After all the complaints about not eating in India I had to stop and think. It has not been a fabulous culinary experience certainly.Partly this is because I like food that is raw, or lightly cooked OR cooked very slowly. Indians use a pressure cooker, which cooks the heck out of foods and is, according to the health "experts", not the best way to heat food. There is a smell that comes off a pressure cooker that resembles burnt rubber (this may be the rubber thingy that keeps the pressure valve locked properly).But I also realized that all my favorite Indian cooks are in America. As a rule my sister-in-law makes the best of everything I like and don't like. When making my list of Indian foods I DO like I found that most of what I enjoy is breakfast or snack foods.

Above is a picture of the Dosa, which is a breakfast food. I like it crispy and without sambar (again unless it is made by sister-in-law). Dosas are crispy lentil and rice pancakes served with soup and coconut chutney. The same batter makes idli, which tastes really, really healthy and is steamed instead of fried.The restaurant in San Francisco called "Dosas" makes good ones. The Indian restaurant in Belmont, Ma. also makes good dosas (nice and crispy). We used to have dosas after going to the Lakshmi Temple in Framingham, Ma., at "Udupi Palace", which is now closed. They were Wicked Good!

I also love the snack food, Dohkla at the Indian grocer on Moody street in Waltham, MA. It is also steamed but made with chic pea flour and garnished with cilantro, coconut and mustard seeds. Sister pours a little yogert over hers when it is still hot so it is moist.

Pao Wadda is like a potatoe burger with my favorite garnish, cilantro chutney. I love them at "Hot Breads" in Massachusetts.

Ghatia is a fried chip made from Chic pea (besan) flour. You can't get those here but H's parents bring them from Mumbai. I make myself sick eating them.

The sweets that I like in India are unlike sweets in the US as they are not baked. My favorites are Boondi Laddoo, Aradya, Mysore pak, and Ras Malai. The first two are round, moist cake-like cookies and the pak is like fudge, but made with a lot of gee and cardamom. Ras Malai sits in a sweet milky cardamom sauce and is sort of spongy, so when you bite it all the juice comes out. Sister in law and my h's best friend's wife, N makes them and they would kill you but luckily they only prepare enough of them to force you into hibernation for a day.

When going out for Indian food I usually eat Channa Masala with garlic nan. Channa is chick peas and nan is a flat bread.

When I am at the in-laws I eat everything because it is good. Not so when we go out or our cleaning nanny cooks.

Picky Picky!

My motto is:
If it doesn't taste good, don't eat.
Hence the -20 lbs.