Our cafeteria & "Veg, Non-Veg"

we are lucky enough to have a very cheap cafeteria right here on campus that serves all indian food. there is also an inexpensive cafe next to it that also serves mostly indian food, but some western style dishes, so it is nice to hit up occasionally.

we have been told by some locals that food in the cafeteria is overall a little heavier (oily) than household cooking, but for the most part shirley and i have enjoyed it. it does become a little monotonous b/c they cook everything into a stew/soup form. we don't get many dry or individual ingredient dishes. for example, you won't see steamed cauliflower, rather you'll see cauliflower cooked into a sauce with curry and other spices.

the cafeteria food isn't too spicy (we went to a restaurant the other night called 'addiction' and that kicked everyone's asses - including the indians). aside from the main courses, there are always two side dishes: yogurt (a.k.a. curd) and the veggie tray. indians love yogurt and it serves a purpose other than as a dairy delivery device - it's used to dampen the spicyness of the dishes. the veggie tray is the exact same everyday: sliced cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes, and beets. we grab something from this tray with every meal because it's the only non stewed dish we have! occasionally, there is a godsend fruit tray and a soup option.

if you haven't already noticed, these are all veggie dishes. those of us who want a little meat have to venture over to the quarantined zone. you may think i'm being my regular sarcastic self, but i'm not kidding. the meat is kept in it's own oven far away from the rest of the food and to get some you have to sign in another ledger.

the general way to eat here is to take your naan or roti (roti is an everyday type of homemade bread - more common than naan), scoop up some rice and eat it together with one of the main dishes. the locals all use small bowls to put the different entrees into. i always end up putting everything on one plate which probably looks funny, but it's what i'm used to.

Onto "Veg" and "Non-Veg."

i always knew indian food had less meat in it and that indians didn't eat beef, but i didn't realize how vegetarian they were. Here, there isn't regular food and vegetarian food. Instead, there is regular food - i.e. vegetarian - and non-veg. if you go to a nice restaurant they will have a selection of meat, but the average restaruant has very little meat, if any at all. the two meats we see frequently are chicken and lamb (mutton). there's no beef and we haven't seen pork either, due to the muslim influence in Hyderabad. so, i haven't been able to enjoy a double bacon cheeseburger or a tenderloin wrapped in bacon served on a porkchop with ham bits sprinked all over.