lunes, 16 de septiembre de 2013

Delhi Belly

Procrastination. I've been meaning to start my own blog since a long, long time ago, but always seemed to be ‘too busy’ for it… (Yeah right… Chicken!) When I lived in Pittsburgh I was too tired of watching the kids (or too hangover! :P) and now that I’m in India I've been writing for everyone except myself. Well, when you wake up ‘feeling like the end is close’ and are forced to be on bed while your body struggles to get rid of a criminal infection messing up with your stomach, you know the day has come! What a great story to start a blog! :D
First at all, I gotta say this is the most common disease for foreigners in India, where the spices, heavy gravies, unclean water and poor hygiene of some places, often leave an UNFORGETTABLE memory in the travelers. But after 7 months in this beautiful country, I thought I had overcome all. Wrong! Always taking pride on my ‘princess’ face and homeless stomach’, I indulged myself (waaaay too much!) in the pleasures of greasy Somosas, Kulfi Falluda and spicy Momos; exploring the heart of India from its main artery: the STREET FOOD. Until last Tuesday, when I woke up shivering, feverish and with a painful rock as a stomach.
Anyway! It’s all part of the experience, right? ;) Fully recovered after a week of forced vacations, I’m ready to explain in detail how I got myself into this sh… mess, and why I still love my perpetrator: irremediable Stockholm Syndrome. Contradictory advice: don’t miss the chance to try them too! Just make sure the place where you get them is clean; I never had any major problem with food when I was living in Chandigarh or even when I bought from street vendors in Hauz Khas or Great Kailash… But this time I think I went too far eating a bunch of snacks on the streets of Chandni Chowk and  Chor Bazar… My bad!
A little less conversation, a little more action please! Here are the PICS.


Let’s start with the sweets; India is the P-A-R-A-D-I-S-E of sugar! And if you have a sweet-tooth like me, the moment you taste the Carrot Halva or a piece of Burfi, you’ll see heaven. Don’t be shy and ask for a box to fill with a piece of every kind! It will be cheap and delicious. But sweets are a whole world that needs to be described in detail in a further post. There’s just one that needs to be mention here:

Here is the king of queens; the most oily, juicy and tasty treat: Jalebi. They are basically wheat flour pretzels, soaked in sugar syrup, deep fried and served with some kind of gravy called Rabri, made out of condensed milk, sugar, spices and nuts. Yummyyyy!

The Top 6 Delhiites Street Delicacies


1.   Paneer ka Chilla is the Indian version of a Mexican Quesadilla; it is a ‘pancake’ stuffed with onions, peppers, tomatoes, cottage cheese (paneer) and a bunch of spices –Of course!- served with mint sauce. Perfect for a quick emergency breakfast, lunch or dinner. Good, but not that “exotic” for me.





2.       Shakarkandi is the Hindi word for sweet potato, but trust me, you haven’t tasted this kind!  The wise ‘Street Master Chefs’ roast them, chop them and season them with lemon and Masala while you close and open your eyes. No oil. No butter. No sugar. No pain! NO GAIN :D You can feel how it melts in your mouth and enjoy without any guilt.



3.       Same as the delicious Shakarkandi, Bhutta is a very common street snack in many cultures, including mine; I used to have it roasted with butter and salt, until I moved here and started craving for a good, roasted corn with lemon and Masala.   




 4.      Sweet? Salty? You don’t even know what you are craving for?? Moong Dal Ladoo is a little snack, perfect for those hunger attacks before the big meals. They are fried balls of Yellow Dal -a kind of Lentils- served with radish, onions and gravy made out of sweet Tamarind and spicy mint chutney.



 5.       Getting hot in the ranking of my favorite street food, this baby over here is Kasta Kachori with Aloo Gravy, which is basically a flour-based ball filled with Moong Dal and spices; then crushed, and mixed again with a brownish potato gravy. Heaven on a foil paper plate! Although this is one of the major suspects of my stomach infection… hmmm…

 6.      And finally, here it is, ranking first on this list: the crunchy, salty, sweet, spicy, amazing Bhel Puri. This street delicacy is made out of puffed rice, vegetables, peanuts, Papri (crisp flour chips), potatoes and tamarind sauce. It reminds me a lot of the yummy Thai food Gib used to make in our Poker/Beer nights in Pittsburgh, but that’s a story for another blog! I’m getting nostalgic here…

Financial Summary:
Assorted sweets in a box: 100 Rs.
Jallebi with Rabri: 70 Rs. (It was GIGANTIC!)
Shakarkand: 30 Rs.
Bhutta: 10 Rs.
Kachori: 10 Rs.
Mong Dal Ladoo: 20 Rs.
Bhel Puri: 30 Rs.
In 270 Rs. (4.26 US Dollar or $8800 Colombian pesos) you can give your taste buds a truly Indian experience. But be careful! Or you’ll end up spending 200 extra for a nice cocktail of Norflox-TX, Imodium and Gatorade.