Eating in Hindi

Over the last 2 months in India, we’ve had the pleasure of being dinner guests at a number of distinguished places. Fancy restaurants, cozy homes, hotel reception halls, and outdoor venues have all fed our curious appetites and inquiring minds. Whether it’s been eating with foreign dignitaries, fellow teachers or random people we’ve just met, I’ve learned that it’s important to approach every dinner occasion with an attitude of openness, caution and preparedness.


Here’s what I mean. Typically we’ve been invited to the homes of other teachers for a home cooked meal. If they say dinner is at 8pm, what they really mean is that, after chatting, drinking juice and snacking, we’ll sit down to eat at around 10 or 10:30pm. The socializing here comes before the meal. After explaining what each dish is, they’ll always load our plates first and will rarely start eating until we’ve started chowing down. Even if your cheeks are so full of lentils and chicken that it’s leaking out, your host will probably kindly accuse you of not eating enough and proceed to pile more food on your plate - of which you can’t possibly eat because you’ve already had 3 helpings and you’re about to fall asleep. Then comes dessert - often in the form of something squishy and somehow sweeter than sugar itself.


To get the most out of an Indian dinner experience, here are a few things I’ve learned to do:
1. You MUST take a nap before your dinner engagement. Plan on getting home after 11pm even on school nights.
2. Remember it’s OK to eat with your hands. It’s preferred if you use the CHAPATI, PARATHA, PURI, ROTI OR NAAN (all flat breads) to scoop up your food.
3. Make sure you try a little of everything and learn the names.
4. Ask if you’re drinking filtered or bottled water. American bellies aren’t naturally adjusted to the tap water.
5. NEVER fill your plate with the amount of food you think you’ll eat. ALWAYS take small portions so that by the third serving, you’re eating what you intended and your hosts are pleased that you’ve eaten so much. It also helps to leave a little food on your plate to signify that you’re full.
6. Use a few phrases from your limited Hindi vocabulary to break the ice and surprise your hosts.
“Svadhe!” = Tasty!
“Bahut bahut shukriya!” = Thank you very, very much!
“Bate bargaya!” = My belly is full! (A guaranteed hit with your hosts.)
7. Warn your host that you “don’t have a sweet tooth” and are aware that most Indian desserts are very sweet. This lets you off the hook when you can’t finish your RASGULLA (sugar saturated boiled cheese balls).

Honestly, we love Indian food. Especially home cooked meals. Here are some of our favorite dishes we hope to fix for some of you when we return:
• Rajma – stewed kidney beans with garlic, ginger, tomato, onion and masala
• Dal makni – lentils, rajma, butter AND cream in yummy stuff
• Garlic naan – garlic flavored flat bread baked in a tandoori clay oven
• Baigan bartha – roasted eggplant extraordinaire

While some say love is the international language, I’m pretty sure its food. At least that’s what my gut’s been telling me.

Jimmy