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Indian Edible Sweet Souvenirs

Over the years, I have tried to never accustom anyone in my family to expect a gift whenever I travel. It may sound kinda harsh, but with the amount of travel I do, if I accustom people to expect a gift from me, it would be a burden to my schedule and my budget. I do try to bring things to share with people so they can enjoy a little bit of my travels too… Say for example, it’s kind of awkward to travel in India for 3 weeks and arrive at my sister’s home empty-handed.

As soon as we arrived in India, we were gifted a backpack filled with Indian goodies: a sari for the girls and a dhoti for the guys, a towel that looks like a very nice kitchen towel and these… Gajjak Til Papad. The best way I can describe it is this is the Indian version of a sesame seed brittle. Super duper thin sheet of sugar with sesame seeds, pistachios and flavored with cardamom. We ate one box along the trip… this was our in-room snack, we brought one box for my sister and I have an extra one with me in Puerto Rico. It’s in the fridge for the sugar to be hard and crispy like we ate them in India and not softy and chewy.

For years, my mom and I have enjoyed 2 of India’s most popular desserts – galub jamun and rasgulla. We lovingly call them “the Indian balls”. Galub Jamun is a ball made of wheat flour and Rasgulla is a ball made from an Indian cheese similar to paneer called chhena. Both are served warm in syrup and they’re delicious!!!! For years, we’ve seen these desserts packed for travel in cans and this was the first time we brought some home. You can find them in any sweet shop and especially at gift shops at the airports.

In Allahabad we were treated to Dry Petha… which is a dry, sugared pumpkin. I am guessing it’s some sort of zucchini or squash because it’s white in color. I have not been able to identify the “pumpkin” this sweet is made of. They’re a nice ending to a meal… sweet and light and perfect to bring a few to your room for a snack!! 😉 You can also find these packed in boxes ready to travel home with you.

And in Delhi we were taken to a sweet shop called Bikanervala… here we bought our to-go cans of rasgullas and galub jamun. But we also discovered something else that was completely new to me – Mawas. I am not even sure if this is their correct name. I believe it’s a halva made from dried fruits or nuts. Or as we would say in the west, like a turrón or dry nougat. We just saw the little packages in the store, asked to try one and ended up buying 3 kinds – Mango, Badam which is Almond and Pista which is pistachio. Now I know 3 more words in hindi, yay!!!!

Over the last few weeks, these sweets have been a terrific way to remember thru our taste buds some of the wonderful experiences we had in India. I can’t wait to make some Indian sweets of my own!!!!

Do you bring back edible souvenirs from your travels?? Tell me all about them…

Tags: almond, badam, desserts, food, galub jamun, india, mango, mewa, petha, pista, pistachio, pumpkin, rasgulla, squash, sweets, travel, vegetarian

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Categories desserts, MY EDITORIAL, Travel, treats

Warming up and cooling off on the streets of India…

19 Apr

After visiting India the last time in April, we swore never again to visit when the weather has started to warm up. This time around we visited India from end of February to mid-March and it was super fun weather-wise because we had a whole range of temperatures in the different cities we visited.

In Allahabad, just like in a desert, it was chilly in the mornings and evenings and warm during the day… chilly enough to wear fleece!!! But in the south of India, the weather was warm and tropical, just like being in Puerto Rico. We even got to take paddle boarding lessons from some new Hawaiian friends , Tim and Kenny, in our hotel pool!!!

With all these weather changes, sometimes we had to warm up ourselves from the inside out… and sometimes we had to cool ourselves down the best way we know how…

To warm up… what better way than chai masala!!! I’ve already shared mu love for chai masala. Ever since I tasted it for the first time in Varanasi, I’ve been a true fan. I was fascinated with how in every stop, every city, and every back alley we visited someone was making chai masala for people to buy. And according to Tim and Kenny, who became somewhat of connoisseurs in chai masala tasting, the best chai’s come from the streets!!!! And in my experience… also the best chai masala’s are served in clay cups – the ones you use once and break after drinking your serving… I wish I had more pictures of all the times we had chai on this trip.

To cool off… we drank lots of coconut water right from the coconut itself!! Just like we do in Puerto Rico!! Some coconuts were sweeter than others, but it is way better to drink coconut water than any other packaged juice. It’s like nature’s Gatorade. We drank these coconuts while in Rameshwaram, almost at the tipy-tip of India, right in front of Sri Lanka. The perfect treat after visiting temples…

Down in Pondicherry, the heat felt like the middle of summer in the Caribbean!!! Sweat was rolling down our backs… if you know what I mean. The best way to cool off the “Indian way” is enjoying a cool, delicious kulfi. I had the chance to taste kulfi once while in Varanasi, but I did not know the name then. Kulfi is a milk-based frozen dessert usually flavored with saffron, cardamom and pistachios. They sell them in ice cream stands and it’s the perfect treat when you need something cold and creamy. My friend Fabiola was fascinated with kulfi… I think we have another convert here!!!!

I searched the internet and I found a few kulfi recipes… here is one I will be trying to make real soon. Hope you like it too!!!

Photo courtesy of http://globetrotterdiaries.com

What’s your favorite way to warm-up or cool-down? Any other ideas?

Tags: Allahabad, beverage, chai masala, coconut, coconut water, cold, food, fresh, heat, india, Kumbha Mela, Pondicherry, sweet, travel, vegetarian, weather

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Categories desserts, MY EDITORIAL, Travel

Prasad… Blessed food from God

15 Apr

I just came back from my 4th trip to India…

Those of you who are my friends on Facebook got a little glimpse of my trip thru the pics I posted as I went along – We started in Allahabad to attend the Maha Kumbha Mela. Then on to Varanasi, the most ancient city in the world. Both of these cities are located in the banks of the River Ganges. Then, went for the first time to the South of India and to finish off, upwards onto Rishikesh, the city of ashrams and yoga education.

It was a very significant and magnificent trip in so many ways I can’t express into words. To be in the presence of so many saints who have achieved spiritual enlightenment, is a blessed experience to say the least. I have a spiritual guru… so we visit India not in search of anything, really… but more to witness how so many people dedicate themselves to a spiritual path and to give a little bit of ourselves to Mother India.

I practice yoga… not Hinduism. I want to make that clear. And something I always identified with Yoga is that it’s a non-denominational philosophy. You do not need to believe in anything specific to practice yoga conscientiously. Spirituality comes from God. Religion comes from Men. But Yoga and Hinduism stem from the same origin, so when you visit India as a yogi, we indeed spend a great deal of time visiting Hindu temples.

In India, people offer their respect to God, the Supreme Being, in the form of fruits, flowers and other edible goods. People have this idea that in India people revere many gods. Which is a way, it’s true, because these deities all have different names and are represented by different images. But as I’ve come to learn is that these are just manifestations and representations of THE one and only energy that is our very essence. In our limited relative world vision is difficult for people to imagine an all-mighty, all-powerful, all-encompassing being that has no form or image. So to facilitate devotional needs, people gave mortal qualities to these deities so people can “wrap their head” around the power of that what we can’t see but can certainly feel.

People treat the deities as if they were people too!! Very important and powerful beings at that… but deities in temples they get washed, cleansed, dressed, adorned and even fed on a daily basis. When a temple is erected, priests perform certain ceremonies and sing sacred mantras where images of the different deities acquire the qualities and characteristics of that deity. And from then on, that image is no longer a piece of stone; it now becomes a sacred physical representation of the Supreme Being on Earth.

It is once said that the more fruit a tree bears, it vows lower to the Earth… I hope I am making that phrase justice with my translation. Basically meaning that the more we have, the more we need to be appreciative and of service to others. So we in Yoga show our respect and appreciation at temples and at the presence of saints by offering fruits and flowers. After these offerings are received by the priests in the temples or the saints themselves, these goods are blessed and immediately they become PRASAD. Prasad is something – fruit, vegetable, flower, candy, anything… – that has been blessed by a priest or saint.

We received lots of Prasad on his trip… Prasad is sacred. Prasad should never be rejected and should always be eaten if it’s edible. Here are a few examples of the Prasad we were given:

My mom eating some sweet Prasad at Kalyani Mata camp in Kumbha Mela

Chai Masala and Rice with Lentils served to us by Devraha Hans Baba

Bananas, Water and other candies and crackers at an ashram in Allahabad

Gulab Jamun in a sweet syrup at Satwa Baba’s Ashram in Varanasi

Bananas and Flowers from various temples in the south of India

At the Yoga Center I attend, we also have Prasad… Every time we cook any food at the center, before anyone gets a taste of it, we offer a serving of it to the Supreme Being. It’s like we’re serving the first plate to God. This way, the food we prepared is blessed and carries a very special positive energy. That special first serving we then try to divide it among all the guests that day so they can have a little morsel from “the God’s special serving”.

You can too adopt this same practice in your own home… you can either offer a little sampler plate of food to God before serving the rest of the family, or when eating out you can mentally offer your plate to God. Kinda like saying grace in your own head. Doing this will add a positive blessed energy to your food.

I’ve shared pics from my second and third trips already, just in case you’re interested.

Tags: Allahabad, food, God, hinduism, india, Kumbha Mela, offering, prasad, Rishikesh, South India, Supreme Being, temple, travel, Varanasi, vegetarian, Yoga

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Categories MY EDITORIAL, Travel

Incredible India all over again – Sweets

29 Jun

In my trips to India I have learned Indians love their sweets… they have great sweet treats for special occasions and for the everyday. I was only familiar with carrot burfi, something my friend Rosani taught me how to make. But sweets and desserts in India are very regional, and in my three trips to India, I have yet to encounter a carrot burfi.

Let’s go from the mundane to the special… but then again, mundane vs. special is all a matter of taste and perspective.

Something I learned to eat in my first trip to India was rasgulla. I ate a LOT of these… These are small balls made from milk and served with sweet syrup. They’re spongy, chewy and sweet but not overwhelmingly sweet. We saw many versions of ragulla during our trip – some are pale but some are browned, as if they were fried before they were immersed in the sweet syrup. Some people loved them to top vanilla ice cream. I preferred them on their own… I was also told these can be bought in a tin at any regular supermarket to be brought home – a nice memento from your Indian trip.

Something we saw quite frequently on our buffets was Halvas – this particular one was Suji Ka Halwa, made with semolina flour. I loved these because they’re like a dry-out cream of wheat with sugar and spices. We had several versions that included lentils and other legumes… but they tasted really good and not savory at all. I searched some recipes on the internet and I am sure my friend Tania and I will be making a few versions of these soon at the Yoga center.

Mangoes are abundant in India… when you want a nice boxed juice to cool off, mango is the flavor of choice in India. Writing this I realized you don’t see them fresh in the streets to be sold. Hum… something to explore if I ever visit some other time. And with as much mango juice you see in the streets, this was the first time we ran across a mango sweet treat – aamras. We had this in Indore – a puree of mango to be eaten alone or, like I did, on top of vanilla ice cream. This is something we can certainly replicate in any western kitchen… no?

We were fortunate enough to celebrate a few special occasions while in India – Annie Mariel’s birthday and the engagement of a young couple in Varanasi our tour guide was friends with the bride’s side. The staff at our hotel treated Annie Mariel with Gajar Ka Halva, apparently the India version of a birthday cake. This is made with carrots and nuts and it was delicious… I had it with chai masala tea on the side and the piece given to us was so big, some of it made it home to Puerto Rico.

For the engagement, we were given as a memento Soan Papdi – a flaky dessert with almonds and pistachios. It looks flaky and when you put a bite in your mouth it just dissolves. Really good…

Hope this gives you a nice glimpse into the vast world of Indian sweets… and when you visit India or just go to a Indian neighborhood you will be adventurous enough to try some of their sweet treats. Namaste!!

Tags: india, sweets

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Categories desserts, MY EDITORIAL, Travel

Incredible India all over again – Street Food and Markets

11 Jun

Whenever I travel, I love going to street markets and supermarkets… I guess it’s a way to learn more about a country and culture. Learning what and how they eat teaches you a lot about the country you’re visiting.

You can see how I have visited markets in Guadalajara, in Paris, even in NYC… but in India, surprisingly I have not visited any markets per se. Why? I think because in India, the markets come to you. Street vendors are EVERYWHERE in India. No matter the city, even in busy bustling Delhi, you see a food street vendor of some sort.

In Old Delhi, you have the Chadni Chowk, and all over you see these carts selling lemon water. They look super refreshing, especially in the April heat, but for us tourists from the Western world these are off-limits. In India, it’s safer for us to stick to bottled water, even making sure it’s sealed from the manufacturer. Something that I identify with a lot is the lemons available in India are criollo lemons – the same small ones we have here in Puerto Rico.

Actually, the produce available all around the streets is very, very similar to what you find here in Puerto Rico… I guess we’re close to the same latitude – you can see coconuts sold for coconut water, sugar cane to get sugar cane water or what we call here in PR, guarapo. You can also see a lot of regular produce, like oranges, eggplants, melons, green beans, spices…

But something you see quite a lot, I mean they’re everywhere, are CUCUMBERS. They sell them sometimes already peeled so you can eat them right there. I wouldn’t eat them off the street peeled because the environment in India is filled with dust and dirt from the streets, but apparently people buy them because otherwise there wouldn’t be so many people selling them. They’re a different variety than what we see here in the Americas. They’re long and squiggly…

Not food related per se, but once we even bought neem sticks off the streets of Varanasi . Indians use neem sticks as a natural toothbrush.

Next time to travel abroad, or even to a different city from yours, make it a point to explore the markets and the street food typical of the place. I am sure you’ll be able to appreciate a bit more the locals in your travels…