Home Cookin' in Neemuch
Almost as often as we've heard "What country [are you from]?" and "What is your good name?" we've been asked what cities we're visiting in India. The locals nod along as we rattle off the usual tourist destinations of Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Agra. They look a little surprised when we get to Bhavnagar (an industrial city with no real "sights"; we went there to check out Indian government research on Jatropha cultivation and biodiesel production method). And they look shocked and confused when we finally get to Neemuch. It's kind of like saying you're traveling to New York City, Miami, San Francisco, and Toledo. Or Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, and Ipswich.
"Neemuch?! Hot! Dry! Nothing for tourists!"
Well, I beg to disagree. We headed to Neemuch to meet with Jatropha seed suppliers, as Neemuch is India's number one trading center for wholesale herbs and spices. Our expectations were low for memorable moments, but we were so wrong.
Over the past two days, we've been treated to four home-cooked vegetarian meals, taken to two Hindu temples, offered a blessing (and several tasty snacks!) by a Hindu priest, ushered through India's largest grain and seed market, met with an influential district politician, and taken photos with seemingly every member of a 26-person family and 99-person family. Whew!
The three things that struck me most were: 1) the cooking in each home was quite different (the style of cooking depends largely on what region of the country the wife is from; we've now eaten authentic dishes from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh); 2) the food keeps on coming (soups, fruit, curries, breads, rices, chutneys, salads, crunchy snacks, mango desserts, and finally digestive-aiding juices) and the only way to stop them from giving you seconds, thirds, and fourths of everything is to turn your bowls upside-down; and 3) a LOT of time (two hours per meal) and effort goes into cooking these elaborate, fresh, meals two times a day for incredibly large families (extended family members often live together in adjoining homes all served by one kitchen).
The families we visited were so generous and eager to show us their homes, their family photos, and offer us anything but the kitchen sink if they thought we'd like to take it with us. We're trying to keep our packs light, but we couldn't say no to a bag of home-made hard mango candies, a few vials of pure aloe vera extract, a tube of aloe vera moisturizer, and a variety of after dinner sweet seeds.
While Neemuch may not rate highly (if at all) for independent tourists, we can definitely say that our two days there were a highlight of the trip so far. Indian hospitality rocks!
AM
"Neemuch?! Hot! Dry! Nothing for tourists!"
Well, I beg to disagree. We headed to Neemuch to meet with Jatropha seed suppliers, as Neemuch is India's number one trading center for wholesale herbs and spices. Our expectations were low for memorable moments, but we were so wrong.
Over the past two days, we've been treated to four home-cooked vegetarian meals, taken to two Hindu temples, offered a blessing (and several tasty snacks!) by a Hindu priest, ushered through India's largest grain and seed market, met with an influential district politician, and taken photos with seemingly every member of a 26-person family and 99-person family. Whew!
The three things that struck me most were: 1) the cooking in each home was quite different (the style of cooking depends largely on what region of the country the wife is from; we've now eaten authentic dishes from Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh); 2) the food keeps on coming (soups, fruit, curries, breads, rices, chutneys, salads, crunchy snacks, mango desserts, and finally digestive-aiding juices) and the only way to stop them from giving you seconds, thirds, and fourths of everything is to turn your bowls upside-down; and 3) a LOT of time (two hours per meal) and effort goes into cooking these elaborate, fresh, meals two times a day for incredibly large families (extended family members often live together in adjoining homes all served by one kitchen).
The families we visited were so generous and eager to show us their homes, their family photos, and offer us anything but the kitchen sink if they thought we'd like to take it with us. We're trying to keep our packs light, but we couldn't say no to a bag of home-made hard mango candies, a few vials of pure aloe vera extract, a tube of aloe vera moisturizer, and a variety of after dinner sweet seeds.
While Neemuch may not rate highly (if at all) for independent tourists, we can definitely say that our two days there were a highlight of the trip so far. Indian hospitality rocks!
AM
posted by Leden at
7:35 pm
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