Eating is clearly one of the pleasures of India. There are so many different tastes and textures here, and certainly something for every palate, from spicy to sweet, from super-healthy to super saturated fatty. As I've already tried to explain in
Part 1 and
Part 2 of my posts about Indian fruit, I've been blown away by the amount of fruit here that I've never tried before. Here are some more that I've been enjoying.
Mosambi/Sweet LimeI want to personally apologize to mosambi- this is probably my favorite fruit I've tried here and it took me to my 3rd post on fruit to give it propers. It's basically exactly like an orange in size, texture and sweetness but it tastes like lime! I didn't know such a thing was possible- all the deliciousness of a lime without all that unnecessary puckering! They're delicious on their own, eaten like an orange, or I really love mosambi juice- I could permanently replace OJ with the stuff! I want to make mosambi mimosas sometime, BTW. Needless to say, I wish I could take a whole basket full back home with me!
Indian BananasSo, naners are naners, you're saying. Well, kind of, except like many things over here, they do it a little different here in India. First thing you'll notice is that naners over here aren't as 'pretty'... they are shorter, stubby, fatter and often have more black spots on them, unlike the pristine, long and skinny ones I'm used to seeing in the States. Maybe like heirloom bananas or something. That being said, I think they're more delicious over here- maybe a little firmer and a little tastier. You see them hanging in shops on the actual stalk- maybe 50 of them or so per stalk, they look really fresh and tempting displayed in this natural way. There are banana plantations everywhere around where I'm staying so I'd imagine they were literally picked hours before I'm eating them, unlike in the States where we have to ship them from Central America. It's also neat that most meals in South India are served on a banana leaf, which serves as an excellent plate that can then be folded up and tossed afterward- perfect compost for growing more naners!
StarfruitOkay, this has to be one of the coolest looking fruits ever and one of the most descriptive names- it is what it says it is! The whole thing is edible, with a waxy outside and a juicy inside. It's hard to describe but the best I can do is sweet like an orange but tart like a grapefruit. Yum!
Now I just gotta figure out how to get a place in the tropics and start growing all these fruits!!!
Alcohol is still frowned upon in general in Tamil Nadu, and apart from five star hotels and places that serve beer illegally under the table (literally) there are very few places to get alcohol here. The only place to buy the stuff are state-controlled 'wine shops', often in backalleys with bars over the window where they will hand you your beer through the bars. These places are very sketchy though, often full of shady characters and very smelly. In addition, they only sell Indian liquors and there is no place in the state to buy imported beer or liquor. Because of this, there is quite a black market for imports in the state. I remember during my time in Chennai a common question expats would ask each other was "So, who's your bootlegger"? If you're curious for more on liquor policy in the state, this article does a good job.
Kingfisher is clearly the beer of choice over here and it is delicious. However, even after having one at night, I'd wake up the next day with a headache and feeling awful. I asked around and found out that all beers made in India put in a preservative (ie poison) in them called glycerol. This is what give you the splitting headache the next day. However, the glycerol is heavier than the beer, so if you turn your beer upside down into a glass of water, the oily-looking glycerine will come out, leaving you with pure beer. You might loose about 2oz in the process but it'll be worth it the next day!
