Indian Cuisine

One of the most exciting parts of this trip was tasting the different curries and plate meals known as "Thali" prepared in the southern part of India where we stayed. I am a food fanatic and experiencing the southern Indian cuisine was a great experience for my taste buds. The southern Indian cuisine was unique in many ways. One thing that I learned about the Indian people is that a greater percentage of them are vegetarian. Even though I am not a vegetarian I could appreciate this practice because it is health conscious and I understand the premise behind it.

I was able to see a western influence throughout south India with many fast food restaurants in shopping centers and in business establishments as well. One of the shopping centers we visited, the longest lines were for KFC and McDonalds. The western influence will definitely effect the Indian culture and some of their eating habits specially for the children who are growing up and being influenced by the media.

At Ecospace Business Park in Bangalaru we visited Microland. After our meeting we had lunch at The Bay which is a cafeteria for the entire Ecospace Business Park which includes various IT companies. The Bay included western fast food restaurants like Dominos Pizza, McDonalds, and Subway. After having Indian food at the ashram for a few days I wanted a taste of American food in India. Khalil and I ordered a pizza. The ingredients in the pizza tasted different from what we have been used to here in the US.

My favorite meal I had in India was in Mysore at a hotel which is formerly a queen's palace. This plate is called Thali which was served on a silver round plate with banana leaves on the bottom. Then there was small containers with white rice, veggie curry, fish curry, lentil soup, yogurt, salad, and coconut rice pudding all around the round plate. I noticed the traditional way to eat this meal is with your hands dipping the bread into the curries as well as eating the rice with your hands. At the end of the meal they bring over a small container with water to wash your hands. This meal was not only delicious but it was also inexpensive, the cost was 400 rupees which is less than $10 which to the common man in India is a lot but not for westerner who is used to paying in the teens for a meal of such quality.