Madras Madness Abbreviated, Singapore Culture Shock & Australian Birthday Pavlova

I'm writing from Perth on the coast of Western Australia (2.5 hours closer to the international dateline than India and directly south of Singapore). I've once again been a bad blogger, and have posted pictures without any text. And now, I'm so involved in eating steak and ice and drinking good beer and wine, that I don't really have the time or energy to write something good about last weekend. So, I'm going to write the abbreviated version.

Last weekend I went to Madras/Chennai (Chennai is the real Indian name, but I think that Madras, the British name, is more Exotic, so I'm going to use it) with one of my office-mates who is from there. We stayed with her family in their house and did all sorts of authentic things the whole weekend. We ate Tamil Thali, shopped for sarees (again, and yes...I bought one...again - but this one I'm planning to upholster my futon with, so it is therefore functional in addition to being 100% embroidered silk and $20), I rode on the back of her moped, we went to a traditional dance concert, went to the bay of bengal, used an Indian toilet (http://www.csuohio.edu/india_experience/summer2000/20000712/indianstylebathroom.jpg), rode in an ambassador taxi, wore a saree to the temple, went to a Brahmin fortune teller, ect.

We went to the Bay of Bengal looking to take a boat ride out into the sea, but when we got there the fishermen wouldn't take us out because they had been forbidden to do so byt he nearby resort. I wasn't too upset because there was oil washed up on the beach and menacing monsoonal clouds on the horizon, so we rode horses for 100 ruppees ($2.50) on the beach instead. It was very adventurous and the weather was 50 times better than it was the first time I went to Chennai in May when it was 105 degrees with 100% humidity. This time it was only 85 degrees with 70 humidity (that was my guess), so riding on the moped and in the non a/c ambassador taxi wasn't so bad. The real problem was the pollution, and after the day on the moped, I actually had a pollution mustache, which I wiped off with a tissue that was soon covered in a thick layer of black soot from the rest of my face- ewwwwe.

Since last weekend I've been 'busy' after work socializing with other ex-pats. I saw the new Harry Potter movie (totally awesome & better than the book) and went to a going away party for an expat who's moving to Singapore this weekend. Then, on Friday night I left for Perth via Singapore to spend my birthday week in Australia. I learned, at my first exit attempt from India since I got here, that the clever customs official who stamped my passport upon entry, has stamped it March 2006. The semi-amused exit customs official leafed through my passport for 5 minutes trying to find a March 2007 stamp and then asked me when I arrived in India. When he pointed to the 2006 date I was completely and utterly speechless for the first time in my life. Luckily my visa is March 2007-September 2007, and he very innovatively managed to get an entry stamper, set it to the correct date, re-stamp my entry stamp with March 2007, and cancel my original (I double checked the date he stamped for my exit).

My flight from Hyderabad to Singapore was only 3.5 hours, but was a red-eye flight due to the 2.5 hour time difference. I was stuck next to a mother and kid who apparently had a tick that involved kicking me every time I dozed off, and I felt like the principal in Ferris Beuller because the kid kept looking at me and offering me gummy bears.

When I arrived in Singapore I was shocked by the number of white people in the airport, and realized that I hadn't really seen more than 10 white people in one place at one time in 4 months. I was also shocked by how modern and new everything was, and my first meal was a grilled chicken, avocado, and bri sandwich with a real espresso-filled mocha. I sat in a cafe with a Dutch guy and an Indian woman, both of whom, it turned out were living in California and were coming from Hyderabad. I spoke to the woman in the Hindi I've learned from classes at work, and said 'Ik sprik neit goede nederlands' to the amused Dutch guy ("I don't speak Dutch well" is one of the only phrases I remember from Beligium) and then the three of us talked about Hyderabad for about an hour until their flight for SFO was leaving and my flight to Australia was boarding- it's a small world!

Now I'm in Australia where it is winter and raining, and I've already had two meals with steak :) Last night I went to grab the bottle of water to brush my teeth until I realized that I can use tap water! I've been ordering ice in every drink even though it's cold outside, just because I love ice so much, and I haven't had it in 4 months. The two things that stand out most are a) how much I got used to standing out in a crowd in India- here I'm anonymous until I open my mouth! And b) How much I got used to having people around everywhere.

All over Perth today I've noticed how few people there are- I can't imagine what it must be like for someone from India who's spent their entire life surrounded by millions of people to come to Australia or the US and not see people crowding the streets. I also noticed how big the SUVs are - does anyone need a car that size? Now really, how many people are actually driving around the bush in those? It may be roughly equivalent to the number of bay area drivers who spend their weekends off-roading their SUVs in the Sierras (roughly .0005%) ;) I think I'll notice even more when I get back to California, since giant SUVs aren't nearly as popular in Australia as they are in California.

Today I spent my birthday sleeping in, going around Perth, and eating- pancakes, steak kabobs, cappuccino, chinese food, and a birthday pavlova :). Tomorrow we're heading south, and I'm hoping the rain will die down (not sure how likely that is). I realized that I haven't been remotely cold in 4 months (other than in the office when the air conditioner is blasting), and that I'm not really used to it being cold outside. But I've now seen the Indian Ocean, and even in the rain the beaches are amazing.

More to come soon (I promise..... ;)

Madras Madness

Ramya and me on Ramya's scooter

A free production of traditional dance to classical karnatic music depicts a hindu epic

At the temple in my sari

Woman sits weaving garlands of jasmine for women's hair. Most married women wear fresh jasmine garlands every day.

The sales-girls pose with me in my 800 rupee ($20) silk saree that adorn my futon when I get home- It's practical, I swear!

Flowers Everywhere! Jasmine garlands adorn the city every day

Typical Madras fruit stand

Pomegranites and a sweet but potato-looking fruit are on offer

Cart of bananas makes its way to one of the many fruit stands around Chennai

Overnight rains in Chennai give a small taste of the bigger monsoon season in November

"Romantic" sunset boat ride at the boating club in the estuary of the Bay of Bengal

Ominous monsoonal skies over the Bay of Bengal at sunset

Riding horses at the beach of the Bay of Bengal

Fishing Boat- This area was destroyed by the 2004 Tsunami

A beached fishing boat at Temple Bay, Bay of Bengal

The beach at the Bay of Bengal. Not a black sand beach- the black is pollution

Enjoying an authentic veg Tamil meal- Thali, Poori & Dal

Mayng Kana Karti Hoong

Dessert at Fusion 9- An Intriguing Creme Brule Topping

Pete (Sydney) and Peter (Dublin) enjoy the taste of a pitcher of Royal Challenge- "A Boutique Indian Beer"

A rare delicacy in India- Italian and Greek olives and real caprese salad with real fresh mozzerella- mmmmmmmmmmm

Enjoying Little Italy Takeout before going to see Die Hard 4.0 - "Its not a system, its a country"

Our 10 orders of Bruschetta - something got lost in translation between Pete's Australian accent and Little Italy's Indian English

Padma stirs the aloo at my cooking lesson

Padma with her daughter at our cooking lesson

Lazy Hyderabad Monsoon Days

My inconsistent blogging currently represents my general state of mind as well as the state of my apartment’s internet connection. I’ve now been in India long enough that I generally don’t notice the overfilled rickshaws or livestock in the streets. I’ve slipped into a life of routine, and am spending my fifth weekend in a row in Hyderabad, both out of fatigue from my recent bout of flu/food poisoning (the second in a month), and out of sheer laziness.

Monsoons are here in full swing, which has actually made the weather really pleasant. Its typically in the upper 80’s and cloudy most of the time with occasional downpours. Everything is green and when the sun comes out everything has a fresh shiny look to it. I went back to Golconda Fort with some newly arrived expats, Tova from the UK office, Eimer from Dublin, and my new flatmate, Peter, who’s Dutch but from the Dublin office. Golconda didn’t look like the same place as it was when I came with Yev at the beginning of June. Then it looked like the Middle East, now it looks like Europe. Unfortunately, monsoons also mean that the tap water, which I go to neurotic lengths to avoid, has become even worse than normal as the runoff affects the water supply.

I spent a week being pretty sick, possibly caused by some infiltration of tap water into my diet, which is frustrating because it makes it even more difficult for me to find food that I trust. Basically it could be anything, silverware rinsed in tap water and then used in cooking without being dried, water bottles rinsed in tap water and not dried before being refilled, ect. I’ve spent the last week eating farfalle pasta imported from Italy from Q Mart that I cook myself in the kitchen next door, so that I can make sure that even my dishes are cleaned in bottled water. It’s quite possible that by the time I go home, I’ll never want to look at plain pasta with olive oil again, which will be a shame, since I generally like it so much.

Being sick sucked, but I think that it was good in that it put into perspective the things that I really care about doing before I leave. I thought about what I would feel like I have missed if I had to go home now, and somewhat surprisingly, most of the things aren’t traveling to exotic places, but rather activities with my friends here. I realized that I need to get my shit together and learn some Indian cooking to take home with me to dazzle my friends and family ;). I need to play a cricket. I need to go to Charminar like a local and shop for bangles and speak Hindi. I need to see a Bollywood movie in the theatre. I need to wear my saris and my newly impulse-purchased lahenga. Luckily for my current lazy malaise, none of these activities involve a ton of planning.

Being sick also reminded me of my favorite thing about India, which is the people. Rupa came to visit me to make sure I was alright and many of my office mates called to ask how I was doing and offer me homemade food. The people I have met here feel a responsibility to take care of their friends in a way that I think is unusual at home. And when thinking about what I’ll miss most when I go home (which I am aware is still 2 months away), the top of the list will be the people- all the awesome people who have made me part of their families while I’m here and have given me an amazing inside perspective into this foreign land and culture, that is a rare privilege for firangis (‘imperialist foreigners,’ not aliens with giant ears ;).

I’m taking the week of my birthday off (coming up in 2 weeks) to go to Perth on the West Coast of Australia to visit the Hanslips, who are family friends that I’ve known since I was young enough to swim in their pool in my underwear with orange floaters on my arms. I’ll be able to enjoy Singapore during my 8 hour layover on my way back to Hyderabad, and it will be really nice to relax in a place where I don’t immediately stand out and where I generally know what’s going on around me. I’m already dreaming about authentic pavlova, Australian steak, salad, and walking the few miles from the Hanslip’s house to the Indian Ocean. It will, ironically, be the only time that I will see the Indian Ocean while I’m in India, since the Indian Ocean only touches India at the very bottom tip of the sub-continent (I’ve seen the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea on the East and West coasts of India).

Until then, I’m just enjoying living in Hyderabad and having lazy weekends. I’ve been out with expats a few times this week since Allison is heading back to Sydney this weekend, and I spent today getting an Indian cooking lesson from Padma and Parul (in an effort to start completing the list of what to do before I go home). I’ve copied the recipes from today’s lesson into this blog so that all of you faithful readers can go out and try them ;) You won’t get more authentic Indian food than this, although ‘Indian’ food is kind of like saying ‘European’ food, since the cuisine in Punjab and the cuisine in Kerala are about as similar as British food and Italian food (Punjab may actually be farther from Kerala than London is from Rome).

I had an amusing incident at a club in Hyderabad last night where I went with Shannon and some girls from the office. A few random Indian guys at the club asked the girls from the office if I was their cousin, which, seeing as the girls are Indian and I’m not, was pretty amusing. I’m not sure if they had never seen a white person, if they were really drunk, or just really desperate to start a conversation. Clubs in India are generally amusing, since the social culture is not centered around drinking copious amounts of alcohol like it is in the US and Europe. We were laughing at one guy who was clearly proud of how cool he was, drinking a Bacardi Breezer. He may actually have been cool to people who don’t see Bacardi Breezers as the ultimate girly drink, one step above a shirley temple. People can dance and have fun and go crazy without any alcohol here, and drinking a beer really puts you at the top of the rebel social hierarchy. Straight guys dance with each other, and instead of grinding up to girls, come up and ask ‘what is your good name? Madame, may we dance?’ Many guys were too shy to ask us to dance, and instead spent hours dancing on their own around our group. Our Bacardi friend, who may have mistaken our pointing and laughing for interest, tried to ‘dance’ with us by dancing by himself around our impenetrable circle of girls for several hours until Sney, one of the girls from the office, told him to get lost.

My favorite thing about living in a foreign place is that doing normal things turns into an adventure. Dropping people off may take you to a part of the city you’ve never seen. Ordinary things remind you that you’re in a different part of the world. You can be lazy and still have unique experiences every day.

Indian Cooking Lesson

Indian Cooking Lesson

Serves 4

Menu

Chole

Kerala Curry Prawns

Vegetable Fried Rice

Aloo Do Pyaza

Puri

Chole

½ Kg Chickpeas/Garbonzo Beans

1 ½ large onions

Vegetable oil

1 teaspoon ginger garlic paste

½ teaspoon tumeric

½ teaspoon red chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

2 medium tomatoes

1 tablespoon Punjab chole masala powder (“Badshah” or “Everest” brand)

¼ cup sliced fresh cilantro

Chickpeas:

Soak chickpeas overnight in water with a touch of salt.

Boil chickpeas in water until soft.

Sauce:

Sautee chopped onion in vegetable oil until brown and soft on low heat

Add ginger garlic paste, tumeric powder, red chili powder, and salt

When mixed, add sliced tomatoes and Punjabi chole masala powder

Sautee until mixed

Blend mixture in cuisinart.

Final Product:

Add blended sauce to pressure cooker on stove. Add chickpeas into sauce (including the water they were boiled in) and add a bit of water to thin the mixture (too much water will make it runny). Cook mixture in pressure cooker for ½ hour.

Served with fresh puri and curd.

Kerala Curry Prawns

1 pound shelled, de-veined raw prawns

1 chopped onion

1 teaspoon red chili powder

½ teaspoon ginger garlic

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

2-3 stems fresh curry leaves

Pinch tumeric

Vegetable oil

Blend onion, chili powder, ginger garlic, salt, pepper, curry leaves and tumeric in a cuisinart and stir into raw prawns in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for ½ hour to marinate.

Sautee prawn/sauce mixture in vegetable oil for a few minutes, then cover and let simmer on low heat until mixture is dry and crisp (15-20 minutes).

Vegetable Fried Rice

2 carrots

15 string beans

½ cup fresh peas

1 onion

4 cloves

½ cinnamon stick

1 fresh green chilis

Salt

Vegetable oil

1 Teaspoon Ghee

2 large bay leaves

White Rice

Soak peeled carrots and beans in water for a few minutes. Slice lengthwise and set aside.

Soak white rice in water.

Sautee on low:

Vegetable oil, cinnamon, cloves, and bay leaves.

Add onion (cut long and thin).

Add green chili, sliced down the middle.

Add ghee, salt, and ginger garlic.

Add vegetables (carrots, beans, peas) and continue to sautee until slightly soft.

Add white rice and stir until water is evaporated.

Add 2 cups water for every 1 cup of rice and a tablespoon of salt (mixture should taste overly salty as salt will be absorbed during cooking). Stir and then cover and let simmer until rice is cooked. (3 pressure releases in a pressure cooker).

Aloo Do Pyaza

4 potatoes (or 4 boneless chicken thighs for non-veg)

1 green bell pepper (capsicum)

1 onion chopped

2 fresh green chilis

10 cloves of fresh garlic

2 dried red chilis

2 teaspoons of kasuri methi powder

½ cup cashews

1 sliced tomato

1 cup milk

½ teaspoon coriander powder

Pinch of tumeric powder

Pinch of garam masala

Pinch of red chili powder

Salt

Pepper

Vegetable oil

Fresh ginger

Boil potatoes (or chicken) until mostly soft, set aside.

Soak cashews in water.

Slice all vegetables in round, large pieces.

Blend soaked cashews in cuisinart, set aside.

Sautee on low:

Garlic, green chilis (sliced open down the middle), slice of fresh ginger, red chilis, kasuri methi, and onion.

Add green pepper.

Add splash of milk for texture.

Add a splash of vegetable oil, then coriander powder, tumeric powder, pepper, red chili powder, salt, and garam masala.

Add potatoes and cashew paste.

Add milk as needed to give texture.

Cover and let simmer until potatoes are soft (5-10 minutes).

Add sliced tomato, stir.

Let simmer for 2 more minutes.

Puri

Wheat Flour

Vegetable oil

Salt

Water

Mix with hands:

Wheat flour, 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, 1 teaspoon salt, and water (starting with one cup and adding as needed to create standard texture dough).

Roll dough into 1.5-2 inch diameter balls. Flatten with rolling pin.

Drop flattened dough into 2 inches of heated vegetable oil. Leave for a 10-20 seconds until puffed and cooked.