Varanasi had little to offer in good local food. I did have the best Tuna sandwich I have had for a while and an amazing ‘English Breakfast’ both at the Open Hand Cafe. The temperature was so high that my appetite wasn’t in full force, and the few nice restaurants were shut due to the lack of foreigners. It presented a good opportunity to dive into some street food (or more aptly, the Indian Railway food). The only safe food to eat on the street is deep fried and tends to be made of potatoes and lots of chili and pepper. Below are what they call Pakora, a word used to describe any deep fried vegetable (or meat if it is Non-Veg Pakora - definitely not safe street food!)
I didn’t eat dinner on the train, partly due to the heat, but also because I was reading so much, and the vile ‘burpfart’ family around me put me off my food. When breakfast came, the cunning food-wallah handed me two packets and charged me for both, I didn’t know they would both be the same, so didn’t say anything. They came neatly wrapped and consisted of two slices of the most pathetic bread (as most of Indias sliced bread is) and two fried, peppery potato products. The heartburn came on a tad slower than the pakora.
To prove my environmental awareness and true concern for the pollution of the wonderful mother Ganga, I made sure that my water consumption was moderate over the 3 days.
Amanda | 01-Jun-08 at 11:22 am | Permalink
I am hungry now, and those pakora look great! I am about to go have lunch at a friends house, and she has cooked jamaican food for me, but is on a fruit and veg diet. She will be eating steamed veg while I pig out. Great!