Places to eat in India

As a teenager in the late 1980's I spent some time at a boarding school in the North of India. On the day school was over and the 9 hour bus journey to Delhi was behind us, we used to go out in the evening in search of food.. inevitably we ended up at Nirulas on Connaught Place. Nirulas, 13 years later, hadn't changed. This time it wasn't the pizza and ice cream I was after (still very very good, Nirulas ice cream can beat anything in Switzerland!), it was breakfast and little trip down memory lane. Up the stairs to the main restaurant which looks like a western bar and grill sort of place, with plants and cane furniture. Nirulas is dark which is a relief after the glare outside, and cool. It is also surprisingly quiet, something that struck me as odd, the guests all seemed to be whispering, the staff flits noiselessly from table to table. I liked the relaxing atmosphere and was pleased to find that one of the waiters remembered me!

Favorite Dish: I have had breakfast and lunch at Nirulas and thought I would take a try of their western food - portions are big so take a good appetite with you. I can heartily recommend pancakes with lemon syrup, iced tea and the enormous club sandwich which is absolutely packed with salad and chicken. Nirulas is not cheap, I paid for one meal with drinks in the range of Rs. 70.- to Rs 120.- .

This is probably one of the most unique restaurants I have visited.
You can literally eat till your gut splits along it's seams. A rock python that just swallowed a gazelle would be put to shame on seeing me after my meal. And the servers keep shamelessly serving you even when you repeatedly tell them that you can eat no more.
The server will first ask you if you want a prawn platter. We took it, but it is not included as a part of the meal.
There are 12 types of kababs served from the soft and aromatic mutton-paprika kabab to the vegetarian spinach-peas kabab. It also comes along with various types of indian breads. Ask for the rumali-paratha which is not seen in too many other places. The server rotates through the different kababs. You can also ask for mutton biryani if you so wish (i did not- too stuffed).
Desserts - Rabri,kulfi (An indian ice-cream with pistachios and raisins).

Favorite Dish: The lasooni jhinga (barbequed garlic prawns).
The prawns were so juicy and bursting with flavour.
This is not a part of the meal and will set you back by INR800 (approx USD18).
I was all 'kababed' out after the meal and did not need to eat till dinner next day.

India is asurely a big name as far as Gatronomy is concerned. The variety of food that you can get in any area of the country is vast and there surely is something to match everybodys taste. Now there is a website that can help you locate yur favourite foods, have a visual look of the dish, get the address of the place fom where you can get it and have a correct idea of the cost of the dish before you get there. All this information is avalable at the following website

www.foodlets.in

enjoy..

I don't really think I like Indian food. That's always been my impression. I know the Brits are big connoisseurs of Indian food and curries and the like. In Silicon Valley there is a huge community of Indian people and there are strip malls, restaurants, small grocers and all sorts of places where you can find authentic Indian specialties. I have a number of colleagues I work with who are Indian natives, now living and working in Northern California.

Two of my friends, Seema and Rajwant invited me to lunch this week, to teach me about Indian food (Seema to help me understand what works well for a Weight Watcher) and to eavesdrop while I watch Seema and her sisters and cousins prepare for Seema's 16th birthday party. We went to Athidhi, in Sunnyvale, CA which doubles as a buffet restaurant and a banquet hall.

My friends tell me Athidhi means "Welcome" The restaurant portion of the enterprise does a brisk lunch time business. Most of the diners were Indian but there were a couple of engineer looking folks and a few Asians.

Favorite Dish: The buffet had a huge range of items, from fried vegetables (I guess the Indian version of tempura) to curries, yogurts, fruit, puddings, and flat breads ("nan"). Then the meats; chili chicken, saucy chickens, tandoori chicken, and saucy goats!

I liked the chili chicken and the bread, which are both not exactly the lowest calorie items. The chili chicken was little fried nuggets of spicey tastiness. I also liked the eggplant veggie thing that was flavorful but not curry flavored.

The all you can eat buffet was $9.95 on M-F for lunch.

Unfortunately, Indian food is still not on my preferred list. I think I might lose weight on this trip! Which is not a bad thing!

Power bars and gin.... My Indian diet plan.

The restaurent Is situated on the main L.J Road of rishikesh.from inside the restaurent is neat and clean.The Restaurent serves Only spl. south indian Thali ,Various delicious varities of dosa,SPL. veg uttapams same as a pizza.SPL.lassi made up of pure and fresh curd.I like the food so much.Next to the restaurent there is a big south indian temple.

Favorite Dish: In madras hotel in morning I usually take Steam Idli with coconut sauce.the lightest and healthy breakfast.In evening i take spl Cheese utapam which is too delicious with coconut sauce,spicy tomato sauce and sambhar.After that i always take a glass of lassi.

These coffee shops are great if you are missing your morning brew or a great pick me up double espresso. There are a number of outlets of this chain but I went to the one on Colaba Causeway every morning after breakfast to get my daily fix since the hotel's brew was not as strong as I liked. Its also a great place to watch India's urban youth who congregate here away from the watchful eyes of strict parents.

Favorite Dish: I had dozens of espressos but the iced coffee mocca was also great and one can buy a little pastry as well.

Trishna's is a Mumbai institution renowned for its seafood dishes. I have never tasted a crab curry as good. My husband Daniel had the grilled pomfret and he waxed lyrically about it for a year after! It was my first experience of drinking an Indian wine and it compared very favorably with its Californian, Austrailian and South African equivalents but was cheaper!!

Favorite Dish: Crab curry

If you are traveling off the beaten path, you will end up eating local, and it is part of the experience- (but see the warnings section also). Really there are only 2 things to look for- clean and fresh.
So pick a place where you can see where the cooking is done (often the "kitchen" is out to the front for this reason, and then look for shiny pots and more ingredients than pre made food.
Then ask what is available and pick one of the first options- or what everyone seems to be having. If they sell lots of it, its fresh, if they sell one a week, how long has it been sitting there?
We ate in strange looking places, but the pots were shiny and food was fresh cooked. sometimes it was great, sometimes it was bland, but it was always safe.

Favorite Dish: the popular one