am I settled in?

a lovely and domestic Sunday

The past few days there is a part of me that has just been feeling off and I haven't been able to put my finger on if it's physical or emotional. I've just been tired and sort of in a general haze, not feeling really social or out-going in a lot of ways. After church today, I went out in search of momos for my roommate Alyssa and I. I have to admit I was so suprised at how much I enjoyed walking around the market on my own. I know my way around now, I am oriented to my new neighborhood: Malviya Nagar. 

I have my veg wallas, a sweet younger guy with great english and an older man who is more the strong silent type,  and my fruit wallas, two hilarious brothers who just never quit. It's so encouraging to walk around assuredly, and be greeted personally by people who know me. I have a sneaking suspicion that those two fruit slinging brothers are charging me a slight white tax, but I almost don't care. They greet me and shake my hand even when I don't want to buy anything that day. And they always make me laugh. 

these are momos
they are steamed nepalese potstickers
filled with veggies or chicken
a plate of 6-10 is usually 25-30 rs. (< $1)

None of the momo wallas were out yet, I suppose it was too early. So, I went to my next favorite and slightly less healthy samosa man. I even felt so encouraged when I tried to ask him to heat our samosas several times in english and when I was about to give up I remembered something from my last train ride. Men walking through the cars calling, 'tomato soup, garam-garam! Garam-garam, soup, tomato soup!' And so I asked him 'garam?' and he tossed the samosas on the heat. My spirit silently lifted until I felt like I wasn't standing on the uneven pavement beneath my feet. 

I was so encouraged, in fact, that I felt motivated to cook. I was settling in, afterall, isn't cooking the next step in domesticity? For those of you who know me well, or especially have lived with me, you know I'm a Lean Cuisine kind of gal for monetary reasons, time constraints and just general convenience. I have always told myself that the frozen dinners are the product of a hectic schedule and full course load. But the truth is, I've been out of school for months and I can count the number of completely home made meals on one hand.

Today, I decided to rise to the challenge. Since I arrived at this decision mid-market, I went to the veg stand not really knowing what ingredients I would need. So I just got a few basics - I have been totally craving stuffed roasted tomatoes (alla Bent Tree Country Club), so I got 1/2 kg of tomatoes with that in mind. 

I looked at a few recipes using the ingredients I had and nothing really fit what I had in mind like Roga makes at the club. So I decided to invent. You may ask, with all the recipe sites and pinterest and all the tasty things out there, why would I just try to make something up? That is a good question and one I asked myself several times throughout the preparation. 

The first step is just cleaning the vegetables that you buy at market. And when I say clean them, I mean soak them in poison. Just a smidge.

just one crystal is enough for a lot of veggies

it turns the water purple and then you soak

After you soak the veggies in the poison, you rinse them in a bowl of filtered water. On our project trip to Ongole, our veggies were just rinsed in filtered water, no poison and I think that's probably just fine, too, especially if you are cooking at high heat. I guess the biggest gamble I'm ready to take so far is brushing my teeth with tap water. I'll get there. 

I must say, they look clean

I ended up having to scrub each of the little potatoes by hand to get dirt clots off of them. That was only a slight bummer.

tomatoes halved, seeds removed

cheese grated

I'm not really sure what kind of cheese this is. Cheese is different in India. It's more like velveeta. It tastes sort of like cheese, but different. So after I grated it, it became clear that there would be no 'sprinkling' action... just melting and mushing... so I put it in the freezer for a little while. I wasn't sure if that would help matters at all. Cooking in India is certainly not a science. At least night to a white person.

Just in case the shredded cheese didn't quite melt down into the tomato the way I wanted it to (a total likelihood) I just put some chunks in there for good measure. I also put a tiny dollop of pesto on each tomato half. Christine and I found this deeelicious, but relatively expensive pesto at our favorite pukkah (proper) grocery store, Daily Needs.

I boiled some potatoes to add into the mix...

And then just started adding garlic to things generously - because everything's better with more garlic, right? And who will I be kissing until at least after Christmas, right? Also, I just think that even the garlic is more beautiful in India somehow. 

before going into the oven...

 The other thing that' sort of different is that we have a stand-alone oven box that sits on top of our refrigerator. The heat is in degrees C. Very important detail. 

final product

So, in the end, it took me a long time and it was a simple meal - nothing fancy and certainly not of the local flavor. But I shopped, I did dishes all by hand, I was challenged, I made something from scratch and I spent some time quietly seeking the Lord today at church, in the market and in the kitchen. Really, if I could make one thing every day and spend at least one hour in mostly quiet reflection in God's presence, that would be the tops. I'm certain for me that's enough. 

If you are interested in a blog that has the most delicious recipes (real tried-and-true recipes from people who know what they are doing) you should check out my friends The Cochrans' blog! Someday, I'll get there! :)

http://thecochranlife.blogspot.in/

I am super thankful for the blessing of a rejuvenated spirit today and excited to start this week, ready for it's challenges! In the next few days I will be posting about my project trip to Ongole, Andhra Pradesh (the reason I'm here in the first place!)

Huge thanks to everyone for updates, emails, cards, packages - every way in which you are making the distance between here and home shorter. God has shown me in this time away how important my friends and family are to me and how blessed I am that you all love me so well. It's humbling!!

¹⁸ God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. ¹⁹ We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, ²⁰ where our forerunner, Jesus, has entered on our behalf.

Hebrews 6:18-20