Cultural Lesson #1

Today, we went to lunch with on of Brian's coworkers, Mohammad. Mohammad was kind enough to take us to an authentic Indian restaurant and show us the ropes of Indian food.
A few things I learned:

• Cheese is called paneer. This is especially important for me as I am lactose intolerant. I will be using the phrase no paneer quite frequently I am sure.
• Indian food is spicy. The food we ate at the restaurant was not spicy at all, but they had toned it down for American palates. Mohammed suggested we definitely ask about spiciness before ordering.
• Indian foods have different names in different regions. Indian bread, which is like an absolutely delicious pita, is called naan in a lot of places and here in the US, but where we are going it is called something different (of course now I can't remember the name!).
• Most menus at the Indian restaurants we visit will be in English (yay!).
• You are not supposed to eat the seasoning in the rice. You would think if it's mixed in with the rice, you can eat it, but you can't. We'll you can, but it would not feel good after digestion occurs. You are supposed to pick these little seed-like seasonings out. (I can't remember the names of these little things either).

Here's a few items that we got to try at our lunch:

MUTTER PANEER


What is it?
A dish made with peas and cottage cheese cubes in a curry sauce.

Meghann's rating:
Interesting combination of flavors and textures that will take some getting used to, but pretty good overall. I think would have liked it better if was spicier.

TANDOORI CHICKEN

What is it?
Chicken marinated in yogurt, lemon juice and spices that is cooked in a clay oven to give the chicken a distinctive reddish-orange color and a smokey flavor.

Meghann's rating:
Delicious! It's BBQ chicken without the sauce. I would have preferred it a bit spicier again, but Mohammed mentioned that this dish is typically very spicy in India.

ALOO GOBI

What is it?
Cauliflower and potato in a curry sauce

Meghann's rating:
Pretty good; curry will be an interesting flavor to get used to. Cauliflower is not my favorite veggie, but I do love anything in a sauce.