Foodie Me!

Starting off the usual Sunday, with a mere let-me-call-it-a-breakfast at 3:30 PM, it was high time I had some respect for my stomach and fed it with some real good food. Indian food, vegetarian food, here I was at NH8 in Indiranagar today. It a total fucking kick-ass Rajasthani Cuisine. Frankly, this has been the longest ever menu on my dinner till date. It is priced at Rs.265, seems overpriced but sure you should give it a shot. You get to have those never-before-heard of food items. Genuine names and not the types of the KFC, McD misnomers for potato fries and same old burgers.

Going in to the restaurant at the 3rd floor, as the elevator door opens up, you feel right in the center of a Jodhpuri mela, with all petha-fied Rajasthani people walking around hurriedly talking a slightly unrefined Hindi in the midst of a Phalguni Patak score playing in the background aloud. The place seems colorful with 'red-yellow-green-blue, color you name it and you have it' pillows on wooden table-chair restaurant furniture with sort of a mini patio [ don't hyper glorify the patio in your imagination, its just average:)] in the middle of it. You could prefer sitting on cushion beds on the floor as well, never mind we didn't try it, we have our own problems of resting our potbellies you see.

Say go and your table is filled up with 10 little cups for all kinds of sabji and salad and what not.

Here goes the menu on the thaali. Read on.

Padhaaro Sa

• Marwaari Chaach
• Jaljeera

Farsaan

• Mirchi Vada Chaat
• Khaman Dhokla
• Tandoori Chatpata Aloo
• Achari Paneer

Arogosa

• Jodhpuri Ghatta
• Paneer Tikka Masala
• Rajwadi Moong Masala
• Rajasthani Ker Sangri
• Panchmukhi Daal
• Gujarathi Kadi
• Rajasthani Kadi

Jeemo Sa

• Phulka Roti
• Makai Rotla
• Rajasthani Batti
• Tandoori Butter Naan

Rice

• White Rice
• Rajasthani Kichchdi

Vyanjan

• Gulab Jamoon
• Basundi
• NH8 Special Churma

Rasna

• Papad
• Mix Kachumber Salad
• Pudina ChutneyLasun Chutney
• Imli Chutney 
• Mix Achar

Obviously we didn't have the courage to stuff all this and inflate our bellies, So we chucked the Vyanjan and a lot of Arogasa and White Rice.

For a weekend dinner or lunch with a friend or family, this seems to be a pretty nice place. Go visit.

Bon Appetite
Ghanashyam

Thoughts

I was reading Steve Jobs' biography and one thing that can't leave my mind is that, to be able to think really different in life, to gain a real lot of expertise and to be able to create stuff one has to have inspiring people around very early in childhood.

You really have to have a good education, have to have a freedom to rebel, freedom to say no, say no to courses you don't like, say not to things you don't believe in. Freedom of thought.

I think the childhood experience listed here is almost analogous to that listed of Richard Feynman, another genius physicist of our times. He too speaks about how his father taught him to say why, how to things that he didn't believe in or things that he didn't understand. This quest doesn't come naturally..

Looking back in time, I think most of us did NOT have such exposure, most of us did NOT have such freedom.

I also read a 1995 interview of Steve Jobs where he talks very strongly about education. He says "The teachers can't teach and administrators run the place and nobody can be fired. It's terrible".

A lot of them ought to be fired.
I fear.