Wednesday, March 28, 2007

the subcontinent

I've always wanted to go to India. Or Nepal. Or Bhutan. One of these countries. Of course, the first things that come to mind when I think of the great sub-continent are magical pictures of piles of spices, intricately woven saris, piles of new fruits, vegetables, or teas, all the bright colors... I hope that some day I will be able to go to India, and see those very things, but at the same time I don't want to be one of those horrible tourists who go and rave about the Taj-Mahal picture of "India" that they get. I wonder what it would be like to live in a place, which, from a material point of view, at any rate, is less "fortunate" than the country where I live. While it wouldn't be pleasant, I hope that some day I will be able to see this side of the country, too.

Anyway, on to a much more tasty topic: Indian food! On Monday I made a big batch of Mutter Paneer, a delicious Punjabi dish. My "paneer" was really tofu, and I think it worked quite well. Paneer is a firm, rather bland cheese, somewhat similar in texture and even taste to fresh tofu, so I'd say this substitution was a sucess. It's Wednesday, and I'm just finishing up the left overs. Here we have rice, the mutter paneer, with a bold stripe of fresh corriander chutney down the middle. Mmmm.



On Saturday I'm supposed to bring a dessert to someone's house, and I can't decide if I should make something decadent and chocolate-y (pie, cake...), a carrot cake, or something with apples (pie, crisp..). What do you think? I'd like it to look impressive, but I don't want to spend a fortune!

1 comment:

bazu said...

Welcome to blogging! I am liking it here already. =)

Your Indian food looks fabulous, and like you, I also hope to visit India one day, and really get a sense of what it is to live there. My mother went there when she was young, and has told me that I don't have thick enough skin to handle the poverty and misery (human and animal) that is a fact of life there. But as I get older, my skin is getting thicker, and besides, I'm sure misery is one fact of life, not THE fact of life there, as anywhere.

Ok, I digress!
As for dessert options, you can't go wrong with cupcakes. They are easy to make and can look oh-so-decadent. Have you checked out the "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" cookbook or flickr group? It's great inspiration. Let us know what you make and how it goes!