Rob's Asian Adventure: Sunday Dinner at Exotica

The people in India are friendly toward ex-pats. This is one of the things I like about India. India has a lot of queues. Standing in queues is a good place to start a converstion. It has not been unusual for that to begin a relationship. Such has been the case with my friend Vish. I talked about Him in an earlier post. He is a doctor. He practiced in the Carribean for a number of years and recently returned to India with his wife and two boys, Ganesh and Nadesh. He is working to develope medical tourism here in India.

Vish has been very helpful to me. He made one of his friends in the wholesale business available to me to stock my kitchen with implements when I first came. That was helpful to me because at first I had no idea how to shop in India. I am catching on but at first I had no clue. Vish has gotten my prescription drugs for me. So far they have worked well and in some cases are one tenth the US cost. Here in India is a wholesale chain similar to Sam's Club. It requires a membership. The memberships are harder to get here than they are in the US. Vish has a membership and he takes me there to shop. Vish has been a good friend to me.

Vish has some Indian friends. They meet at Vijayanagar club on weekends and eat and drink. Vish has invited me several times and his friends have taken me in. It is a fun group. They are all professionals in other fields; government service, medicine and industry. It have enjoyed watching them interact and listening to their views of the world; views not focused on off-shoring but general views on Indian culture, politics and their lives in general.
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Vish is a good cook. His speciality is one of my south Indian favorites, Chili Chicken. Everywhere it is served, it is a different dish. No Indian cook prepares it the same. They are all quite good. It is a vey spicy dish. This Sunday we invited Vish's friends to my apartment and Vish cooked his version of Chili Chicken. We shopped for the party at the wholesale outlet yesterday morning. Vish came over early and he cooked. I was the sous chef. He also had asked his mother to make an eggplant briyani which he brought with him. The south Indian briyanis are delicous. According to some reading I have done it is a dish that originated with muslim cooks in the Middle East and migrated to India from there. I was fascinated by this because my youngest daughter Jenny, who has been making muslim dishes for twenty years has made some very similar dishes. They are seasoned with different spices and are very tasty. They also vary widely from cook to cook.

South Indians are particular about their briyanis. Particular about how they are assmembled, how they are seasoned and how the rice is cooked. It is an art I hope to master before I leave India.

I cooked a cheese and onion pie for appetizers. It seemed to pale in comparison but folks ate it and seemed to like it. Our Sunday menu was:

Appetizers:
Cheese and onion pie
Sliced cucumbers
Indian snacks like chips but very different
Curry sauce

Entrees:

Chili Chicken

Eggplant Briyani

Riata

Dahl and plain rice

We ate with our hands. This is the only way to eat bryiani and chili chicken. There is a school of thought out there that suggests this practice adds to the experience. I agree. It gives it a personal and sensual dimension that you get used to; especially with some dishes. Now I feel cheated if I don't eat bryiani with my hands.

There are techniques and rules in this process. Use your right hand. The left hand is not welcome. Food is gathered, mixed on the plate and slightly compressed with the last three fingers and thumb. Then as it is pushed off your fingers with your thumb into your mouth. It takes practice like eating with chopsticks does.

We had a good time and good conversation. Our next outing will be a birthday party for Vikram. It sounds like it will be held out of town at a wildlife part. I am looking forward to it.

Akrun (lhs), a doctor and Krishna a retired Indian tax auditor and politician