Chithrapu's Choices

And here are some other foods I should try, not necessarily specialities of Hyderabad, but just some items my pal Chithrapu thinks I’ll like:

• Misal Pav – This appears to be another lentil stew, served with bread and some fresh onions on the side. Take a look at Amu’s recipe. This seems a very complex dish to make. And wow! His wife’s photos are wonderful! 
• Vada pav – I’m thinking this is gonna be a knish on a bun, hold the mustard, add some curry! 
• Vaala Meen – I’m scared… Fish stew? 
• Poricha meen – Fried fish? Looks like a night at the fish camp!
• Kothu parotta - Shredded chicken and / or scrambled eggs and shredded parotta (flaky bread) stir fried with onions, tomatoes, chilies, and spices. Chithrapu says “It’s an awesome dish. You will die for it.” Yum yum!! 
• Sambar Vadai – A doughnut shaped fried bread, served in a savory dal and pumpkin ragu. Take a look at the work involved in making this dish! 
• Puttu Kadalai – I think this is a breakfast dish of steamed coconut flakes served with a chickpea and coconut curry. Hmmm… looks a little more involved than my yogurt and berries!

Prepared Foods

Prepared foods I've been instructed to try in Hyderabad:

• Dum biryani – Hyderabad is famous for Dum biryani, sometimes called Hyderabadi Biryani. This is typically made with lamb / mutton, although there are chicken variations. When plated, this dish resembles Americani Chicken Fried Rice, without the stirring or the frying. Review of recipes shows ingredients being precooked, then layered in a dish and baked in the oven. Watch Padma whipping up some biryani. AR says “It may be spicy for you.” Maybe they have a children’s version. 
• Mirchi Bajji –There is also a Hyderabadi style of deep fried stuffed jalapenos. The difference is in Hybad they are stuffed with a paste of sesame seeds, coconut, and coriander, unliked the potato based stuffing of other regions. I somehow doubt my description will match this gourmet’s declaration of “surprisingly mild”, yet, I’ve been wrong before. I’ll keep you posted. (She does say that sometimes she dredges and fries a second time – which is a chicken trick that is very close to my Southern heart.) 
• Pani poori – Like Mirchi Bajji above, this seems to be a ‘street food’, with the stuffings being dictated by region. In reviewing the photos and recipes, I think Ashwini makes these for holiday parties at the office. It is a hollow, globe-like pastry, the size of an egg, deep-fried to crispy perfection, cooled and stored airtight. When ready for serving, you poke a hole through the top of the globe and drop in the stuffings – things like onions, potatoes, chutneys, vinegars. Eat quickly in one bite! Yum! 
• Pav Bajji– I’m thinking this is the Americano option that AR slipped in to this list, just pour moi! This looks like sloppy joe, avec hamburger buns, sans hamburger meat. It does look and sound yummy, however I’m not sure how one eats this on the street. Are there disposable dishes? Will I scoop with the bun (using my right hand only!)? Stay tuned for the answers! 
• Samosa ragada – This seems to be a chickpea stew, served with samosas (the ultimate White People Food) on the side. It almost looks like a Mexican dish. 
• Fresh jalebi – This is one of my favorite Indian sweets, tastes kinda like baklava, but apparently it doesn’t travel well. So the Jalebi I’ve gotten in Charlotte have been substandard at best. Getting it freshly made is supposed to be wonderful! 
• Paper Dosa – This was not on ARs list, I added this myself. A paper dosa is a thin, crispy pastry that is often spread out and served huge. It can be served stuffed or not. Lax and her kids, Mellissa and Rose, have a tradition they use to help them get over jet lag. From the airport they head to Lax’s mom’s apartment in the city. Typically they reach there in the early morning hours, and they stroll over to a restaurant that serves paper dosas to have breakfast. They unwind from the long flight, and then they begin the day, using the dosa to jumpstart them on Hybad-time.

Gettin' Fruity Wid It!

Beginning with my first Indian friend, I have only known one who did not wax poetic on the heavenly virtues of mangoes. It seems the typical GMO-varietal mango found in American supermarkets have had all the flavor bred out of them (styrofoam tomato, anyone?). Looking forward to tasting my first flavorful mango! My fingers are sticky just thinking about it!

I was pleasantly surprised to get such an extensive list (below) from a work friend (thanks AR!) of more fruits I absolutely have to eat while on my journey (follow the links to learn more):

• Mangoes –In Hyderabad, they are called Banganapalle or Rasaalu 
• Manilkara zapota -- Called Sapota in Hyderabad. They look like kiwi and should be peeled before eating
• Tender Coconut water can be found everywhere in Hyderabad. Need to select good one with sweet water. Good for hydration if reliable water not available 
• Watermelon
• Syzygium cumini -- Called nalla neredupandu in Hyderabad. Known for removing toxins from the digestive system – suggested each person eat one per year. Will make your tongue purple. 
• Jujube (not to be confused with jujube or ju-ju-be  :-)  ) -- Also called Regipandu, the small ones are tasty. 
• Guava – try unripe 
• Passion fruit – AR is not very passionate about passion fruit, and warns it has a strong smell.
• Gooseberries – sour 
• Lychee – often find the juice available 
• Star fruit 
• Custard apples -- Apparently these are difficult to eat - based on the pictures, in the same way as an antichoke is difficult to eat -- and I should make sure they are ripe! 

Many thanks also to Catherine Reddy, without whose wonderful blog The Earth of India I wouldn't have been able to imagine (and share with you!) many of these fruits.

It's all about me!

Before I give a blow-by-blow about my fetal position paralysis, it must be stated clearly that all of these doubts and concerns are about ME… fed by my own insecurities and background…. My imaginings… my fears.

My brain brought these thoughts to life, and then it seized on any tiny phrase, any data, any lack of data to grow these little seedlings into the mighty redwoods they became before they crushed me to the ground and rendered me unable to make any progress.

My trip planning ground to a halt, basically, because I can be a bit of a paranoid, insecure, fearful nutjob.

Dream 7

The faces around me grew more strained, and I could feel my own eyes becoming as big as saucers, my brows pushed up to my hairline. Some of my co-rowers were hyperventilating, and even the once beautiful colors of the distant shore were diminished in vibrancy, sucked out by the sound and my inability to care.

The awful strain of the never-ending diarrhea spewing from between the sharp little teeth of Incessa was wearing all of us down to the last nerve. Except for the blonde woman in front row starboard. She continued to row with a smile, looking off toward the shore or watching a soaring gull, showing interest that none other of us could raise.

I pointed her out to Katie, who seemed surprised as well…. As surprised as she could be while having her life force drained from her through her ears. The sound continued in its horror, like the FBI broadcasting the screams of rabbits being slaughtered to the Branch Davidians.

When Rolando next came around with his mosquito-glazed water Katie and I hurriedly questioned him about the woman in front row starboard. "How does she do it? Why isn't she going crazy like the rest of us?"

Rolando looked at me with surprise in his exhausted blue eyes. "You can't see the trickles of blood from here? On the second day of your journey she found a pin in her pocket. She poked holes in both her eardrums. She no longer hears the sound." He nodded in a conflicted way, perhaps because his terrible punishment would be postponed through the actions of Starboard Front.

He turned to trudge back to his drum.

… so after I take my walk in the morning then I go into the gym and I lift weights I do two full circuits of each of the machines with three groups of eight reps each well actually I alternate one day I will work above the waist and the next I will work below the waist this is the optimal way to work out your body and always in reps of eight the people who know do it in reps of eight the right kind of people shall we say those people who work in reps of ten or twelve or oh my word fifteen they just aren't doing it right and I know because the right sort of person has told me and I know that this person only knows the right sort of information shall we say in fact one of my husband's friends recently gave me some wonderful new sunscreen well actually she gave me the little sample container of the wonderful new sunscreen well new to me but she knew about it before because she has money to buy this very expensive and proper sunscreen…

Paralysis

In the midst of making my preparations for this trip -- and without regard for my overwhelming excitement and joy at this adventure -- I became totally paralyzed with the thought of this journey.

I understand the thoughts of self-doubt that swirl around most people's brains on a daily basis -- I experience this at least as much as the next guy. I swat them away and move on. Sometimes a doubtful thought comes along that screams louder than others, throws banana peels in my path. In this case I stop, give this thought the attention it wants, clear up the doubt, and move on.

This time several monster-sized doubts jumped out at me at once. They tackled me to the ground and slimed all around me. The sheer weight of multiple wriggling and growing doubts weighed me down, until I curled into the fetal position to plan my counter-attack. I lay there for weeks.

The doubts were roughly grouped into these categories:

• Dependence on others 
• The total foreignness of the Indian culture to my own 
• I will stand out 
• Guests smell like fish 
• What's going on in the office

Back from the Edge

I'm back, Faithful Reader, after a period of paralysis. Deer in the headlights paralysis…. 'Possum looking at you from the heating vent paralysis… Mr Frump in the iron lung paralysis. Paralysis on so many levels and from so many corners…

But let's get caught up from where I left you, before we examine my fears and specters.

• I went to the doctor, where together we reviewed the CDC website and decided what vaccines and medicines I would need. The vaccines required multiple visits to the lab, and caused very sore shoulder movement. But I'm now fully prepared! I can drink water from a village elephant's trunk if that is required!
• I received my Passport / Visa exactly eleven days after I sent it off -- sooner than the 14 I'd been promised and much sooner than the 21 I'd expected. I can now legally enter and leave the country without fear. Using an expeditor is definitely the way to go!
• My trip insurance purchase was a breeze. After I'd done all the online research and comparison, I bought online. The website was quick and easy. I was emailed a PDF of my policy and my insurance card. I'm all set with trip cancellation and medical evacuation. 
• I've started putting together 'My Book'. Everywhere I travel I compile a binder with my itinerary; photo copies of my reservations, passport, visa, etc.; emergency numbers; US Consulate info; shopping lists and sizes; color swatches; research into the airports where I have layovers and public transportation to / from said airport; tips from friends, etc.