of illness, was to my mother, a nurse practitioner. I could describe my symptoms and she would hand me a pill, I never really had to figure much out.

The grocery store didn't carry medicine and when I asked at work the two possible symptoms could be fever or aches. Congestion was not an option. For fever or aches I could take combiflam or sinarest. These were my options.

The first time I heard the word combiflam I laughed out loud. It sounds more like an extra special Mexican dessert. Taken out of context medicine names are pretty funny.

I went with combiflam for Wednesday and Thursday. Friday night medicine is Kingfisher.

A Royal Beating

After being a "VIP" at the Wagah border on Saturday night, it was quite nice to find my Monday evening VIP invitation from the Minister of Defense (along with a couple thousand other VIP's) for the Beating Retreat celebration.

Everyone seemed to think that attending a retreat was a special event, but no one had actually attended one. So I didn't really know what to expect. What ended up happening was a really cool marching band display where the Indian Army, Navy and Air Force displayed their finest. It was as if UCLA, USC and Cal marching bands came together and tried to one up each other. I loved it!

And to add to the whole experience, there was a row of 22 camels that kept watch over the event. And just when we thought the whole event was over...at that right moment of dusk....the entire place lit up like Tivoli Gardens. Totally worth it.