Yesterday was a farewell party for the Bachelor’s of Business Administration (BBA) seniors. Tomorrow is another farewell party for the Bachelor’s of Computer Applications (BCA) seniors. Which means today, ain’t nobody coming in to school. I guess you have senioritis even in other countries besides the U.S.
Well, I suppose I can take the time to get started on my semester thesis. I don’t really want to, but… Looks like senioritis is contagious.
08 April 2010
07 April 2010
Desi Girl
Another graduating party at KLB. Another awkward beauty pageant. Another lunch of delicious bhatura that I helped make. Another round of gorgeous girls in saris that want to take a picture with me. But this time, I was thinking about something else that stood out from today’s events.
As part of the ear-shattering musical lineup, the song “Desi Girl” from the movie Dostana was played. At least 5 times.
Bollywood music is a fascinating phenomenon that I know so little about, but it is so culturally important that it would be a disservice not to at least mention some of its qualities. First of all, notice that I identified the song by which movie it was from, not the recording artist. That’s because nearly every Hindi song in India is from a movie, not an album. If a song is in a local dialect, like Punjabi or Tamil, these are released in albums, but by and large, these songs are typically only enjoyed in their particular area. For the most part, the popular music that Indians listen to comes from Bollywood. These songs are featured as music videos in films sung by famous actors and actresses. As a result, the actual musicians who write and record the song are not very well known. The actors get most of the credit.
Another feature of the music is the glamour and glitz granted by the videos. Songs produced on their own wouldn’t be nearly as popular if they weren’t accompanied by the dance-filled video where they were feature. Additionally, all the dancing for the songs is an attempt to copy the dance style seen on the video. Two girls did a dance performance to “Desi Girl” at the party, and when I looked up the music video later, I saw that they were trying to dance exactly the same way Priyanka Chopra was dancing in the film. It’s like they were brainwashed. Hindi songs are nothing without their dancing. I realized this about a month ago, when I was playing some American music for girls in the hostel. One of them looked at my computer and asked, “Where is the dancing?”
Plus, all of the songs that I heard today are from movies that have been released in the past 3 years. Apparently, these songs don’t have much saying power. As soon as the next big hit is out, the last one is forgotten. I like classic music, like jazz, blues, and even some 30’s swing, but Hindi music is all prepubescent. There’s so much new material that comes out every year, a song that lasts 10 years in India is already considered to be an oldie.
Hindi music is catchy, repetitive and easy to dance to, if you like that music. It’s best when played so loudly you can’t hear yourself think, and it must be accompanied at all times with a huge smile on your face and a gorgeous woman at your hip. Personally, I can’t really get into it. I like it because of the huge role that it plays in Indian culture, and that in itself is fascinating, but you won’t see me jamming out to “Zoobi Doobi” on my iPod anytime soon.
As part of the ear-shattering musical lineup, the song “Desi Girl” from the movie Dostana was played. At least 5 times.
Bollywood music is a fascinating phenomenon that I know so little about, but it is so culturally important that it would be a disservice not to at least mention some of its qualities. First of all, notice that I identified the song by which movie it was from, not the recording artist. That’s because nearly every Hindi song in India is from a movie, not an album. If a song is in a local dialect, like Punjabi or Tamil, these are released in albums, but by and large, these songs are typically only enjoyed in their particular area. For the most part, the popular music that Indians listen to comes from Bollywood. These songs are featured as music videos in films sung by famous actors and actresses. As a result, the actual musicians who write and record the song are not very well known. The actors get most of the credit.
Another feature of the music is the glamour and glitz granted by the videos. Songs produced on their own wouldn’t be nearly as popular if they weren’t accompanied by the dance-filled video where they were feature. Additionally, all the dancing for the songs is an attempt to copy the dance style seen on the video. Two girls did a dance performance to “Desi Girl” at the party, and when I looked up the music video later, I saw that they were trying to dance exactly the same way Priyanka Chopra was dancing in the film. It’s like they were brainwashed. Hindi songs are nothing without their dancing. I realized this about a month ago, when I was playing some American music for girls in the hostel. One of them looked at my computer and asked, “Where is the dancing?”
Plus, all of the songs that I heard today are from movies that have been released in the past 3 years. Apparently, these songs don’t have much saying power. As soon as the next big hit is out, the last one is forgotten. I like classic music, like jazz, blues, and even some 30’s swing, but Hindi music is all prepubescent. There’s so much new material that comes out every year, a song that lasts 10 years in India is already considered to be an oldie.
Hindi music is catchy, repetitive and easy to dance to, if you like that music. It’s best when played so loudly you can’t hear yourself think, and it must be accompanied at all times with a huge smile on your face and a gorgeous woman at your hip. Personally, I can’t really get into it. I like it because of the huge role that it plays in Indian culture, and that in itself is fascinating, but you won’t see me jamming out to “Zoobi Doobi” on my iPod anytime soon.
Under Pressure
One of the things that I like about food so much is that it makes sense. I like science, and cooking is science. The potatoes are done when they’re soft because heat converts indigestible starch to digestible sugars. Cakes and quick breads are fluffy and light because the chemical reaction caused by baking soda and an acid creates carbon dioxide. Bread rises because yeast eats sugar and creates gas. It’s like a perfect equation of chemistry when so many raw ingredients come together in the right order with the correct application of heat to create something delicious.
I’m a nerd.
The problem is that most people, at least the people that I know from the states, don’t care about these things. They don’t think about how food cooks, as long as it cooks. Instead of learning a technique, they learn recipes. Recipes don’t teach you how to cook food; they teach you how to cook a single dish and nothing else. Unfortunately, that’s what Americans like. They are comfortable with cooking methods and ingredients that are familiar and easy to understand, as well as ingredients and recipes that are forgiving of inexperienced cooks. It is for these reasons why pressure cookers aren’t common in American kitchens.
A pressure cooker is basically a heavy pot with an airtight lid. Middle school science class dictates that the boiling point of water is not constant, and is affected by the pressure of the surrounding environment. If the pressure of a fluid being boiled increases, then the boiling point also increases. That’s because the water molecules that are becoming heated need to overcome more pressure to change into gas molecules and escape the pot. More energy is needed to do so, and thus, the boiling point is higher. If the pressure is lower (like when air pressure decreases with increased elevation), then less energy is needed to reach a boil, and the boiling point is therefore lower.
What does this mean for cooking? If you are boiling food to cook it in an elevated area like Palampur, then the temperature of the boiling water is actually less than 100 degrees Centigrade. That means the food will take longer to cook. Even if you are at sea level, food still takes awhile to cook by boiling. A pressure cooker speeds up cooking considerably, because the sealed container artificially increases the surrounding air pressure and increases the boiling point. It means that the water in the pressure cooker that’s being used to cook the food is much higher than 100 degrees centigrade. Higher temperature means faster cooking.
Really, a huge nerd.
If you’re worried about the whole pot exploding because of too much pressure, don’t. Any pressure cooker manufactured in the past 50 years, even in India, comes with a little valve on the top of the pot that releases a small amount of steam when the pressure increases to a certain point. As the steam is released, the pressure decreases a little, then increases again until it trips the valve and releases more steam. That way, the pressure that’s needed to blow up a heavy duty pot is never reached. That’s a good thing, because shards of hot metal exploding will really wreck your day, not to mention your wallpaper.
The problem is that they’re not ideal for precision cooking on the fly. You can’t see and observe the food as it’s being cooking, which means that you have to rely upon experience and memorization about the cooking times for various foodstuffs. That’s bad for Americans who like to know everything about their food and good for Indians who are really good at memorizing stuff without questioning it. Also, there are certain foods that normally require long boiling times: legumes, beans, pulses, tough cuts of meat, homemade stock from bones, whole potatoes, and the like. Americans typically don’t eat those foods much, and when they do, they’re usually packaged or prepared by somebody else. Think, when was the last time you cooked dry beans, homemade beef broth or lamb shank from scratch? Didn’t think so. On the other hand, these are the kinds of foods that Indians eat on a daily basis (minus the beef broth).
Besides that reason, pressure cookers are in every Himachal kitchen for two more reasons. First is that most of the state is elevated, and using a pressure cooker means that food takes the same time to cook no matter the elevation. The other very good reason is that it’s much, much quicker. Less cooking time means less fuel used. Less waste is a good thing.
I admit that before coming here, I was a little wary of pressure cookers, but I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable with them. In fact, yesterday I used it in a completely new way for people around here to create a confection common to South America called dulce de leche. It’s a fantastic concoction made from caramelized milk, and using a pressure cooker to make it is also a really really cool science lesson (if learning while cooking is your idea of fun). Caramel tastes really good, but that’s just caramelized sucrose. Milk contains lactose, not sucrose, which caramelizes differently and tastes even better. The traditional way to make dulce de leche is to combine a lot of milk and sugar and cook it over low heat for 4 hours stirring constantly until it has reduced by three-quarters. I don’t know about you, but stirring for 4 hours while keeping the gas on isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.
Worry not, there’s a shortcut. Take a normal metal can of sweetened condensed milk, put it in a pressure cooker, cover it by at least an inch of water, and cook it for 40 minutes after the valve starts whistling. No, I’m not an idiot (Shammi looked at me like I was one when I showed him what I was doing). Yes, boiling a sealed canister normally is a really bad idea. Not this time. If you just put an unopened metal can over heat, it’ll explode. But by using a pressure cooker, the increased pressure created inside the can of condensed milk while it heats, which would normally cause it to blow up, is counteracted by the pressure created by the cooker. That’s why you have to cover it completely by water, so the force is evenly distributed all the way around the can.
Yes, I’m a nerd, get over it!
After the cooker is completely cooled, you can open it and take out the can. Don’t try to speed up the process by pouring water over it, and don’t even think about opening the can until it has completely cooled, because if you rush it, then the can will explode and you’ll be sorry. It’d be best to cook it at night, turn off the heat, and wait until morning to even touch the pot. Your patience will be rewarded with a delectable treat that you can use to fill a cake, spread over toast, pour over ice cream, whip into frosting or (my favorite) just eat off a spoon. All because you used a little bit of science and technology and bothered to learn about why something cooks instead of just how to cook it. Just wait, soon you’ll be as much of a nerd as I am.
In the food business, it is often said that if you want something, you can have it fast, good and cheap, but you can only pick two of those. With a pressure cooker, you can have all three.
I’m a nerd.
The problem is that most people, at least the people that I know from the states, don’t care about these things. They don’t think about how food cooks, as long as it cooks. Instead of learning a technique, they learn recipes. Recipes don’t teach you how to cook food; they teach you how to cook a single dish and nothing else. Unfortunately, that’s what Americans like. They are comfortable with cooking methods and ingredients that are familiar and easy to understand, as well as ingredients and recipes that are forgiving of inexperienced cooks. It is for these reasons why pressure cookers aren’t common in American kitchens.
A pressure cooker is basically a heavy pot with an airtight lid. Middle school science class dictates that the boiling point of water is not constant, and is affected by the pressure of the surrounding environment. If the pressure of a fluid being boiled increases, then the boiling point also increases. That’s because the water molecules that are becoming heated need to overcome more pressure to change into gas molecules and escape the pot. More energy is needed to do so, and thus, the boiling point is higher. If the pressure is lower (like when air pressure decreases with increased elevation), then less energy is needed to reach a boil, and the boiling point is therefore lower.
What does this mean for cooking? If you are boiling food to cook it in an elevated area like Palampur, then the temperature of the boiling water is actually less than 100 degrees Centigrade. That means the food will take longer to cook. Even if you are at sea level, food still takes awhile to cook by boiling. A pressure cooker speeds up cooking considerably, because the sealed container artificially increases the surrounding air pressure and increases the boiling point. It means that the water in the pressure cooker that’s being used to cook the food is much higher than 100 degrees centigrade. Higher temperature means faster cooking.
Really, a huge nerd.
If you’re worried about the whole pot exploding because of too much pressure, don’t. Any pressure cooker manufactured in the past 50 years, even in India, comes with a little valve on the top of the pot that releases a small amount of steam when the pressure increases to a certain point. As the steam is released, the pressure decreases a little, then increases again until it trips the valve and releases more steam. That way, the pressure that’s needed to blow up a heavy duty pot is never reached. That’s a good thing, because shards of hot metal exploding will really wreck your day, not to mention your wallpaper.
The problem is that they’re not ideal for precision cooking on the fly. You can’t see and observe the food as it’s being cooking, which means that you have to rely upon experience and memorization about the cooking times for various foodstuffs. That’s bad for Americans who like to know everything about their food and good for Indians who are really good at memorizing stuff without questioning it. Also, there are certain foods that normally require long boiling times: legumes, beans, pulses, tough cuts of meat, homemade stock from bones, whole potatoes, and the like. Americans typically don’t eat those foods much, and when they do, they’re usually packaged or prepared by somebody else. Think, when was the last time you cooked dry beans, homemade beef broth or lamb shank from scratch? Didn’t think so. On the other hand, these are the kinds of foods that Indians eat on a daily basis (minus the beef broth).
Besides that reason, pressure cookers are in every Himachal kitchen for two more reasons. First is that most of the state is elevated, and using a pressure cooker means that food takes the same time to cook no matter the elevation. The other very good reason is that it’s much, much quicker. Less cooking time means less fuel used. Less waste is a good thing.
I admit that before coming here, I was a little wary of pressure cookers, but I’ve gotten a bit more comfortable with them. In fact, yesterday I used it in a completely new way for people around here to create a confection common to South America called dulce de leche. It’s a fantastic concoction made from caramelized milk, and using a pressure cooker to make it is also a really really cool science lesson (if learning while cooking is your idea of fun). Caramel tastes really good, but that’s just caramelized sucrose. Milk contains lactose, not sucrose, which caramelizes differently and tastes even better. The traditional way to make dulce de leche is to combine a lot of milk and sugar and cook it over low heat for 4 hours stirring constantly until it has reduced by three-quarters. I don’t know about you, but stirring for 4 hours while keeping the gas on isn’t exactly my idea of a good time.
Worry not, there’s a shortcut. Take a normal metal can of sweetened condensed milk, put it in a pressure cooker, cover it by at least an inch of water, and cook it for 40 minutes after the valve starts whistling. No, I’m not an idiot (Shammi looked at me like I was one when I showed him what I was doing). Yes, boiling a sealed canister normally is a really bad idea. Not this time. If you just put an unopened metal can over heat, it’ll explode. But by using a pressure cooker, the increased pressure created inside the can of condensed milk while it heats, which would normally cause it to blow up, is counteracted by the pressure created by the cooker. That’s why you have to cover it completely by water, so the force is evenly distributed all the way around the can.
Yes, I’m a nerd, get over it!
After the cooker is completely cooled, you can open it and take out the can. Don’t try to speed up the process by pouring water over it, and don’t even think about opening the can until it has completely cooled, because if you rush it, then the can will explode and you’ll be sorry. It’d be best to cook it at night, turn off the heat, and wait until morning to even touch the pot. Your patience will be rewarded with a delectable treat that you can use to fill a cake, spread over toast, pour over ice cream, whip into frosting or (my favorite) just eat off a spoon. All because you used a little bit of science and technology and bothered to learn about why something cooks instead of just how to cook it. Just wait, soon you’ll be as much of a nerd as I am.
In the food business, it is often said that if you want something, you can have it fast, good and cheap, but you can only pick two of those. With a pressure cooker, you can have all three.
06 April 2010
Foodaholics Anonymous
The best cup of coffee I ever had was in Guatemala, where they grow coffee.
The best mango I ever had was also in Guatemala, where they grow mangos.
The best piece of cake I ever had was at a 300-year-old bakery in Budapest that once made pastries for the Hapsburg monarchy.
The three best seafood dishes I ever had were eaten in Zagreb, Croatia, overlooking the Adriatic, in which those aquatic creatures that I swallowed were probably residing that morning.
I have traveled an hour out of the way on the spur of the moment with a complete stranger just to seek out a local dessert that she told me about only one hour before.
I would rather work in an Italian pizza place for a day then visit the Coliseum.
And Alton Brown is my hero.
My name is Pat H, and I’m addicted to food. (Hi, Pat.)
It’s been really hard lately. The food here is so good and unique, and everybody is so willing to drop everything and feed me. It’s rare that I go a day without tasting something new and exotic that I’ve never had before. Plus I have so much opportunity to learn how to make the food myself. How can I resist my addiction when it’s just so easy to give in?
I fell off the wagon a little bit yesterday when Mr. Butail came to KLB to share some tea with Principal Ramdev and me. In case you aren’t familiar with the name, Mr. Butail and his family basically own Palampur. I have met him a few times before, but I had no idea that he and I shared the same affliction. This was made very clear to me when he pulled a small packet of fragrant leaves out of his pocket. Everybody’s eyes went wide. Kangra tea! The hard stuff! This is the tea that is for export only. It’s grown in the area, sure, but nobody ever manages to get their hands on the stuff. Mr. Butail obviously is well connected, but I had no idea that he was a fellow foodie.
Kangra tea is ranked as some of the best tea in the world. Literally. It competes on a world scale against teas from all over India and usually wins. Plus, there’s the price. It can be worth as much as 700-800 rupees (16 USD) per kilogram, if you manage to get your hands on some.
Anyway, Mr. Butail, Principal Ramdev, Akshay the architect, Mr. Rana the foreman and I sat down while somebody else prepared the goods. It really was like a bunch of junkies waiting for their smack. We were sitting around the table in the office, not talking much, and everybody kept looking at the door expecting it to come waltzing in at any moment. I’m pretty sure Akshay’s hands were shaking.
It was good. Really good. I’m not even a big tea drinker, but one sip of this converted me. So much complexity, so much flavor packed into a single cup. But really, it was the thought of the food that surpassed the taste. I was sitting there in a hill station in India, drinking one of the highest-rated teas in the world, only a few kilometers from where it was grown. Does it get any better than that? I think no. That’s how it always is with people like me. Guatemalan coffee and Hungarian cakes don’t necessarily taste better than their American counterparts, but the lore and legend of the food makes it truly delicious.
I think that Mr. Butail saw the affliction had a hold of me as much, if not more, than it had controlled him. That’s why the next day, he sent some Indian pancakes over to KLB, something that I had never before tried, for a extra breakfast. He even made two American-style pancakes, just for me. How awesome is that?
My friends, I’m here to tell you that these FA meetings need to stop. Don’t resist the urges anymore, it’s not an addiction. Give in to good food, and say no to McDonalds and packaged convenience food. After all, you only live once. Why waste it on bad food?
The best mango I ever had was also in Guatemala, where they grow mangos.
The best piece of cake I ever had was at a 300-year-old bakery in Budapest that once made pastries for the Hapsburg monarchy.
The three best seafood dishes I ever had were eaten in Zagreb, Croatia, overlooking the Adriatic, in which those aquatic creatures that I swallowed were probably residing that morning.
I have traveled an hour out of the way on the spur of the moment with a complete stranger just to seek out a local dessert that she told me about only one hour before.
I would rather work in an Italian pizza place for a day then visit the Coliseum.
And Alton Brown is my hero.
My name is Pat H, and I’m addicted to food. (Hi, Pat.)
It’s been really hard lately. The food here is so good and unique, and everybody is so willing to drop everything and feed me. It’s rare that I go a day without tasting something new and exotic that I’ve never had before. Plus I have so much opportunity to learn how to make the food myself. How can I resist my addiction when it’s just so easy to give in?
I fell off the wagon a little bit yesterday when Mr. Butail came to KLB to share some tea with Principal Ramdev and me. In case you aren’t familiar with the name, Mr. Butail and his family basically own Palampur. I have met him a few times before, but I had no idea that he and I shared the same affliction. This was made very clear to me when he pulled a small packet of fragrant leaves out of his pocket. Everybody’s eyes went wide. Kangra tea! The hard stuff! This is the tea that is for export only. It’s grown in the area, sure, but nobody ever manages to get their hands on the stuff. Mr. Butail obviously is well connected, but I had no idea that he was a fellow foodie.
Kangra tea is ranked as some of the best tea in the world. Literally. It competes on a world scale against teas from all over India and usually wins. Plus, there’s the price. It can be worth as much as 700-800 rupees (16 USD) per kilogram, if you manage to get your hands on some.
Anyway, Mr. Butail, Principal Ramdev, Akshay the architect, Mr. Rana the foreman and I sat down while somebody else prepared the goods. It really was like a bunch of junkies waiting for their smack. We were sitting around the table in the office, not talking much, and everybody kept looking at the door expecting it to come waltzing in at any moment. I’m pretty sure Akshay’s hands were shaking.
It was good. Really good. I’m not even a big tea drinker, but one sip of this converted me. So much complexity, so much flavor packed into a single cup. But really, it was the thought of the food that surpassed the taste. I was sitting there in a hill station in India, drinking one of the highest-rated teas in the world, only a few kilometers from where it was grown. Does it get any better than that? I think no. That’s how it always is with people like me. Guatemalan coffee and Hungarian cakes don’t necessarily taste better than their American counterparts, but the lore and legend of the food makes it truly delicious.
I think that Mr. Butail saw the affliction had a hold of me as much, if not more, than it had controlled him. That’s why the next day, he sent some Indian pancakes over to KLB, something that I had never before tried, for a extra breakfast. He even made two American-style pancakes, just for me. How awesome is that?
My friends, I’m here to tell you that these FA meetings need to stop. Don’t resist the urges anymore, it’s not an addiction. Give in to good food, and say no to McDonalds and packaged convenience food. After all, you only live once. Why waste it on bad food?
Affirmatively Active
Affirmative action is a hot topic in the states. Its effectiveness questionable, its motives controversial, its practice unstable… I fully admit to being completely detached from the political process even when I’m in the country, so I cannot speak intelligently about whether it’s a good idea or how it should be carried out. On the other hand, I can provide and Indian precedent that may shed some light on the subject.
Most people know that when India declared independence in 1947, the caste system that had dictated the inner workings of daily life was legally abolished. Legally, but certainly not in practice. A system of discrimination that has controlled the way a society has functioned for 5000 years doesn’t disappear overnight. Naturally, some prejudices and practices are left over from the caste system, affecting business, economics, politics, marriages, and virtually all other ways of life. One example of these leftovers is the people from disadvantaged castes that have a lot of catching up to do before they are on the same level as the average person. In India, these people are said to be from Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
Examples of this in action is that spaces in government-funded schools are reserved for SCST students and are only filled by other students if no SCST students are available to take those places. In government jobs, a certain percentage of positions must be filled by SCST employees. A certain portion of representatives in parliament must be from SCST.
Here’s the kicker: this has been going on for over 50 years, since India’s independence. That’s at least a generation, two in some cases. Originally, it was only supposed to be in effect for 10 years following independence. The problem is that in order for it to stop being in effect, it must be voted out by the democratic government. And if representatives in parliament ever did something as stupid as denying concessions for the majority of their constituents, their political popularity would be on the same scale as a Nazi candidate in Poland. I see two more reasons for why it has needed to continue, despite all evidence that it should be finished by now and everybody should be on the same level. One is that caste differences and discriminations are so ingrained in the social network of India that they can’t be removed. The other is that SCST advantages are pissing off everybody else, creating new bases for discrimination. Who’s the say that the some won’t happen with American affirmative action packages? In my mind, and shown by the experiences of the Indian attempt, affirmative action fixes the symptoms, not the problem.
Most people know that when India declared independence in 1947, the caste system that had dictated the inner workings of daily life was legally abolished. Legally, but certainly not in practice. A system of discrimination that has controlled the way a society has functioned for 5000 years doesn’t disappear overnight. Naturally, some prejudices and practices are left over from the caste system, affecting business, economics, politics, marriages, and virtually all other ways of life. One example of these leftovers is the people from disadvantaged castes that have a lot of catching up to do before they are on the same level as the average person. In India, these people are said to be from Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes.
Examples of this in action is that spaces in government-funded schools are reserved for SCST students and are only filled by other students if no SCST students are available to take those places. In government jobs, a certain percentage of positions must be filled by SCST employees. A certain portion of representatives in parliament must be from SCST.
Here’s the kicker: this has been going on for over 50 years, since India’s independence. That’s at least a generation, two in some cases. Originally, it was only supposed to be in effect for 10 years following independence. The problem is that in order for it to stop being in effect, it must be voted out by the democratic government. And if representatives in parliament ever did something as stupid as denying concessions for the majority of their constituents, their political popularity would be on the same scale as a Nazi candidate in Poland. I see two more reasons for why it has needed to continue, despite all evidence that it should be finished by now and everybody should be on the same level. One is that caste differences and discriminations are so ingrained in the social network of India that they can’t be removed. The other is that SCST advantages are pissing off everybody else, creating new bases for discrimination. Who’s the say that the some won’t happen with American affirmative action packages? In my mind, and shown by the experiences of the Indian attempt, affirmative action fixes the symptoms, not the problem.
05 April 2010
Working Inside the Box...
…but thinking outside of it. That’s the trick to being successful in my situation. Hell, any endeavor that anybody attempts must follow this kind of logic, but it especially holds sway when one tries to help people, and it is even more relevant when working in India.
It can be applied to trying to cook in India. I’ve had to use local ingredients and a limited amount of exotic additions, like cocoa and peanut butter. They’re available, sure, but nobody here really uses them. It doesn’t matter if they’re delicious or nutritious, because if it’s not something that you’re used to, then there’s no good in shoving it down their throats. I’ve tried to amend recipes to use as many of the ingredients common to Indian kitchens as I possibly can, even if a better alternative exists locally. I just want to make it easier on myself and on others here.
The same is true with any nutritional advice that I give. The girls in the hostel need more protein, good fats and iron, and almonds are a good source of all three, but they won’t eat them. I found that out when I suggested making them available at tea time for the hostel, but it was quickly nixed. Everybody around here avoids dried fruits and nuts (which are also called dried fruits, interestingly enough) like the plague, because they think they make you fat in any amount. Another case of lack of education, but I can’t really change their likes and dislikes. I have to make other suggestions that work with their current diets and lifestyles.
So when Shammi, my cook, asked me at dinner today if he could exercise with me because he wants to get skinny, I was prepared. I’ve been here long enough to know about Himachal lifestyle (specifically his lifestyle) to know what adjustments I can make to it for health reasons. I advised him that since he’s older than 35, he should avoid resistance or weight training and stick to cardio. The best cardio for people his age around here? Walking, of course. The hills are great, there are a lot of places to go, and it’s not too taxing on the body. It’s something everybody could to.
The other part of losing weight is diet, and I don’t want to tell him to start eating salads and fruits exclusively, but there are some ways that I’ve been thinking about to slightly tweak the average Indian diet to make it healthier. The staple food for every meal is some form of roti or rice, which are very high in carbs and low in vitamins. They’re complex carbs that are very good for you, sure, but for many people around here, they make up more than the 55-75% of their diet recommended by the WHO. It’s used to scoop up much smaller amounts of flavorful dals or vegetables. Therefore, a good way to adjust the diet is to recommend people to eat fewer rotis and more vegetables and dals. It’ll result in people eating less calories overall, and it shifts the percentage of their diet devoted to heavy, empty carbs over to richer, denser fats and proteins. It’s a start, and it’ll definitely be a slow change for Shammi, but I don’t think it’ll be one that’s very difficult to do. After all, he’s eating all of the same foods; he’s just eating them differently.
Of course, it’s important to cook the foods in a healthy way. I’ve got to start showing him, and others in India, that you don’t need a tablespoon of oil to cook two eggs. It’s a bit overkill. I don’t care if they come out of the pan all pretty because they don’t stick. They should just taste good and be healthy for you.
The good news is that overall, the Indian diet is so ridiculous healthy to begin with, that big changes are unnecessary. It’s the little things that count, like increasing iron and decreasing portion sizes. People just have to know about their food and make a conscious choice to eat healthier. I’m a firm believer in the saying, “There are no bad foods, only bad eating.”
But I also like this one: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” Excuse me, but I have to go eat my third pancake.
It can be applied to trying to cook in India. I’ve had to use local ingredients and a limited amount of exotic additions, like cocoa and peanut butter. They’re available, sure, but nobody here really uses them. It doesn’t matter if they’re delicious or nutritious, because if it’s not something that you’re used to, then there’s no good in shoving it down their throats. I’ve tried to amend recipes to use as many of the ingredients common to Indian kitchens as I possibly can, even if a better alternative exists locally. I just want to make it easier on myself and on others here.
The same is true with any nutritional advice that I give. The girls in the hostel need more protein, good fats and iron, and almonds are a good source of all three, but they won’t eat them. I found that out when I suggested making them available at tea time for the hostel, but it was quickly nixed. Everybody around here avoids dried fruits and nuts (which are also called dried fruits, interestingly enough) like the plague, because they think they make you fat in any amount. Another case of lack of education, but I can’t really change their likes and dislikes. I have to make other suggestions that work with their current diets and lifestyles.
So when Shammi, my cook, asked me at dinner today if he could exercise with me because he wants to get skinny, I was prepared. I’ve been here long enough to know about Himachal lifestyle (specifically his lifestyle) to know what adjustments I can make to it for health reasons. I advised him that since he’s older than 35, he should avoid resistance or weight training and stick to cardio. The best cardio for people his age around here? Walking, of course. The hills are great, there are a lot of places to go, and it’s not too taxing on the body. It’s something everybody could to.
The other part of losing weight is diet, and I don’t want to tell him to start eating salads and fruits exclusively, but there are some ways that I’ve been thinking about to slightly tweak the average Indian diet to make it healthier. The staple food for every meal is some form of roti or rice, which are very high in carbs and low in vitamins. They’re complex carbs that are very good for you, sure, but for many people around here, they make up more than the 55-75% of their diet recommended by the WHO. It’s used to scoop up much smaller amounts of flavorful dals or vegetables. Therefore, a good way to adjust the diet is to recommend people to eat fewer rotis and more vegetables and dals. It’ll result in people eating less calories overall, and it shifts the percentage of their diet devoted to heavy, empty carbs over to richer, denser fats and proteins. It’s a start, and it’ll definitely be a slow change for Shammi, but I don’t think it’ll be one that’s very difficult to do. After all, he’s eating all of the same foods; he’s just eating them differently.
Of course, it’s important to cook the foods in a healthy way. I’ve got to start showing him, and others in India, that you don’t need a tablespoon of oil to cook two eggs. It’s a bit overkill. I don’t care if they come out of the pan all pretty because they don’t stick. They should just taste good and be healthy for you.
The good news is that overall, the Indian diet is so ridiculous healthy to begin with, that big changes are unnecessary. It’s the little things that count, like increasing iron and decreasing portion sizes. People just have to know about their food and make a conscious choice to eat healthier. I’m a firm believer in the saying, “There are no bad foods, only bad eating.”
But I also like this one: “Everything in moderation, including moderation.” Excuse me, but I have to go eat my third pancake.
02 April 2010
Writing Review
My time here is supposed to get me the equivalent of 12 credits back at MSU. In order to do that, I have to write some kind of paper or mini-thesis on a topic of my choice about what I’ve learned and experienced. It has to be academic in nature, so I can’t just spend 10 pages writing about the funny times that I’ve had. Rather, I have to take all of the stories about the funny times that I’ve had and apply them to something about culture that they’ve taught me. I’m a cultural student, anyway.
The plan is to take my nutritional work and studies about food and apply them to what they’ve taught me about food culture. Ideally, whatever I’ve learned from focusing on food in North India will tell me something about North Indian culture as a whole, or at least the culture of Himachal Pradesh. To do that, I will be spending the next couple of weeks going over all of the stuff that I’ve written for this blog and picking out several main cultural themes that stand out. These stories that I’ve written for almost 3 months now really do offer a special insight into culture and society, not necessarily pertaining to just food studies.
I’ve started today with a sort of outline, and began to go through all of my blog posts, when I realized something. I write a lot. Way more than I used to be comfortable with writing. This is the 69th post that I’ve written for this blog. If you want to talk about length, each one is at least half a page (single spaced), most are a page, and some go on for two or three pages. If you want to talk about time, I write at least every day. If you want to talk about ease, most of the time the words seem to just flow from my fingertips. If you want to talk about enjoyment, I love doing it. Why else would I be writing every day? I certainly don’t have to.
As recently as last semester, I dreaded writing. Couldn’t stand it. Every time I finished a paper, I did it with the thought that I was just scratching one more detestable chore off my list. So what’s the difference now? Well, it’s obvious. Writing comes much easier when you actually care about your subject matter. I write because there’s interesting things happening to me that I want to record as I experience them. Furthermore, I care about it now. It’s something to do that I enjoy, so I look forward to going home and spending some time with the paper clip guy from Microsoft Word.
It’s just difficult to have to go through 68 blog posts to find common cultural themes that I can write about. Yet I don’t foresee too much difficulty in that area. When it comes down to it, I can’t wait to start putting everything I experienced and learned onto one or two (or ten) pages, because when I do that, I know that I will have accomplished something. Even if I didn’t analyze the diet of everybody in Palampur, even if I didn’t open up an American bakery in the area, even if I didn’t get everybody to start eating right, I learned something. Actually, I learned a lot.
This paper is the first one of my academic career that I can’t wait to write, because it’s something real that I know and have experienced. Thesis: Analysis of nutrition for a particular area can help one learn more about the culture as a whole in that area. Do I believe that this is true? No question about it. If you want proof, just take a look at me. I learned a hell of a lot in such a short time just by focusing on food and nutrition, and it certainly taught about more than just culture.
But can I turn that into a good argument for an academic paper? Um… give me a couple of weeks.
The plan is to take my nutritional work and studies about food and apply them to what they’ve taught me about food culture. Ideally, whatever I’ve learned from focusing on food in North India will tell me something about North Indian culture as a whole, or at least the culture of Himachal Pradesh. To do that, I will be spending the next couple of weeks going over all of the stuff that I’ve written for this blog and picking out several main cultural themes that stand out. These stories that I’ve written for almost 3 months now really do offer a special insight into culture and society, not necessarily pertaining to just food studies.
I’ve started today with a sort of outline, and began to go through all of my blog posts, when I realized something. I write a lot. Way more than I used to be comfortable with writing. This is the 69th post that I’ve written for this blog. If you want to talk about length, each one is at least half a page (single spaced), most are a page, and some go on for two or three pages. If you want to talk about time, I write at least every day. If you want to talk about ease, most of the time the words seem to just flow from my fingertips. If you want to talk about enjoyment, I love doing it. Why else would I be writing every day? I certainly don’t have to.
As recently as last semester, I dreaded writing. Couldn’t stand it. Every time I finished a paper, I did it with the thought that I was just scratching one more detestable chore off my list. So what’s the difference now? Well, it’s obvious. Writing comes much easier when you actually care about your subject matter. I write because there’s interesting things happening to me that I want to record as I experience them. Furthermore, I care about it now. It’s something to do that I enjoy, so I look forward to going home and spending some time with the paper clip guy from Microsoft Word.
It’s just difficult to have to go through 68 blog posts to find common cultural themes that I can write about. Yet I don’t foresee too much difficulty in that area. When it comes down to it, I can’t wait to start putting everything I experienced and learned onto one or two (or ten) pages, because when I do that, I know that I will have accomplished something. Even if I didn’t analyze the diet of everybody in Palampur, even if I didn’t open up an American bakery in the area, even if I didn’t get everybody to start eating right, I learned something. Actually, I learned a lot.
This paper is the first one of my academic career that I can’t wait to write, because it’s something real that I know and have experienced. Thesis: Analysis of nutrition for a particular area can help one learn more about the culture as a whole in that area. Do I believe that this is true? No question about it. If you want proof, just take a look at me. I learned a hell of a lot in such a short time just by focusing on food and nutrition, and it certainly taught about more than just culture.
But can I turn that into a good argument for an academic paper? Um… give me a couple of weeks.
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