Click here for my previous blog entry about Leh: Shey and Thiksey, India

Nik’s Blog: The First Two Days in Leh, India

Nik’s Blog: Trips to Chamba Gompa and Shanti Stupa

Update August 14, 2012:

I just recieved the following email from Rekha, and it sounds like her shop and cooking classes are still alive and doing well!!! Please visit her at Spice Paradise if you find yourself in Jodhpur.

Dear Jamie Sinz,

If you remember in 2008 you come to a cooking class in Jodhpur and and learn some Indian dishes. I know that You may be remembering us but Jamie I thank that almighty and you from the bottom of my heart that you came to my home. That time no name to my shop also and today you see Spice Paradise is ranked number one in whole of Jodhpur and this is all because of you dear . You have build this place . Please forgive me that I remember you now . There was no computer in my home before so I was not able to see what a big things you have done for this place . Today also it is not there in any of the guide books but working well only because of you . I dont know how to use computer much so I saw your name and typed something . please come to jodhpur once again . I hope this small message will reach you.

 

On our way back to the guesthouse in Jodhpur, we stopped at the corner store to buy some water and a soda.  It was like any other corner store in India…packets of shampoo hanging from the ceiling, beverages displayed on a counter, bags of snacks behind a glass cabinet, man sitting in the middle of it all serving customers.  We asked for a bottle of cold water, and a woman appeared in a side door and invited us to come in as she pulled the water out of the refrigerator.

We walked through the door and were immersed in the smell of the freshly ground Indian spices that were displayed along every wall of the room.  Our hostess handed us our cold drinks, and asked us to please sit in the two comfy upholstered chairs to the right to drink our water.  For the record, we had no intention of drinking our water then and there…it just happened!  We started talking with our hostess.  She asked us questions.  We asked her questions.  We talked about the tragedy at the palace.  We saw that she had two daughters, and she told us that today was the younger girl’s birthday.  We told her our plans for traveling.  She told us about her spice shop.  Then she said that she would like to teach us how to cook Indian food.  Why, sure, we would love for you to teach us how to cook Indian food.  And at that, it was settled.  We decided on a menu (Indian Chai, Saffron Lassi, Mixed Vegetables with Rice and Gutta, Shahi Paneer Curry and Chipatas) and price (Rs 200 per main dish, which totaled Rs600/person, or $13).  We scheduled our rendezvous for 2pm the following afternoon.

When we arrived, our hostess/instructor, Rekka, was waiting for us.  We started with small talk by asking how her daughter’s birthday party went, and she asked about our trip to the palace earlier that morning.  Eventually, we gathered in her teeny tiny kitchen.  Nik and I stood in the doorway as she stood in the 2-foot-wide “U” that was made by her worksurface, gas cooktop, pantry and sink.  First, she taught us how to make Indian Masala Chai, which is a basic spice tea with milk. Masala is a general term for mixed spices.  After combining milk, black tea leaves and masala, she brought the mixture to a boil 5 times.  This trick gives a richer flavor as well as kills any bacteria that might be in the milk.

During this very brief demonstration, Nik and I were able to ask all kinds of questions about an Indian kitchen…

Where does the milk come from?  It comes from the family cow every morning, and is boiled (otherwise known as pasteurizing) before storing it in a metal bowl on the kitchen counter.  They only extract enough milk for one day so that nothing is wasted.  If there is extra at the end of the night, they make milk shakes!

What kind of pots do you use?  Aluminum because they are lightweight and foods don’t stick.  In the old days, they used copper, but now they are too expensive and hard to clean.

Where does your drinking water come from?  The house water is piped in from a huge storage tank on the roof.  Each morning, Rekka boils water from the tap, then stores it in a large earthen jar under the counter.  There is always a small metal cup handy to dip into the pot and retrieve water for drinking and cooking.  She also cleans the pot every day before adding the sterilized water.

What kind of oil do you use? Soy bean oil is the easiest and cheapest to find, and it’s kept in a large metal canister just above the stove.

What do you do with leftovers?  She doesn’t cook enough to have left overs.  Everything is bought and cooked fresh every day.  (I bet that many Indian houses don’t even have refrigerators)

Once the Chai was finished, we poured ourselves a glass and sat down in our comfy chairs for a lesson on Indian spices.  She started by explaining all of the spices that she puts into her very special Masala Chai mix: Cardamon, Dry Ginger, Black Pepper, Nutmeg, Cinnamon and Cloves.  She had detailed explanations for each one’s use.  For example, Cardamon is supposed to aid with digestion and Dry Ginger is good for clearing your sinuses…or was it the other way around?  I don’t remember, but they were great stories to listen to.

When she finished the spice explanations for the Tea, we asked for more.  What about Saffron?  And do you use Vanilla?  What about Green Pepper?  At this point she pulled out her big bowl of spices and walked through every single one she carries in her store.  Nik and I were captivated.

Our cups were empty, and it was time to go to the market.  Rekha handed us a grocery list, and asked one of the neighborhood girls to walk us to her brother-in-law’s vegetable stand a few blocks away.  He weighed out various fresh vegetables, and then our escort walked us to a general store to pick up the final ingredients: heavy cream and yogurt.  We gave her a 5 Rupee coin to say thanks, and we were back in class.

Next up was the Saffron Lassi.  A lassi is a traditional Indian drink made by blending fresh yogurt, water, spices and occasionally fruit.  Sometimes they are savory, and sometimes they are sweet.  Our sweet Saffron variety is a specialty of Jodhpur, and is made with yogurt, sugar, cardamon and a pinch of saffron that has been sitting in luke warm water for 5 minutes so that the color and flavor is released.  After blending, we chilled the mixture in the refrigerator while we prepared the next dish, Mixed Vegetables with Rice and Gutta.  Gutta, also spelled Gatte or Gatta, is a small chickpea flour dumpling that is more often used in a curry, but was very tasty in our vegetable rice!  The other delicious ingredients included: Raisins, Cashews, Jalepeno Peppers, Lemon, Cauliflower, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Coriander, Tumeric, Red Chili, and of course, Bismati Rice.

Our second main dish was Shahi Paneer Curry.  Shahi means oil, and Paneer means cottage cheese…so this is curry with oil and cottage cheese!  Our ingredients included cottage cheese (duh), onions, ginger, tomatoes, green pepper and spices.  Because we were foreigners, she added a little milk and cream at the very end so that it wasn’t quite as spicy, but I think it would be good either way.

Next, she challenged us to make Chapati.  Chapati is a basic, unleavened Indian flatbread that is often paired with dal (lentil soup) or curry, and is used to pinch each bite of the cooked dish, therefor eating without utensils.  Nik helped her make the dough, then she demonstrated how to make the individual pieces.  She pinched off a small ball of dough, made it into a perfect ball with her hands, then rolled it out on a floured surface into a perfect 10″ circle using a teeny tiny wooden rolling pin with fixed handles.  The best part is that once the dough was on the table, she never touched it again with her hands.  Just by applying pressure to one side, she turned the dough to roll it evenly.  One day, I will master that skill!!  Then she picked the millimeters thick circle up with her right hand, threw it into her left hand, then threw it into the hot skillet.  After the first side was browned, she flipped it. After the second side was browned she picked it up with wooden tongs, removed the skillet from the eye, and placed the Chapati directly on the open flame.  To our amazement, the whole thing blew up like a balloon!!!  She pulled it off of the flame and placed it on a plate in front of us, then added a bowl of the hot curry topped with a little grated cheese and fresh coriander…but before we could eat, we had to make our own!

We were both moderately successful…neither of our circles were quite circular, and neither were quite as thin, but they both puffed up like a blowfish!!!  Finally, we could eat the beautiful curry and our hard earned Chapati.  As we did so, she showed us how to make Butter Chapati, spread butter or ghee (clarified butter) on the dough before you place it on the skillet, and Masala Chapati, roll out the dough, sprinkle spices down the middle, fold the dough over the spices, roll it into a tube, then make a spiral and roll the dough out again so that the spices are distributed evenly.

After we finished, I requested to have a second bowl of the Saffron Lassi and the three of us sat down in the comfy chairs and chatted a little more.  She asked how we liked the class, and wondered if there was anything she should do differently.  We both agreed that it was fantastic, and couldn’t imagine how it could be improved.  I told her that I felt like my aunt was teaching me how to cook.  As I was saying this, I realized that she was 5 years younger than me, so I quickly added…or sister.

She also asked us for advise on how to get more students.  She has grand ideas of expanding her kitchen so that she can teach up to 8 or 10 people at a time, and she would love to have a more steady flow.  Right now she is depending on a couple signs in front of her family’s shop and word of mouth.  Of course, word of mouth is the best way, so this post is my way of helping a friend.  She does not have a website, and you can’t find her in any guidebooks.  So if you are in Jodhpur and are interested in spices, cooking or a first hand dose of Indian culture, I recommend that you stop by and see Rekha.  Spend an hour chatting about spices, or spend 6 hours (like we did) learning how to cook.

Here is her information, and if you have any questions, please leave a comment or email Rekha yourself.

Shop Name: Spice Paradise
Her name: Rekha Sharma
Her husband’s name: Anil Kumar Sharma
Their email: anilhumar20042003@gmail.com
Location: Girdi Kote & Amar Chowk; From Shivam Paying Guesthouse, turn right and you will run directly into the shop.

I think that one of the most important parts of traveling is meeting people.  I think it is #2 on my list, with #1 being seeing places.  During our month long trip through India, the 2nd most populous nation in the world, we had a handful of amazing encounters with fellow travelers, local cooks, inn keepers, farmers and life coaches that were doing their thing, but paused for a few moments or more to chat.  There was at least one notable person everywhere we went, and I don’t want to forget them…so here they are.  My people of India.

Delhi
September 19-23

Late Night Visitor – It was our first night in India, and the owner of our hotel knocked on our door at 10:30pm and scared us out of our mind.  There was no peep hole or chain on the door to protect us, but he banged on our door, rang our buzzer and demanded to have our passports.  We resisted opening the door because we were frightened, but he was persistent, so we gave in eventually and opened to find a mild-natured short and squat man wearing a light blue cotton shirt with white cotton trousers.  We handed over our passports, and he brought them back 15 minutes later unharmed.  It is hard to be in a country where you can’t trust everyone, so we apologize for not trusting you Innkeeper, but we were just watching out for ourselves.

Call Center Manager – On our second visit to the muslim restaurant, Karim, during Ramadan, we arrived just before sunset and were ushered to a 4-person table where two were already seated.  Then a fifth person, the Call Center Manager, joined our table.  He was an energetic young guy from the suburbs that seemed to have come to Karim for the free food!  It seemed like he was very curious to know everything about us, but I think he was showing off his English skills in front of our other dining companions!!  Later in our trip, we saw the new Bollywood movie, Hello, which is about a call center in despair…and I couldn’t help but think of this guy!

Mohit, the WK Delhi Creative Director – Just before leaving Delhi we stopped to visit the Delhi office of Weiden + Kennedy, Nik’s old employer.  There we met Mohit, the Creative Director and host with the most!!  He offered us a quiet haven from the chaos of India with wi-fi and coffee!!!  What more could we ask?  He also gave us insight into advertising in India, some good traveling tips, and the name of his good friend in Jodhpur, who is mentioned below.  Thanks Mohit for providing a home base.

Leh
September 23-28

Dolma, the quiet Ladakhi Innkeeper that Warmed us with Tea -  Her guest house was quiet, quaint and cold.  In fact, we couldn’t sleep very well because we were too cold, so we left Dolma after two nights to slumber at Jigmet’s Guest House down the road.  When we departed, I told Dolma that we were leaving Leh because I didn’t want her hurt her feelings by choosing another guesthouse over hers.  Of course, the next morning when we were eating breakfast at Jigmet’s, who walked in?  Dolma.  Turns out that Jigmet is Dolma’s brother.  I felt so bad for lying to Dolma, and every time I saw her she seemed hurt.  Didn’t my parents tell me to always tell the truth??  So thank you Dolma for teaching me a lesson I shouldn’t have forgotten, and I’m sorry.

Gottfried the Lifelong Trekker – Nik met Gottfried outside the Leh Palace while I was wandering around inside.  The boys refused to go in based on principle because the foreigner entry fee was Rs 100 ($2) while the Indian entry fee was Rs 20 (40¢).  I wanted to go in because of the architecture despite the 500% mark-up.  It was a palace for goodness sakes!  How many palaces have you been inside in your lifetime??  When I came out, Nik and Gottfried were deep in conversation about the underhanded politics of India.  I listened for a little while, then we all went our separate ways.  The next evening, we ran into Gottfried at one of the local restaurants and invited him to join us for the meal.  We ended up chatting for over two hours about travel and life, and he became our basis for all serious travel.  Now when we think something is hard core, we ask ourselves, “What would Gottfried think of this?”  Also, he reminded me of my distant cousin, Charles.  Hopefully we will see Gottfried again one day soon.  Perhaps we’ll visit Germany during one of the 6 months per year he calls it home.

The Polish Chain-smoker and his sidekick, the Bus Attendant/Travel Agent – We took a local bus from Leh to the small village of Basgo in search of the Indus River, and we ended up sitting next to a Polish traveler.  The bus took a pit stop in Nimmu, and we sat with the traveler and his sidekick to eat samosas and drank chai.  Our conversation was light but funny, and it was great to sit with these two guys for 10 minutes as they put on a comedy routine of sorts even though they just met 3 hours before.

Breakfast Companions – At Jigmet’s Guest House there is a small living room where the guests linger all day and night, and it is especially popular in the morning for breakfast.  On our second morning, Nik went down while I dealt with a bat of food poisoning.  I eventually joined the group only to discover that an Australian traveler had food poisoning a few days ago after eating at the same pizza place.  Then we discovered that she was about to do a 10-day homestay in one of the villages near Leh, then go on to Delhi to do volunteer work with Habitat for Humanity.  One of the other breakfast companions was a Dutch girl that had been traveling through Australia and India for the past 6 months, and one of her highlights was being an extra in a Bollywood film.  These are the conversations that are often the most fruitful, because now I want to do a homestay, volunteer for Habitat overseas and star in a Bollywood film!!

Delhi
September 28

The Train Tout – Beware…do not trust anyone outside the turnstiles at the New Delhi Train Stations…we learned this the hard way.

The Cafe Coffee Day Patron – After our experience with the tout, we sought refuge at a Cafe Coffee Day, where we ran into a local who told us of the latest Delhi bombings and offered directions and help while the Cafe Coffee Day employees snubbed us and were very rude.

The Hotel Relax Concierge – We entered Hotel Relax to ask directions to the nearest open bookstore, and ended up staying for the entire day.  The concierge was extremely accommodating and offered us an old India Lonely Planet (because we lost ours) and a room to rest in for the day.  He also cooked us lunch which wasn’t very good, but at least we didn’t have to leave the hotel!!

Varanasi
September 29 – October 1

The Sahi Riverview Guesthouse Innkeeper – He kept us well fed (with the help of his younger friends) and well informed.  He was so helpful that we actually tipped him…and we don’t do that very often.

Large and In Charge – A European woman we met at the guest  house whom we asked advice for a good place to eat.  She offered to usher us there personally, and as she walked the streets of Varanasi she knew everyone and walked with a confidence that I had never seen before.  Oh, and the restaurant was good too!

The Wandering Indian Youth – At dinner, a young man asked to join us at our table even though there were at least 10 other tables open.  He was a student from a wealthy southern family that was traveling for now on his father’s dime.  We think that he was interested in Nik because after a few minutes of conversation, he asked if Nik and I were just friends.  Sorry, but he’s taken!!  Regardless, he was a pleasant dinner companion, and I hope that he finds his purpose soon.

An Indian Orphan – At our guest house, we met a gentleman who had been adopted at the age of 8 by a Dutch family, and had just returned to India for the first time.  He was staying at Riverview while he settled into his volunteer work with disabled Indians, and he hopes to one day develop an NGO that helps orphanages.  I wish him well!!

Agra
October 1-3

Marie and Thomas, the French-Canadian/French couple that met in Thailand, has been working in Australia, and just arrived in India after a couple months in China -  We met them at the rooftop restaurant of our guest house, and ended up going with them to the Agra Fort.  Thanks to Marie and Thomas, we have a photocopied version of Lonely Planet China and a few good suggestions of where to go.

Two Skinny Cycle Rickshaw Drivers – We wanted to get out of the touristy area of Agra, so we took a rickshaw to the Sadar Bazaar area, and on the way, our driver stopped and recruited an equally thin and old driver to come along.  We were confused at first, then reallized that we were too heavy for the one man alone, so we had to split up.  They took us to the Post Office and lunch, then tried to take us to 2 different shops so that they could get commissions even though we blatantly told them NO.  If they hadn’t bugged us about going into their commission shops, we probably would have given them a tip that was more than their commissions.  Oh well!!

Hansung, The South Korean Chinese History Buff – He was wearing all white on his 10-day vacation from a prominent accounting firm when he sat next to me in the 2nd Class waiting room at the Mughal Sarai JN Train Station.  He was the first to tell me about the incident in Jodhpur at the Palace, and when I told him we were going to China next, he gave me a 30 minute Chinese History lesson complete with notes and a hand-drawn map!!!  I will be emailing him soon as we nail down the specifics of our trip.

Jodhpur
October 3-7

The Innkeeper/Travel Agent/Former Camel Safari Guide – Once again, we had an innkeeper that kept us well fed and well informed.  He also arranged our Osiyan visit as well as our bus tickets to Udaipur.  His family was very gracious, and his wife even shared sweets with us one evening when we were the only ones dining at the rooftop restaurant.

Nikheledra, the Boutique Hotel Owner – He is a man with a vision of luxury that Jodhpur has never seen before.  Nikheledra is currently building a boutique hotel in the heart of the city on the site of an old Haveli, and we were fortunate enough to have a personal tour complete with cocktails on the roof overlooking Jodhpur and its Palace.  Unfortunately, I forgot to ask him what his hotel will be called, but it is scheduled to open in January 2009.  Good luck with construction, and we will see you again someday.  (This is the friend of Mohit, that I mentioned earlier.)

Rekka, our Indian Cooking Instructor – She learned the art of spices from her father-in-law whose father used to be the cook for the Maharaja.  She welcomed us into her home, and taught us how she cooks as if we were family.  (I have done a separate post about our cooking class here.)

Osiyan
October 7-8

Nansuk, the Camel Safari Guide – He and his family welcomed us into their home for 2 days and one night, as we learned about their farms, their family and their camels.  This gave us a small taste of what a home-stay could be like, but I’m still interested in doing a longer one.  Any suggestions?? (I will do a more detailed post on the camel safari)

2 Scotts and 2 Germans – Our camel safaris overlapped by 3 hours in which the 6 of us ate lunch, relaxed and talked about travel experiences.   Of the Scottish pair, the guy had just arrived in India after riding the Siberian Railway through Russia and China, and the girl was a veterinarian that is volunteering in Jaipur for a group that is trying to reduce the cases of Rabies in the city.  I hope you guys had a good bus ride to Agra!

Udaipur
October 9-12

The Prankster Muslim Innkeeper – He was red-bearded and extremely gracious as we were indecisive about which room we wanted, and then he played jokes on me as we left…He told me that it would Rs 10 to use his bathroom (which is untrue) and he told us that our bus had been canceled because of a gas tank explosion (also untrue)…but it was all in good fun, and everyone got a good laugh out of my gullible nature.

Saffron Sari Lady – Nik and I were watching the parade of women walking and dancing down to Gangaur Ghat when I was pulled into the mix by a beautiful woman in a Saffron Red Sari.  We danced together and laughed together for a few moments before I pulled away to the side so that I didn’t lose sight of Nik.

Joe and Erica, Our Fellow Americans -  We ran into Joe and Erica a few times around our guesthouse.They had just arrived in India from Africa, and they were very happy to be there!!  We talked about the states a little bit, and found out that they had also lived in Portland.  Small world!!

The Australian Bus Buddies – We rode from Jodhpur to Udaipur and Udaipur to Mumbai with this couple and we were the only 4 foreigners on both trips.  It was nice to have casual conversations with them, but it was also comforting to know that we weren’t the only foreigners.

Mumbai
October 13-16

Lawrence, the extremely personable freelance Life Coach that hangs out at the Barista in Coldoba in hopes to relive the day when he met his Canadian Muse -  We chatted with Lawrence for over an hour about life, India and sex.  Well, Lawrence talked about sex, and we listened.  We asked him several questions about India, and he was excited that we were so interested.  Then somehow he started telling us a story about a Canadian girl that he met at this very coffee shop, and they ended up living together.  He implied that they never had sex, but they did sleep naked together…don’t know how that came up, and I wasn’t comfortable talking about it, so we said our goodbyes shortly afterward.

Auntie of Theobroma -  I never spoke to this woman, but I wish I had.  She was an older lady, probably in her 70s, and she had an energy  that was unstoppable.  She spoke impeccable British English, and I wish that I could have asked her about the days before India’s Independence.  She reminded me of my own grandmother, and if I ever go back to Mumbai, I will ask her to have a cup of chai with me.

Goa
October 16-19

Niranjan, the Pharmaceutical Sales Rep – Towards the end of our train journey, I asked Niranjan about the mysterious group of business travelers that were singing in the next berth on the train.  He informed us that they were playing a game where one person would start singing a Bollywood song, and when they stopped, another person had to start a new Bollywood song that shared the last word of the previous song.  It impressed me that people knew these songs so well, and I tried to think of a genre of music that Americans could do that with….and the only thing I came up with was Christmas Carols!

John, the Bandana Taxi Driver – John approached us during dinner the night we arrived, and offered a tour of the spice plantation nearby.  We told him we weren’t interested.  Then he was sitting outside the next morning when we went for a stroll on the beach, and he offered to take us on a tour of Goa.  We told him we weren’t interested.  Then he was waiting outside when I went to look for a better guest house, and he recommended one down the road.  I actually went there and we moved over shortly afterwards.  The morning before we left, I went outside to ask him to take us to the airport later that day, but he wasn’t there.  Then 30 minutes before we left, I went to confirm our flight, and he drove by and offered to take us on a tour of the spice plantations.  I told him that we were leaving that day, and he offered to take us to the airport.  I said I was sorry, but we had made other plans.  It goes to show that the one time he wasn’t there was the time that we could actually give him business.  Sorry John.

Bengaluru
October 19-21

The Dosa Man – We wandered around looking for a nice restaurant, and ended up at a dosa shop that seemed popular with the locals.  We sat at a small window-side table and the Dosa Man was our server.  We chatted for a little bit about the crowds outside, and then we went back to our guesthouse.  I woke up the next morning with the worst food poisoning ever.  The man was nice, but unfortunately his Dosa wasn’t.

It is unfortunate that we ended our trip with food poisoning, but I don’t blame Dosa Man.  He doesn’t reallize that our stomachs are much weaker than his fellow Indians, and he doesn’t have an FDA watching his every move!