Delhi Eat-a-thon

I’ve now been in India for two weeks and it’s about time I mentioned food. It is a big topic of conversation between all the volunteers here in Delhi as we love it. We are provided with breakfast and lunch at our training centre. The food is good although thankfully the breakfast is not curry.

Lunch is a variety of curries, lentil Dhals, potato dishes and rice. There is usually Roti provided, an unleavened round bread otherwise known as a Chapatti. I find these a welcome choice if the curry is particularly oily or cooked with plenty of ghee, a clarified butter that will happily clog your arteries. The Roti is particularly good with the blow-your-head-off lime pickle, extra chillies included.

We eat out in the evenings. There is a really good vegetarian restaurant within walking distance and a belly-busting dinner can be yours for 100 rupees (just over one British pound). The Aloo Dam is an amazing mix of cauliflower and soft potato. It’s a welcome not-so-spicy alternative to curry. The butter Naans here are a hit amongst the volunteers due to their similarity to hot buttered toast. Others tell me the Tandoori Chicken is a hit. Any food here washed down with a sweet yoghurt Lassi is a perfect cheap meal.

A local auto rickshaw ride away provides a few options, the best being another veggie restaurant serving Dosas. These light pancakes, filled with a potato and veg mix served with extra fillings and coconut chutney, are a good choice for curry-weary travellers. Otherwise, I have mostly gone for the curry options: mixed veg Parantha (stuffed pancake that is deep-fried) with hot chutneys and a variety of Masala curries including Paneer (cheese curry which is delicious believe or not).

I have mainly been vegetarian here for a few reasons. Cows are sacred in Hinduism so beef is never eaten, the lamb is often mutton or can be goat in disguise. It is hard to tell where meat is from and food poisoning is less likely on a veggie diet. There is little reason to eat meat though as often restaurants don’t serve meat and there is a great variety of well-cooked delicious dishes.

On the whole the food has been great and we have all over-eaten on occasion in an attempt to try everything on the menus. Some of the group aren't used to hot food though and have been struggling to get food they find palatable. Although I’ve enjoyed and mostly stuck to Indian food over my first two weeks I have cracked on occasion. Last night a group of four of us crept away secretly to a nearby McDonalds to order McVeggie burgers and Masala spicy fries. It seems we weren’t alone in wanting a break from the food as on ascending the stairs we discovered another four volunteers silently munching away on their chicken McMaharaja burgers.