The Armchair Traveler's Club discussion

This is a place to discuss non-print discoveries about Southwest India, Sri Lanka & the Maldives. Movies, Music, TV, Food, and anything else you find interesting!

I've ordered '660 Curries'. It got wonderful reviews so I can't wait to try it!

Also for Boiseans - India Foods Grocery & Spices is at 6020 W Fairview Ave, Boise, ID 83704

Thoughts on Goa Trance? It originated in Goa, but is it Indian music?

on a totally random road trip, I found myself in Canada today, but it almost feels like India! I crossed at Osoyoos, there are orchards and farms and roadside food stalls everywhere. every person I saw for at least the first 20 miles looked Indian. I even saw a market specifically for East Indian meats. I stopped and got some produce at a food stall and ate some vegetable samosas. they were delicious, how did people live before curry?

oh also I met an Indian looking gas station attendant who was clearly flustered (so much that he made some mistakes ringing up other customers) to hear that I was traveling alone. he asked me 4 or 5 times who I was with and then offered to accompany me after his shift! Perhaps nice Indian girls don't travel alone?

I think so. From what I've read in The Forgotten Woman, women travel in groups. But since he was so flustered, maybe he thought you were beautiful?

You are sweet Talia, sometimes I feel like I'm getting a bit overripe for that - but perhaps you are right! I do get a bit suspicious of men who want to hang out with me after they get off work at 11:30pm, but perhaps that just me being cynical.

Other notes from the farms, went to some more Indian farm stands and obtained ginger pear marmalade, and curried veggie pickles. mmmm - mmmm

Tim and I went to an Indian lunch buffee yesterday. Oh my goodness, it was so good that I have been fantasizing about the food since then. Sadly, the names were complex so I don't remember what anything was. I wonder how often I can visit whilst still fitting into my wardrobe? It was packed and I did notice that everyone there seemed to be at a healthy weight as opposed to when we hit Dairy Queen instead! I think Indian food is generally quite healthy? Though I feel I could eat hot naan until it spills out of my ears and be quite happy.

On Netflix I found a series produced by Animal Planet called 'Wildest India'.

I highly recommend it. Just when I thought I had seen all of the animal species from zoos and nature programs of the past, this series has shown me that the new discoveries are still possible! It is beautifully filmed. I am accustomed to seeing the crowded places in India, apparently there's still wild land left. The narrator's voice is so soothing, however, that it may send you off to dreamland if you are sleepy. So far, Episode 2 has been the most illuminating.

Netflix also grants instant access to 'Queen'. A coming of age backpacker movie, it does illustrate some of the differences between the western and Indian cultures. While I enjoyed the film, it can feel a bit bubble gum pop sappy at times.

Watch Cobra Gypsies on Top Documentaries. It is very colorful and musical. I loved it.

We finished the Wildest India series on Netflix.

Fascinating facts: India and Africa were connected on the ancient land mass pangea. India broke off and ran into Asia creating the Himilayas and the Tibetan plateau, resulting in unique flora and fauna related to African species.

Although the Ganges river is renowned for it's filth and thousands of people wash in it and drink the water daily, it has never been associated with an outbreak of illness. Research has shown that it's water contains bacteriophages that keep it safe.

Takeaways - Their kind approach. The people in the series display a novel approach to wildlife, they tolerate and support it as opposed to our more controlling mindset. For example, they don't kill cobras that find their way into the house, they call the snake catcher who catches them and releases them at a safe distance. Perhaps I will think of this the next time I experience garden pests.

India has beautiful wildlands with diverse flora & fauna and is firmly seated on my 'to visit' list!

Tim and I ate out at the lunch buffet at http://www.madhubanindiancuisine.com/ again. Usually, I try to sample different restaurants in town, but this one was so good that I'm just proud we managed to wait a week before going back.

It was a long week. Mmmm Tandoori Chicken...Naan...Chaat...Rice pudding...learning a few names still not sure what to do with the row of sauces, need to get in line behind an Indian family to see what they use them for. The crowd there a about 1/2 Indian - always a good sign!

I haven't gotten a chance to watch it yet, but I did find the website for the documentary that Ellen (mom) mentioned.

It's here:
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/cobra-...

I did check out A Passage to India from the library.

It is a fascinating show bringing up the topic of culture clash and respect between the Indians and the British, and also of culture clash between Indians (I noticed the Brahmin professor was not inclined to get too involved with Aziz.)

Although the book has claimed a spot on the top 100 novels by more than 1 editor, in the movie some of the characters seemed a bit simplistic.

Would the doctor really have been so desparate to please his English friends? Would Adela really have been so weak as to imagine that she had been assaulted?

Barabar caves were featured in the film - renamed as the Marabar caves. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barabar...

I noticed that the madness happened during the buildup to the monsoon and with the return of sanity came the rain. This makes perfect sense to anyone who has experienced the buildup to a monsoon. I was in the northern Australian tropics 1 year during this season and it left an impression. The air is unbelievably hot and heavy during the buildup, the congestion causing people and animals to do things they normally wouldn't. Day after day the sky was filled with heavy clouds. Gazing at the sky we pleaded for relief. When the sky finally does break the feeling of relief and joy is immense. You know that the bad days are over. In that era, it wouldn't have been uncommon to blame Adela's behavior on her fragile female brain, however it is likely it would have been caused by monsoon madness! Several shots in the movie alude to this - shots of the blazing sun or actors covered in sweat.

I love the must-try food map of India on this blog:

https://bunkababz.wordpress.com/tag/i...

Tim & I had a blast at India Foods!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-3x...
The shop is quite big and has all sorts of interesting items inside. From pressure cookers, to rainbow hued idols of Ganesa, to bitter melons and a wide array of unrecognizable spices and veggies.

This line of grains advertised itself as being very good for fasting, which isn't much of a compliment for a food - ha!


We stocked up on odd items that are recurrent in my curry cookbook, but not stocked at Winco like Garam Masala, ghee, and mustard oil.



Can't forget the snacks! My favorite were the Gur Rewdi made from palm sap sugar. The popped lotus seeds tasted a lot like a cow smells, or something like wet hay. I found a recipe to brown them in Ghee (clarified butter), perhaps that will be better.



This was too cute to pass up! The taste was odd. Tim took some bites with his fork, shivered and puckered! We decided we didn't like it, then kept dipping our samosas in it anyway - so I guess we liked it, in a strange dislikable way - ha! Green mango - I guess the theory is to take something sour and bombard it with salt to drown out the sour. 1.5 tblsp of the stuff has almost 1600mg sodium!



Dinner is served. Some of the recipes in 660 Curries are so complicated! The beauty of the grocery is we could pick up some ready to eat food like these little potato samosas that Tim fried up within 10 minutes.





We got a mortar & pestle so we no longer have to grind our spices with a spoon - yay! Out of the drinks, we both loves the Guava nectar - to die for! The almond drink has cardamom and saffron in it - I liked it, Tim said gross! No one liked the green mango, the little juice box had 600mg sodium - salty, tart. The container labeled "5 in 1 Salty" has 5 sections. Each section contains a different flavor of mukhwas or roasted seed blends. A pinch taken after meals is intended to freshen breath and ease digestion. We aren't so sure about them yet, I like the licorice flavor. If you would like to try making your own mukhwas check out the video I uploaded.



A celebrity family endorsement from Kurkure Masala Munch chips. Ooo - these were spicy! Tim liked them, I liked the flavor but the spice made me sputter and cough!



Will update you as we continue to sample! Have you had a chance to make it to an Indian grocery yet?

Hey Boiseans -

The Boise Hare Krishna Temple is having a big India festival this Saturday, Sept. 5th starting at 6:30pm. I wish I could go but I will be out of town. It sounds absolutely fabulous.

Scroll to the bottom half of the page on this link:

Festival of India

Found the Rough Guide to Psychedelic India at the library and I love it.

It's upbeat and fun, reminding me of a 60s-70s era action montage. I envision the detective or spy's silhouette mirror image with flashing lights and swirling colors in the background. Some songs are dancable, others more mellow.