Indian Food is our New Mexican Food

When Jacob and I were doing the YAGM program in Sabah and South Africa, we both had major Mexican food cravings and despaired at the lack of options. In Rochester, we made up for lost time by honing our salsa- and tortilla-making skills, along with perfecting a pretty wicked refried bean recipe (the secret is Crisco, and lots of it!). We made frequent trips to Chipotle. Soon just visiting wasn't enough, and Jacob took a job at Chipotle for a few months after grad school (1 free burrito per shift!). Authentically 'Mexican' or Tex-Mex, basically, yeah, we love it all: burritos, tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, guac&chips, empanadas, flautas, huevos rancheros, tamales, nachos, tostadas, and taco salads (you can eat those deep-fried crunchy bowls!). And churros. And cervezas. All sprinkled - our smothered, if you're Jacob - with Tabasco, Cholula*, Frank's RedHot, or perhaps something even more sinister.

But in Singapore, we again face limited options for getting our Mexifood Fix. Fortunately, Tabasco is readily available, but the other ingredients are either hard to find or afford - cheese, as I've mentioned, is very expensive, and beans are maybe even worse! A small can of black beans - maybe $.65 in the States - can easily cost $3.50 here. WHAT? And dry pintos or black beans continue to elude us, so we we brought back 4lbs of pintos from the States after Christmas. I still make a mean salsa (sometimes I kick it up a notch with mango or star fruit), but even plain tortilla chips are a bit hard to run across.

BUT it is okay. We have been able to sublimate at least part of our Mexifood desire by indulging often and heavily in Indian food.

Ohmigod it is so gooooood.
And it seems there are many similarities between the two cuisines. Both seem to take many of the same ingredients and recombine them in different permutations to yield dozens of different foods. There are many different types of flatbreads. Sauces are crucial. Rice is also crucial. And whether it contains meat or just veggies, you'll roll away happy.

I want to add a caveat - I am not an expert! And also, there are like a thousand different ways to make the following foods. And I hope my lovely Indian coworkers will not find too many errors.

The Breads (aka "Sauce Vehicles")

Roti prata

- Prata (Roti Prata) - Oooooooh so good, and especially popular in Singapore. The buttery dough is stretched sort of like a pizza dough, with the maker flipping it around and around until it is tissue-thin. Then he plops it on a well-oiled griddle/stove/hot surface and folds it onto itself creating delicious, thin layers. The end result it is both crispy and chewy, buttery and awesome. Really great dipped in the gravy part of your curry or the dal (lentil) sauce/soup. There is a restaurant by our apartment called 'Prata Planet' which takes prata to a new level, offering all sort of fillings (cheese, eggs, onions, pineapple, meat) and even branching out into dessert prata (try chocolate sauce and bananas with a scoop of ice cream and sprinkles...heck yes.) You can also buy pretty decent frozen prata that go straight from freezer to frying pan.

Chapti

- Chapati - You may be more familiar with this one. This is a somewhat drier, tortilla-like bread made from whole wheat or Atta flour. Great as a way to pick up meat or veg, scoop up sauce, or just smother with butter (or better, ghee) and garlic.

Naan - specifically garlic naan!

- Naan - Naan is probably most similar to pita bread. It is thicker than prata or chapati, and is often cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay (or metal?) oven. Our favorite naan is from a hawker in Little India. He has basically an upright oil drum-turned-oven, and after he flattens the dough, he slaps it up against the sides of the drum to cook. He is super generous with the chunks of garlic and/or cheese and actually, I'm starting to realize that I haven't been there in a while...I'll be back in a bit...

Dosai

- Dosai/Thosai/Dosa - Dosai or Dosa is a paper-thin sort of crepe-like flat bread, only maybe crispier than crepes. It is made from fermented rice batter and black lentils, making it (as I just learned from wikipedia) way healthier than the other alternatives listed here. Gluten- and fat-free, with extra vitamins from the fermentation. Although great for dipping, it is a bit plain all on its own. The batter is poured onto a griddle and spread thinly. Once it browns, it is flipped and then finished almost instantly. They can be made in huge sizes and are generally rolled up or folded when served.

Papadum

- Papadum - A crispy, almost cracker-like bread, it is often served as a snack or appetizer. They can be roasted, fried, or sun-dried (?) and come in lots of varieties.

As you can tell from the amount of space I dedicated to prata, it is definitely my favorite. Naan is a close second.

Wow...I was going to get into curry and briyani and dal as well, but this blog is already super long! I will leave you, instead, with a description of murtabak, another favorite meal.

Murtabak.
The goodness is trapped inside! QUICK! Get it out!!!

Basically, murtabak is a stuffed, savory pancake. The hawker across the street from us uses prata dough, making an extra large pancake. It is then filled with some sort of meat - mutton is especially good - along with onions, egg (added raw so it cooks in the pancake), garlic and sometimes cheese. Dipped in curry and eaten with cucumber slices and tomato or chili sauce.

Wait...that sounds like an Indian calzone! Wait...is the entire premise of my blog incorrect? Is Indian food really like Italian food? Are prata and naan more like Indian pizza? Excuse, I have more 'research' to do...nom nom nom.



*Spell-checker suggests I replace "Cholula" with "Cholera" and "Tostadas" with "Asbestos."  No thanks, spell-checker, I like my food epidemic- and mesothelioma-free!