Cooking in an Indian Kitchen

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Looking back from India, it’s amazing the kinds of things we (Americans, Europeans, others) take for granted each time we’re in the kitchen. I had one of those moments the other day when I was roasting peppers. The peppers had steeped in a bag and their scalding skins were ready to be peeled off. However, I was unable to do my usual trick of running them under cold water while I peeled them because I was could not be sure that my sink water was safe enough to ingest.

That has been the conundrum each time I want to cook. Vegetables must be soaked in a solution of distilled water and bleach and/or vegetable wash for 20 minutes, then rinsed, before they are ready to eat. I eat salad here, but it’s not as ubiquitous at my dinner table as it was in the States. If I want to cook pasta (which is often), I have to hope that there’s enough water in the distiller to fill up my pot. Of course, the boiling process probably kills the bacteria, but you never know. I’d rather do the extra step then end up bedridden for a week. It’s not that big of a deal – the hardest part is remembering.

I’m in a fairly nice neighborhood, and I still have to worry about bacteria in my water. Now imagine the sort of water the other 999,100,000 people in India, as well as millions more around the world, have to live with. Most aren’t even lucky enough to have a tap.

My two cents.

2 Comments

  1. Hey,

    A travel writer shld. be courageous and brave enough to try out stuff before forming an Opinion about anything. So am kind of disapponited by the Blog. Was really looking forward to a more adventurous article instead. Also am actually surprised that you have been to all the Houses in India and Visited all those other 999,999,000 People in India. You might wonder at the discrepancies in #’s specified by you and me, so just so you know am sure by the time you wrote the blog and me replying Population would have surely increased ;). Hmm Seems U r always gonna have 2 cents and never a Perfect $ 😉 until and unless you go all out to the Mattress.

    My Perfect $ ;). lol

    Rgds,

    Nayan.

    PS: 2 cent’s ain’t worth anything in India.. Try giving it to a begger even he might not except it.

  2. Tja…no, I haven’t been to the other 900 lakh + houses in India, but I have seen some miserable conditions. The post was more to show Americans what they’ve got to be thankful for, not to slag India.

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