India Like This Only

  The receptacle in which the chai is served truly makes all the difference in the experience. In someone's home, tea would be served in a 'proper' manner, in a cup on a saucer with sugar and milk on the side, a throwback to the times of the British Raj. On the streets of Mumbai, it's usually a glass tumbler (though now, I realize the age of disposable paper cups have taken over, sadly). But in certain places in the north, if you can find it, you can partake in the tradition of the "Kulhad Chai". A Kulhad is an earthenware tumbler with no handles. It is made from raw fired clay without any glaze. The tea takes on a slight earthen flavor the longer it sits, and the aroma is nothing short of divine. I didn't know about the existence of Kulhad chai until I moved to Delhi in my late teens for work.As part of my training, I was being sent down to Bangalore's Windsor Manor Hotel, and I was booked on the Rajdhani Express train. It leaves Delhi station at 8:45...

Air travel is often accompanied by exciting and adventurous experiences, and often, by rather unpleasantly harrowing ones. t was ten past one in the morning, as the airplane taxied down the runway when the flight attendant broke the news over the PA system. Flight attendants have this uncanny ability to deliver bad news with delightfully cultivated smiling voices. “Welcome to Mumbai, the temperature outside is a balmy 82 degrees F and due to unforeseen circumstances, some luggage has been left back in Amsterdam. Please check with the ground crew for more details. Thank you for flying with us.”  Oh groan!!! That meant in addition to the customary one hour visa processing and customs clearance wait time, I would have to wait for another two hours to file the report for my lost luggage situation. This was a bad time have checked in my carry on items. Now I don’t even have access to the emergency change of t-shirt and clean pair of underwear and socks. After being in the air for 20 pl...

It's springtime!!! This is when when Indians all over the country celebrate the curious festival of Holi. This is when children of ages 5 to 95 get out on the streets and partake in a literal explosion of spraying color and water. Holi encourages you to connect with your inner mischievous child, which is probably why it is celebrated with such vigor, irrespective of religious affiliation across India. Everywhere you look, you will see clouds of red, green, pink, yellow and purple, erupting all over the place. The 'Puchkari's' are brought out for this occasion, which is basically India's answer to a Super-soaker. Into this hugely overgrown syringe is suctioned colored water, which is then sprayed on the unsuspecting participants of this childish ritual. Kids spend hours the night before, filling little balloons with water, and gathering them in buckets to declare war on the neighborhood, not much different from a snowball skirmish around Christmas. From the bonfire c...

" What on earth is Cutting Chai?" Most people in America give me this incredulous look when I speak of the iconic Mumbai street food experience. I don't blame them honestly. I have the same look when Yoga Mom decked out in Lululemon asks for her "Grande nonfat chai latte extra foam with 3 pumps of caramel". I resist the urge to bury my head in my hands as she happily swipes her card for her 6 dollar mid morning pick me up. If you happen to be in the Chai Latte loving camp, I suggest you stop reading right now, as I don't wish to offend your delicate sensibilities. Please return to the article about the perfect form for the downward facing dog. Consuming chai is an integral part of being Indian. We consume on average, at least four cups of chai every day. Your morning newspaper moment is just not quite the same without it. The mid morning breather is the perfect excuse to inhale a quick cup before getting back to the tasks at hand. The four o'clock slump ...

  The evening snack was among my most cherished memories of childhood growing up in Mumbai. That was how the transition from a grueling day at school happened. Once the overstuffed backpack was dropped on the floor, and the school uniform stained from playground tussles lay in a crumpled heap in the laundry basket, the tea-time snack was laid out. This mini-meal readied us kids for the solid two hours of screaming, running and frolicking around the neighborhood. Usually this snack would be something simple to accompany the customary evening cup of chai, most commonly, a biscuit for dunking, or a slice of bread and butter with a sprinkling of sugar. But one day in the year, I would come home to a most memorable treat; Mom's famous Coconut Pancakes. The pancake making process seemed to be quite the ordeal. There on the kitchen counter would be a big bowl of batter being poured by the ladleful into a hot non-stick pan. Then Mom would expertly swirl the pan in a circular motion to make...