Indian Food, Part II

DAIRY - almost all dairy products are from water buffalo. The only exception is children, who are allowed to drink cow's milk.

Paneer - a tofu-textured cottage cheese. Usually used in vegetarian dishes in place of meat.

Curd - served on the side, sort of like a pudding. I think it's sweet, but I haven't and don't plan to try it.

Yogurt - plain and served as a sauce. Very much like sour cream.

VEGETABLES - a main staple of the Indian diet. Veggies are cheap and plentiful.

Potatoes (aloo) - very common, served in a variety of ways. Typically they're more yellow than potatoes consumed in the U.S. Hard to mess up.

Spinach (saag) - typically served as a side dish, sometimes with paneer.

Cauliflower - I was surprised to see cauliflower here. It's served a lot of places, in a variety of ways. Usually with a spicy red sauce. Pretty good.

A Rajasthani Thali - Veggie Platter

Lentils (dal) - lentils are very plentiful. Usually cooked in a broth. Sometimes they're edible.

Chickpeas - probably the main source of protein for vegetarians. Usually served over rice.

Baby Corn - oddly enough, baby corn is a part of the Indian cuisine. Served much like cauliflower.

Peppers (capsicum) - green and red peppers as well as chilies are widely used. Chilies are common in scrambled eggs and omelets and are a nice touch to spice up the morning.

MEAT - no meat is served at school (unless you sign your life away). No beef anywhere. The most common meat is chicken.

Chicken (murg) - most times chicken is served in some kind of sauce or curry, with bones. I try to only eat boneless. There are several good dishes, but my favorite is murg malai kebab. It's skewered and barbecued boneless chicken that has marinated in yogurt and spices prior to being cooked in a tandoor oven. The Americanized curries such as tikka masala and butter chicken are good too.

Chicken Tikka in a Tandoor Oven

Lamb/Mutton - pretty much served like chicken. Not quite as common, but still seen a lot of places. It tends to be a little fattier and chewier than chicken, so I haven't had it as frequently. Like chicken, kebabs are the way to go.

Seafood - fish is offered in certain places, but is rarer than chicken or lamb. Goa was where fish and seafood were most plentiful. The restaurants would bring in fresh fish from the sea and grill it for you. Pretty good.

Grilled Fish in Goa

INTERNATIONAL - there are a number of international or "continental" options on Indian menus. Chinese food is the most common variant.

"Chinese" Noodles - stir-fried noodles with peppers are on basically every menu. They're pretty plain, but definitely a safe bet if the Indian food is suspect.

"Chinese" Noodles

Fast Food - a few fast food chains exist. The most common are McDonald's, KFC, Subway, Pizza Hut and Domino's. They're fairly similar to their U.S. counterparts with the exception of beef. Below is a picture of the Indian version of the Big Mac.

Chicken Maharaja Mac