Indian Delicacies

Walking around Ancestral Goa I came across a lady selling snacks at a little stand.  She had two baskets filled with what looked like candy.  I asked her about the two treats for sale.

Yummy treats for sale.

She explained that "Sweet Amla" were Indian gooseberries, and "Tamarind Toffees" were simply "sweet and sour".  They sounded interesting so I couldn't resist trying both.  I paid her 30 rupees (around 75 cents) and took a package of each.  The amla were just like giant, gooey raisins.  Sticky and sweet, I enjoyed munching on them.  Sweet amla has been soaked in sugar a long time to give the amla a pleasant taste as usually it is too bitter to eat.

The tamarind toffees were interesting in a weird way.  They tasted fine, they were kind of sweet and kind of sour just like I was promised.  What I had trouble with was their texture.  They were just a big, black, gooey mess of tamarind pulp and when you put them in your mouth there were little twigs and fibres that got caught on your tongue, so I didn't really enjoy eating those.

As well as enjoying sweets, I have also had wonderful dinners in India.  One night I ordered a South Indian specialty, a paper masala dosa.


A paper masala dosa with spicy sauces and a yogurt dip (raita) to help cool your tongue after eating all that spice.

When it arrived I laughed at how big it was, so big it didn't even fit on the plate!  Normally dosas are soft and easy to break apart but eating a paper dosa is different.  The dosa is paper thin so it is kind of like eating a giant potato chip that has been wrapped around spicy potatoes and onions.  It is pretty tricky to eat without making a mess, but lucky for me the table came well stocked with napkins.  I enjoyed every last crispy bit of my paper dosa.  I can't wait to have one again soon.