Rasmalai, hunting for Pringles, and Chapati

I've been bugging our guide about getting some rasmalai, which is this super delicious Indian dessert made of cottage cheese (paneer) soaked in sweet milk spiced with cardomom and other mild spices. It is sublime. Yesterday, he took me and a fellow traveler on a rickshaw in search of rasmalai and Pringles potato chips. We left the old city and into the new part of the city outside the city walls, which has much wider streets with traffic circles, plain buildings, and lots and lots of dirt. First stop was the Indian sweets shop where I got half a kilogram of rasmalai...yummy! Next, we went to a supermarket where they sold, amongst other things, men's underwear and hair dye, but no Pringles. We went across the street to smaller mini marts, and still no Pringles. We drive to Vodaphone (cell phone service provider), where me and the other traveller chatted with our rickshaw driver while our guide yelled at the Vodaphone people for providing poor service. We continue on the trail for Pringles and arrive at yet another slightly larger supermarket where, once again, there were rampant signs for men's underwear, but sadly no Pringles. We finally give up and head back into the old city, and on the way to the hotel we spot a tiny little hole in the wall shop that had Pringles displayed along with rolls of toilet paper and bottled water.

For those who haven't ventured into this part of the world, true Indians do not use toilet paper. There is a reason they eat with their right hands only, as the left is reserved for less savory duties. As a result, it is necessary to carry your own toilet paper at public toilets. Toilet paper is the hot touristy commodity in all the quickie marts, and are often prominently displayed. Some have it in cute pastel colors, like pink, purple, and light green. Others carry traditional white. Indian toilets are squatters. Another type of toilet that I am getting more and more comfortable with is finding a good bush by the side of the road, but make sure the ground is properly sloped, and watch out for splashback.

Ok, enough poo poo talk. We had a great cooking class this morning, where I learned to make Indian favorites like chai tea, chapati bread, and gobhi paneer (cauliflower with cheese). Chapati bread is traditional bread eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It is unleavened like tortillas, but thinner, smaller, and lighter. One takes a small piece of dough, rolls it flat and round with a rolling pin, dip it in some flour, roll it some more, and then cook it in a curved chapati pan over the stove. The bread will collect hot air that will make it blow up like a balloon, and then it is done. Cool, eh? We ate the food we cooked with some fruit chutney and pickled mangoes, and had gulab jamun for dessert.

Heading off to the birthday party for our group leader now. Will be drinking lots of Indian rum. Tomorrow, we are leaving Udaipur for Pushkar, lots of camel spittin' fun!

Sorry I haven't been better about posting, but the days go by so quickly. I'd love to hear from you, so please leave comments or email me.