Bikaner

Bikaner, a dusty little cow and camel-filled town in northern Rajasthan, served as our playground this weekend. Reminiscent of the streets in Aladdin, the Old City is a bustling market of food, sweets, spices, camel shoes, and endless textiles. Things to do and people to see, but not as much of a tourist hot spot as some of the larger cities (made apparent to us by the number of near traffic accidents we caused walking through the streets.) Our adventures included a Camel safari in the desert, strolling through the bazaar in search of cheap fabric, and a night on the town with our new-found Dutch friend Fons. Oh and getting run down on the street by a bull, a scooter ride to a rooftop restaurant by some friendly hustlers, and late night deaf karaoke.

 The weekend (and this entire experience for that matter) could have been exhausting and stressful. Coping with the never-ending bus rides, the not-so-friendly hustlers, and the heat can be rough sometimes, but I always draw solace and rejuvenation from the food. Whether it's a quick onion pakora before a long, dusty auto-rickshaw ride or a free chai from the textile market chai wallah, the food never fails to get me going again. A few intricacies in the food in Bikaner really stood out for me...

We grabbed some mid-morning Gulab Jamun (milk-based cake balls soaked in rose syrup) from a sweet shop in the Old City. After sitting on the street near some cows and taking a few bites of heaven, I found these gulab jamun to be filled with some kind of spices in the center. Running back to the shop to badger the guy behind the counter, I discovered it was some kind of confectionery mix. Stand by for my quest in search of this magical mix.

Later, Sophia and I  stopped at a street side restaurant for a late lunch, pulled in by mutter paneer (a peas and cheese curry) on the menu. The butter naan was what really wowed me here, and after the waiter called together a council of men and cooks in the restaurant (why does it always seem to take 5-10 men to do anything here?) he told me the cook puts black cumin in the naan before throwing it into the tandoori oven. Success.

So a couple fun additions to food to think about. Stay tuned for an Idli Sambar recipe.