The entire eating experience is different here. Eating is a shared
experience or I should say, eating is a sharing experience. Any food on
the table is available to anyone. I assume there is a little more to it
than that. For example, I doubt if a stranger or an outsider can just take food off
another person's plate but for the most part, if you are sitting at the
table and there is food, you can have some. No one offers and no one
asks permission, it is quite a sight to see for a possessive person like
me.
I try to imagine what my reaction would be if someone reached across the table and took food off my plate even if it was my wife. I would not begrudge her the food but I would be taken aback. I would react the same even if it were my children. I would offer my food to them, they might ask me for something, especially in a restaurant where each person may be eating something different. I give food to food banks. I buy extra food for the children to take for food drives at their schools but for someone to take food off my plate? That is primal!
Here in India, my tablemates offer me food. I am interested in learning more about the food but I always must create a decision matrix on how to accept; how little can I accept and not offend in case I do not like it?; do I have a clean utensil?; how was the food prepared?; and finally how spicy is it likely to be? (If they say 'not spicy' then it is spicy, if they say 'spicy' then it is very spicy and if they say 'very spicy' then I don't even bother).
Oh, did I forget to mention, Indians eat with their
fingers, everything but soup. Utensils are available but the bulk of
people eat with their right hand. Usually, but not always, they will
tear up a piece of flatbread (naan or roti or paratha) and pinch some
food into it and eat it. Other times they will just pick it up with
their fingers even though, as I have said before, most food is served as
a puree or in a sauce. Now, for a moment, try to imagine the melee of 6
or 7 people at a table eating different foods from 4 or 5 plates with
maybe an eighth person circling the table picking from all the plates and all of them eating with their fingers. I
can only hope they know this eighth person which is not always obvious.
I have found that I can take two dishes that I do not like and mix them together to create and uniquely edible choice. For example, there is a plain yoghurt-like product called Dahi, by itself it is sour and very uninteresting, then there is another product called Misty Doi, which is a custard-like yoghurt with the super sweetness of flan, too sweet for me. Mixed together, however, it is a near perfect balance of tart and sweet. Another combination I have found is Dal, which is mashed lentil with a ridiculous amount of spice added which makes it inedible to me and plain white rice which I also do not like because it is ....well....plain. I take a large amount of rice, add a small amount of Dal and I get a nicely spiced rice dish.
Just nod if you can hear me.
I try to imagine what my reaction would be if someone reached across the table and took food off my plate even if it was my wife. I would not begrudge her the food but I would be taken aback. I would react the same even if it were my children. I would offer my food to them, they might ask me for something, especially in a restaurant where each person may be eating something different. I give food to food banks. I buy extra food for the children to take for food drives at their schools but for someone to take food off my plate? That is primal!
Here in India, my tablemates offer me food. I am interested in learning more about the food but I always must create a decision matrix on how to accept; how little can I accept and not offend in case I do not like it?; do I have a clean utensil?; how was the food prepared?; and finally how spicy is it likely to be? (If they say 'not spicy' then it is spicy, if they say 'spicy' then it is very spicy and if they say 'very spicy' then I don't even bother).
Oh, did I forget to mention, Indians eat with their
fingers, everything but soup. Utensils are available but the bulk of
people eat with their right hand. Usually, but not always, they will
tear up a piece of flatbread (naan or roti or paratha) and pinch some
food into it and eat it. Other times they will just pick it up with
their fingers even though, as I have said before, most food is served as
a puree or in a sauce. Now, for a moment, try to imagine the melee of 6
or 7 people at a table eating different foods from 4 or 5 plates with
maybe an eighth person circling the table picking from all the plates and all of them eating with their fingers. I
can only hope they know this eighth person which is not always obvious.I have found that I can take two dishes that I do not like and mix them together to create and uniquely edible choice. For example, there is a plain yoghurt-like product called Dahi, by itself it is sour and very uninteresting, then there is another product called Misty Doi, which is a custard-like yoghurt with the super sweetness of flan, too sweet for me. Mixed together, however, it is a near perfect balance of tart and sweet. Another combination I have found is Dal, which is mashed lentil with a ridiculous amount of spice added which makes it inedible to me and plain white rice which I also do not like because it is ....well....plain. I take a large amount of rice, add a small amount of Dal and I get a nicely spiced rice dish.
Just nod if you can hear me.
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