Noise Infringement and Food

One thing I'm going to really appreciate when I get back to Ohio farm country is the peace and quiet!  The Muslim calls that come throughout the day are not the only sound that invades the home!  The walls seem to be super thin here and the speaker systems are bombastic! :-)  We can easily hear neighbors talking as they go by the apartment even without windows open.  The 1000 student school which is on campus is preparing for a Christmas program, and they are practicing every day, all day out on the field.  You may remember seeing the pictures I posted of them marching.  So, we hear marching music, sacred music, Christmas music, nursery rhymes and secular themes very well throughout the day.  They have a couple big drums that are used often.  There are generators running outside our windows at times, horns very frequently from the street, roaring motorcycles..  If there is a party within a few block radius, the music is pumped into our home.  Loud firecrackers often boom in the evenings.  Get the idea?  It is something you start learning to tune out....but it is always there.  What are we willing to endure for the sake of the gospel?
Before I get to food, I want to say that today we are going to Civil Lines which is a shopping area that would resemble Jefferson Pointe in Fort Wayne.  For those of you who aren't familiar with FW, it is an upper crust shopping area.  Hopefully I'll have pictures tomorrow of how that is.  We're also working on trying to get to a local village this week.  The seminary students prepare a Christmas presentation for the local village churches and travel around this time of year to give it.  I was supposed to go last night, but then it was remembered that with the excitement of the new baby, we forgot to register me when I arrived.  All foreigners are supposed to be registered within  a day or two of arriving.  If we registered now, there could be consequences for not doing it sooner.  I will be fine traveling around Allahabad, but  it's more risky I may be discovered if I go to a village.  But....I'm sure you understand that I NEED to go to a village so pray they'll be able to work it out as they are trying to.  :-)
As for food, I have mentioned how wonderful it is to have all the locally grown produce here.  You've seen the pictures of it in abundance.  There are differences here, of course.  One is there are not canned vegetables and the only frozen vegetables are peas and corn.  No biscuit mix, frozen pizza, instant potatoes,  mac n cheese or other convenience foods.  Morgan is missing Worcestershire sauce, bouillons, seasoning packets, bbq sauce, and various other items she is used to seasoning with.  Andrew is missing Reese Peanut Butter Cups.  The meat is also different.  The chicken comes  cut up in little pieces with the bone still in it.  Beef is available through limited sources.  Hindi do not eat the 'holy cow' so it is bought through other people.  Morgan has found it very tough.  We had sloppy joes the other night and it was amazingly grisly.  You've never had anything like it, believe me.  My mind kept going to the cows I'd seen on the street consuming trash, and thinking that they must have caught the oldest heifer on the block for this package.  I'm not going to encourage eating any more beef my last week.  They haven't found a source for pork.  I have seen a few stray pigs around....but that doesn't mean I want to eat it.
I will mention that Americans do not eat fresh salads even after being here for some time.  Only produce that  can be peeled before eating.

Here is what we ate last night for dinner.  The chicken curry is a recipe the Indian cook on campus gave her by word of mouth.  Morgan said they don't use cookbooks much here.

We fried 3 small onions in oil.

 Add a few mustard seeds....

Add tumeric, ginger, garlic and a masala.  You can find masala in the ethnic section of your Meijers, or at an Asian grocery or even your health food store would probably carry it.  How much?

This much!  :-)  Sorry....but this is totally ethnic....you've got to go by your gut..... :-)  I will give you that it was a little over a tablespoon of masala.

Add a small container of tomato sauce and about 2 cups of chopped tomato....or a large container of tomato sauce and a smaller amount of tomato.

One pound of chicken.

Two small green peppers.

1-1/2 to 2 cups of water.

Let it simmer until chicken is tender.  Add salt to taste.  As that is cooking, here is our side dish:

Onion, okra, sliced potatoes.  Some use green beans instead of okra.  Add garlic, cumin and salt to taste. Not pictured that we added 2 roma tomatoes.   Cover and cook.

It is soooo good!  I have included Indian food in my menu at home for years, but now have new ideas!  Oops!  Almost forgot one thing.....

Don't forget to have your househelp make you some paratha bread before she leaves for the day!!