Ido Fishman Visits India
Ido Fishman says that there has always been something special about visiting the culturally rich country, India. It has amazing landscapes and mystical interiors spanning over all across India. But that’s not all. There are many reasons why entrepreneurs like Ido Fishman prefer to go to India for vacations. Of course there is some magnetic field which pulls people towards it and once you are there then the journey is of lifetime experience.
India is located in the heart of South Asia and after China, it is the second populous country of the world and the seventh largest country of the world in terms of its land area. The culture of the country is almost five thousand years old and has religious diversity. There are at least 780 different languages spoken in India.
Culturally and culinary rich
However, apart from its heritage and culture, India is also very popular for its cuisines, says Ido Fishman. According to Ido Fishman on his expedition to India he had come across a wide range of traditional as well as regional cuisines. There are a plenty of variety in cuisines which are made with the locally grown vegetables, herbs, spices and fruits.
Faithful influence in food
According to Ido Fishman, interestingly the Indian cuisine is greatly influenced by Their belief, where still a huge majority of Indians do not take meat, eggs etc. in their diet but mostly rely on food made up of vegetables. However, with modernization on the horizon all across India, Ido Fishman got to spare time with the young lot, who didn’t mind eating chicken or meat. However, being an Indian, eating beef is totally impermissible.
Ido Fishman tells us that the heritage of the country is secured in the best way possible which attracts huge tourists from all around the world. But nothing can beat the popularity of Agra’s Taj Mahal which is in fact a treat to watch with your own eyes, says Ido Fishman.
Khajuraho – A place of wonders and outclass cusine
Well, to cut the story short, Ido tells-tale of his journey to Khajuraho – a mystical site based in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The place is hugely admired amongst the visitors and tourists because it provides them to glance some of the world’s most erotic sculptures which can be found in the temples located within Khajuraho. But there is a plenty of great places where one can find the best available Indian cuisine and if anyone is wondering to make his or her next trip to India, one can use this travel and food guide making the trip remarkable.
Ido Fishman reprises his memories of visiting the famous restaurant in Khajurao which is famous within and outside the town called Raja’s Caf. The fact that the restaurant is purely Indian and hosts Indian regional and traditional food, however, it was started by two sisters in 1978 who were from Europe. But we don’t need to go into historical events how Raja Caf was established. The main thing to note is that the restaurant offers phenomenal food blended with Indian culture and heritage.
Also Read:Chef Ido Fishman Explains How to Make the Perfect and Most Tasty Zero Sugar Cake
The essence of Immunity Boosting Food
According to Ido Fishman he was very lucky to be in the restaurant because at that time restaurant was hosting a menu of foods which were “Immunity Booster”. Immunity has been one of the long-standing dilemma for our generation and if you can gain immunity in the shape of healthy as well as tasty food, then who would not want to try it.
When you are in a country unknown to you and you are there for tourism, then you would obviously not want to get ill. In order to keep my immune system in health, Fishman started to look into the menu. Due to weather change, Fishman was feeling he was going to catch a cold. So he ordered “Chickpeas and tomato salad” as side dish. Overall this salad is enriched with fiber, little bit of protein and healthy fats. It also contains Vitamin C and has a huge quantity of Zinc.
Mouthwatering vegetables
According to Fishman, he found that taste of freshly vegetables very different from those that are available in Europe and other parts of the world. They were much greener, tomatoes were reddish and chickpeas were carefully boiled. It also contains high quantity of antioxidant properties which can prevent cancer.
No doubt that though antioxidants are good for health and body, similarly healthy fats combined with a little bit of protein makes your food delicious and gives your provide the much needed essentials. Both are great source of keeping your eyesight in good condition as well as boost your immunity.
Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa
After finishing his side meal, Fishman then ordered “Grilled Chicken with Mango Salsa”. He describes the dish as mother of all chicken recipes. He shares his experience that he never tasted much refreshing chicken food anywhere. Mangoes were juicy and were adding sweet rendition in the dish.
Mushroom Barbecue
For the dinner, Ido Fishman thought to try another restaurant called Raj Malhaar which was natively quite famous for hosting most of the tourist. When night came Fishman entered the restaurant he found various salads, soups, exotic fruits, smoothies and much more on the menu. All looked delicious but one need to have big stomach to stack all. However for Ido Fishman the stand-out side dish was Mushroom Barbecue. Tiny bits of mushrooms, delicately barbecued were amazingly chewy and juicy and above all the small touch of spices and dipped in turmeric sauce could not be described in words.
Bhindi Paneer
Once he finished his side dish he went on to try main meal for which he a native dish “Bhindi Paneer”. It is a quite famous dish in India as in whatever restaurant a visitor goes in, he will find this there. Bhindi is a Hindi word for the vegetable Lady’s Finger and Paneer is the Hindi word for Cheese. Once being aware of what is actually the dish, Fishman then ordered the dish.
While the dish was enriched with blend of flavours yet the most noticeable flavours were of ginger and turmeric but nothing seemed to be overpowering the taste. In fact the quantity of these natural herbs was amazingly well balanced and cooked not too much which kept the natural taste of these herbs intact. The day one ended on a high note and as Ido Fishman says, he found the food overwhelmingly delicious and upto his taste and standard.
Mushroom Masala
He still had one day left in the town so while he was still in Raj Malhaar he thought to enquire from the people. Ido Fishman was told by the local townsfolk he should try “Mushroom Masala” which was the famous food recipe served by restaurant named “Aditya’s Caf” which looked very famous amongst the local townsman.
The next day, after visiting several exotic temples and sightseeing, Ido Fishman went into the restaurant which was heavily crowded with many of the local people as well as with few of foreigners. As suggested without looking into the menu, he ordered “Mushroom Masala”. The mushrooms were cut in slices and were covered in yellow curry, and mixed well in the curry. The curry was of course made up of desi (organic) cheese. The taste was out of the world said Fishman.
Mushroom Masala is usually served with Naan (Indian bread) with spread of desi-butter on the Naan, but that’s optional. If you are a visitor there is no harm in trying the Indian Mushroom Masala instead of regretting afterwards.
Ido Fishman decided to continue his Indian native cuisine tasting for dinner time.
The famous Butter Chicken
In the night Ido Fishman went to a desi-dhaba (small restaurant) in Khajuraho and ordered natively famous The Butter Chicken. When the dish was served, Ido Fishman explains that it was perfectly orange in color, with a dash of cream spread on the top. He says the taste of freshly churned butter cooked in desi-ghee (non-processed ghee) was enough to get spine’s tingling.
The consistency of the curry was perfect and was nothing close to the processed butter chicken like we find back at home. Eating this butter chicken made me realized, I never had the chance to taste butter chicken as it should be made.
Grilled Chicken Wishbone
He then left Khajuraho and kept the food experience in his mind. On his way back at lunch time he decided to visit Hotel Jhankar. The restaurant was famous for serving “Grilled Chicken Wishbone” as its specialty. The restaurant was located in a downtown and has a bar on its first floor which was overpopulated. Grilled Chicken Wishbone was served with stuffed spinach which amazingly created a sharp taste of food and was worth dying for.
While Ido Fishman keeps his Indian journey on, he came across various other restaurants such as Bundeli Utsav. The natives there were still living in their old cultural habitats which for a guy from Europe was an experience of lifetime. He also got a chance to glance at some of the famous native games such as wrestling and kabaddi. Most of the foods were easy to buy and were in cheap prices. The food was mostly showcased and once you give them a try you will found the native taste in it which does not involve fancy recipes or processing.
Oats Smoothie
The next day when Ido Fishman was leaving for visiting Taj Mahal in Agra, one of the wonders of the world, he came across a hotel called Crowne Plaza. Again for his surprise, the restaurant was hosting Immunity Booster diets and foods. But this was not the time to have proper meal as Fishman was travelling. So he decided to visit in-hotel restaurant called Edesia. There were plenty of smoothies, salads, tea, soups and etc. There were also various foods available in the restaurant which were mostly of Indian origin – traditional foods as well as oriental and Italian.
Ido Fishman describes that he wanted to quickly recharge his energy and nothing is better than for smoothies. He thought he should give a try to Oats Smoothie. He actually never heard if there ever existed Oats Smoothie until he found one in India. Noticeable there were not “oats only in the smoothie. It was a mixture of various other items such as sapota, banana, apple and papaya. He could understand that the citrus fruits were intentionally avoided because if you will blend them with these fruits, your smoothie will not remain thick. It will become more like watery which cannot be called “smoothie” by any means.
Fishman found that the oats were delicately added – not too much and not too less. There was no sweetener used in the smoothie.
A few honorable mentions
Fishman also describes few honorable mentions which includes local street foods such as Samosa, Idli, Dosa, Chana Chaat and many others which he found many people to try mostly as junk food while they were wandering here and there. Yet they were quite popular amongst locals, especially in kids.
But what Fishman will never forget, is his experience in the most populous city of India, Bombay. The city is one of the most modernized metropolitan in India. He got the chance to try extra rich traditional food in Bombay where the food was made on the vessels of clay. Banana tree leaves were used to make utensils. Yet the food reminded Fishman of Mexico, because in Mexico they eat too much chilies and the same sharpness was glaringly evident in foods in Bombay.
Shraadha – A traditional food
One famous dish Fishman tried was shraadha which is taken as food mostly by Indian families and represented the culinary history of the country. Made up of cauliflower, peas, potatoes, carrots and tomatoes gave a blended experience of food.
End Thoughts
In the end, Fishman describes that he had a lifetime experience of tourism and foodism in India which he will never forget. While we eat daily but visiting another country and tasting their local and traditional food allows you to have a wonderful time in the country. He accredited the chefs and cooks of India for keeping alive their traditions and assisting the country in preserving its culinary history.