As you probably can tell, we have been eating well on our trip. With the exception of two meals, every meal we have had has been at least pretty good, with most being outstanding. The home cooked meals we got at Auntie and Uncles (both of them) where by far the best we had. We also got to sample fare that we would have never tried without being in someone’s home. For instance, at Auntie and Uncle in Bombay we got to try the Bombay specialties such as bhelpuri. Its was a puffed rice mixture and Ashley and I loved it. We would have never known to try it without Auntie preparing it for us.
We have got to sample some old favorites (from our frequent Indian dining in America) such as Chana Masala (Chick peas in a sauce), Palak Paneer (Cheese and spinach), Navarratan Korma (vegetables in a cream sauce), Pakoras, Samosas, Naan, Dal Makahani (lentils), Lassi’s and Dosas (pancake with potato filling). But we also found some new ones to love such as Chapati (another type of bread), Paneer Tiki (Cheese cooked in a tandori oven with spices), mixed vegetables, Vegetable Kebabs (ok, we make these at home, but they are better here), masala tea, and Momos (Tibetan steamed thingies).
Also…..I would love to get some pictures posted but there is no way from Darjeeling. I would suspect you will get few posts and pictures after Saturday. On Sunday we leave for the worst travel stretch so far…..we leave Sunday afternoon from Kalimpong (our next stop) and arrive in Chang Mei Thailand on Tuesday afternoon. Ouch!!!!
for more detail on the trip.
From kalimpong, we take a 3 hr jeep ride to Siliguri. From Siliguri, we take a taxi to New Jalipaguri. From NJP, we take an overnight train to Calcutta. We have a day in Calcutta, where we can sightsee. Our plan leaves Calcutta at 2am that night, gets into bangkok at 7am. Then our flight to chang mei leaves at 3pm.
Ouch!
I'm hungry just reading your descriptions. Send me a shopping list so we can have all the ingredients on hand when you get here.
Why is the trip taking so long? Perhaps you'll have wifi in one of the airports. You're right–we are anxious to see some pictures.
we look forward to chef michael and his trusted sous chef, ashley, returning and preparing these exciting dishes for us.
hope you have a couple of planned stops durning the 3 day plane trip.
have fun
love
dad, mom, wags, pj