India – The Food

During my time in the parks, food was a fairly regular ritual.

Breakfast was a mid-morning picnic in the park, eaten on the hood of the jeep. It typically included chapati (a flatbread also known as roti), sandwiches made from shredded cheese and white bread with the crusts cut off, a samosa or similar dish, a banana and a carton of mango juice.

Lunches were back at the lodges between drives and were served outdoors. They consisted of multiple small dishes. Typically they included rice and daal (a thick lentil soup), chapati, papadum, a “green salad” (slices of onion, carrot, tomato, cucumber and a root veggie I didn’t recognize), a chicken dish, a curried veggie dish, a paneer dish and at least one more item.

Afternoon tea differed a little between Courtyard and Nature Heritage. At Courtyard tea was at 6 and was accompanied by biscuits (or cookies if we’re being American about it). At 7 the nightly bonfire included a bowl of hot soup and an appetizer of some kind. My first night there, the appetizer was a piece of chicken in a thick, savory sauce that was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten. The second night it was a fried item that looked and tasted like Bugles if Bugles didn’t suck.

Nature Heritage combined tea and bonfire, serving pakoras with it. Of course I’m a total pakora addict, so that was a wonderful way to wrap up the afternoon drive.

Dinner followed the same format as lunch, though the evening meal was served indoors.

The chicken was usually masala or something close to it. Pieces were sliced small with the bones left in, which occasionally made it a challenge to eat. The veggies were the surprise treat. Several things I’m usually not super fond of, including aubergine and okra, turned out to be delicious when served with the right spicy sauce.

Other items included pasta, potatoes, and even fried chicken and french fries (which Nature Heritage served to make me feel a little more at home, I think).

Desserts were incredible. Typically they were either some sort of dumpling served in a sweet sauce (cream or honey) or a sweet vegetable puree.

All the meals were delicious and far too large. I worked up quite an appetite out in the fresh air all day, but it was still a struggle to eat everything they served.

Overall the food was similar to the fare of Indian restaurants here in the US. The one new thing that I tried and loved was a sauce called “mixed pickle,” sort of a spicy relish made from veggies sliced up small. I hope I can find it in a specialty store, because it would go great with any number of dishes.