Lassi and More

This post is devoted to food. I haven't written about it once. Since it occupies my thoughts almost constantly it's about time to write about it.
When I was in the Vipassana Meditation retreat I realized how much food means to me. Sitting for hours a day made me remember how much I miss my mothers cooking and for some reason meat. I was craving meat like I never had before. I'm my mothers son, and most definitely Italian. In the past the daily life of Alex Landt was spent walking around aimlessly in cities and looking for new foods to try... Well that was then, now I sprint between my activities and snag food on the run. It's not quite that extreme, but India provides a ceasless stream of food to indulge myself in.
Varanassi is at a confluence of Indian culture. There are quite a few South Indians here, The South Indians have brought their breakfast foods which can be found at almost every corner of the city. Dosas and Idili, dosa is like a crepe, the batter is different but it looks about the same. Different things are put in side of it and it is dipped in different sauces and of course eaten with the hands. It is quite good and I found a man who makes masala dosa, dosa filled with chillies, tomato, peppers and other greens, for only 6 rupees, 12 cents. Idili is... steamed something rathe, I don't have a clue what the batter is made from but it is like a steamed dumplng eaten with the same sauce as the dosas. The sauce, chutney, is supposed to be a coconut sauce with black pepper in it. But I never taste the coconut. I would imagine that it's because Varanassi is a far cry from the coast and coconuts.
For lunch and dinner, when I have to buy them. Really, I've been eating almost a meal a day with one Indian family or another. I have to write about that separately because well there is so much to write about. Being invited to eat with the Indian families has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my stay here in Varanassi. Thali, is the go to food of india, Thali means plate and it means a lot of food for very little money often times it is an unlimited fare. Thali is rice, roti (indian flatbread), Sabji (Mixed veggies cooked indian style, spicy and extremely tasty), Dal(lentils cooked one way or another) and some sort of pickle or salad. The food comes on a plate that has little ridges to separate the many food stuffs. And the best part is that it's all you can eat. The traditional places will refill without charge or minimal charge. There are no menus in these places but the fare will change daily, at least the type of dal or sabji. Rice and roti are ever present in the indian diet. I'm not sure why except I guess that because these places are traditional and we are in a holy city, some days these retraunts serve food for free. This means a long like of rickshaw-wallas and all other types of poorer people. somehow two nights in a row I went to two different restaurants and ate for free. The first time I didn't know about it and I walked into the restaurant before the people started yelling free food which of course attracts a huge line. I was unaware that I was going to be eating for free. I watched the workers pile food onto plates stacking them on top of eachother. when the restaurant filled they served everyone simultaneausly, everyone went to town, the only sound was indians chewing, no mouth closed politeness here, just lip smacking enjoyment. The workers came around and dolloped more onto the plates when people cleared them. Then it was out as fast as possible so that the restaurant could fill up with a new wave of people. I didn't understand what was going on and when I first went into the restaurant a little begging boy sat down next to me and was staring at me, I made a mistake and firmly asked him "What?", thinking he was trying to get something from me. He changed tables and sat down, three other guys came in and occupied the table. That was when I realized that something was happening that I didn't understand. I never cease to learn lessons here.
Lassis are the best, if I'm addicted to anything, it's lassi. Lassi is a mixed yogurt drink. They mix milk and sweet curd together, in the traditional places, by hand and then top the drink off with the cream of the curd. Flavors are added to the lassis, rosewater is traditional but I've also seen lemon and makhania ( No idea what it is, but tasts great!) The lassis are served in unfired clay bowls. these bowls are made by hand and then when the wonderful elixer is finished they get tossed into the street. They return to the earth as mud. It blew my mind the first time, a beautiful hand made pot, just getting tossed away after one use. But that's the way it's been done for thousands of years and is still done. There is no lack of manual labor here! It also explains why there is no waste management. For thousands of years everything was decomposable, now plastic has infiltrated every corner of India, it burns, and so it is burned, or eaten if it has something tasty inside. Watching a cow eating a plastic bag is no longer startling, but normal since I see it literally every day! All this writing is making me hungry... off to Hindi class, I'm sure I can find something yummy along the way!