Monday, January 17th 2005, 10:15pm

What is on the menu indeed...

Well, tomorrow I head for Punjab, or the Punjab, or is it Panjab? I dunno... anyway, let's forget about that and talk about food instead!

I've eaten at restaraunts all over, countless dhabbas - roadside food stops for truckers, all sorts of little food vendors on the street selling chopped and fried potatoes garnished with shredded mouli (radish), samosas, mutton, and so on... I've eaten dhal (lentils), sabji (mixed vege curry), paneer (cheese), roti, pratha, yoghurt, on and on - all the standard fair. I've had plenty of fried eggs and omlets, chow mein, pancakes. I remember one particular vege biryani (like fried rice) that I got on a train... I noticed some little bug cooked into it, set the bug aside and kept eating, found another and set it aside as well, eating a bit more... it went like that until along came a young fellow asking for money, and when none was forthcoming he asked for my food. I handed it over.

I've eaten from plates of chopped fresh veges: tomato, cucumber, radish, carrots, cabbage - both when staying with friends in village settings, restaraunts, and when Kurt bought a bunch of stuff from the market and chopped it up - add some salt and plenty of lime and 'ooh la la' it is fine. Those plates of fresh veges always cause me a little hesitation... I've been warned against them time and time again, but do I listen? Just the other day here in Delhi I bought a bunch of grapes. I hung them in bags of water and iodine for 30 minutes before digging in. That seemed like a smart thing.

I drink water from establishments quite infrequently - only when advised from trusted sources that a particular place treats their water adequately. In Nagpur I gradually came to trust the pipe coming out of the ground - municipal water, for being sufficiently chlorinated. Derek had been drinking it for months and seemed fine... I buy most of my water in one litre plastic containers for Rs 10 - 15, about 30 cents Canadian. I had been refilling a bottle with local water and dumping iodine in it in the beginning, but after seeing so many instances of sickening sludges of 'streams' and rivers in every town & city I've been, garbage and feces everywhere around it, I've become less fond of the prospect of the local water tables - iodine or not. I drink a variety of sodas from the bottle - Limca, Slice, Pepsi, Coke... I've had plenty of chai & milk coffee from all over - train stations, street vendors, some pretty grubby looking scenes. Once a thermos of chai came with little pupas/larva/maggots seated around the rim, and probably steamed nicely. I removed them, thought to myself 'I am in India after all, relax.' and drank. I drink lassis (yoghurt drinks) whenever I feel ok about spending the money. I've had milk drinks, milk shakes with ice-cream... ice-cream bars too. I'll eat ice-cream any chance I get! :)

Let's see... what else have I done wrong. Mutton, chicken, buffalo. Ooh... the fresh sugar cane was a dream...
Whisky, rum, beer... they call whisky & soda water "wine" and down it like water. 'Would you like some wine?' Right! 'Just one more pack.'

Fruit... plenty of oranges, bananas, papaya, pineapple... no mango tho, it hasn't been the season. :-/

I'd go on further, but I gotta head back to the ranch, pack, eat candies, read my book (thanks Kurt, I'm lovin it!), and get to sleep. It's 11:00pm and I've got a train at 7:20am.

Peace out y'all!

dharma