Talkin' About Biscuits

Alright, I know that it seems a little early to be developing another food obsession, but a few nights ago I discovered the most delicious, the most delectable, the most wonderful biscuit (in the British sense of the word, because that's what they're called around here) in the entire Indian sub-continant. And maybe even the world.

So what they are is big square crackers flavored with jeera and ajwain (jeera is cumin, and ajwain is some sort of variety of caraway called Bishop's Weed). And they're delicious!

Jarrod is asking me why I love them so much. I think it's because they taste just like this herb bread that I've made in my bread machine a couple times. Man, that stuff is so good, fresh out of the machine, dripping with butter...mmm. These crackers are the closest thing to fresh-baked herb bread that I've found here. Not that I'm actively seeking fresh-baked herb bread. It just happened that I happened upon crackers that taste like it.

Anyway, now Jarrod is telling me that I need to write that "awesome bitter gourd is better than any stinkin' crackers". So I will take this opportunity now to tell you about bitter gourd, Jarrod's very favorite vegetable.

Here is a picture of bitter gourd (again, not one I took myself):



Number one it's pretty cool-looking, huh? The taste is...quite different. Jarrod used to tell me all about bitter gourd back in the states, how he didn't like it at first, but then he developed a taste for it over time, how it's super bitter, but prepared with lemon to offset the bitterness. And I would always wonder what a bitter vegetable tasted like. I mean, the only bitter thing I really consume is coffee. Is it a vegetable that tastes like coffee?

No, no. It doesn't taste like coffee at all, but it is really bitter, and that's the only way to describe it. It makes your tongue feel funny, I don't know! Sujitra, our cook, prepares it fried with potatoes, lemon, and onions, and it's really beginning to grow on me. The neutral taste of the potatoes really tone the bitterness down.

So there you go, a little lecture on bitter gourd, one of India's unique vegetables. Oh, it's also good for diabetics, apparently.

Hey, speaking of coffee though, Jarrod and I have found a new, kind of lame-o American hangout: Barista Cafe. We've gone three times in the last week for coffee and studying.



Look, I know it seems a little bit of a cop-out to be going to a Starbucks-type cafe in India, home of sweet milky cha, but hear me out! It's not like we aren't adapting to life here. Barista is just a really nice place to go when we feel like we've been trapped inside studying all day and need more people to look at than each other. It's nice, a bit small, but it has a couch and low table in the corner that we like to sit at and drink our coffees. Plus, masala cha (spicy tea) is always available if we feel the need to be "more Indian". In any case, the majority of Indian customers who come are interested in the coffee, so I don't feel so bad.

Okay, well I think I'm going to sign off for now. Today Jarrod and I are going to meet up with the two other Kolkata Fulbrighters, Jordan and Pulami (the latter of whom lives in our building), along with Pulami's former-Fulbrighter boyfriend, Brandon (who lives in the apartment next to Pulami's), to go to a lunch for the Fulbrighters to report a bit on their progress. Fun :)

--Emily