Jodphur/Pushkar Rajastan

Awakening from a slumber on an overnight train to Jodphur is sweet as the taste of Chai you can buy for 5 Rupees. My Chai dealer tried to get 10, but I was wise from my ride with the woman from Mumbai. This train Chai comes in tiny cups, any larger would be lethal for the amount of sugar. India is not a place that ha turned it's back on sugar. The Chai is sweet, most meals comes with a dessert, people are fanatic about ice cream, and any house you will visit will be sure to offer you sweets.

Jodphur was a mere stopping point before catching a bus to Ajmer and then a connection to Pushkar. However, time was to have the best chipati and  fried dahl I have ever tasted. 

Luckily this nourishment was taken because the four hour bus ride soon became seven and Ajmer was full of many drivers determined to convince that "it was not possible to get to Pushkar". I finally told them I did not believe them and was relieved when a bus pulled up at 1 am. Pushkar being a sacred place, took care that even that late hour two men who happen in the street and offer a bed. I had read about some famous banana bread and awoke determined to try it. Pushkar is where I also began consumption of Papaya like I came from a place that it costs $7 a lb. and is flown in airplanes to be sold.

My first foray into street food after my Delhi Belly experience was the Veggie Poof. This beautiful creation is the genius of a delicate ghee based dough folded in half around curried vegetables, then heated on a skillet with more ghee. 

Pushkar is a place adapt to the needs of tourists and rumor was that it had an interesting rendition of a falafel. My first night in Pushkar I tried this invention to much bemusement. The pita was chipati, the falafel was pakora, the onions were onions, and an additional ingredient of fries was added for a real street food experience. It was absolutely delicious. 

The next morning I awoke determined to take a yoga class, but first found a cup of chai. I was three hours too late for the free class in the main temple. I followed signs to "Yoga Centre" and was greeted by a man who somehow despite our lack of a common language, managed to communicate that his wife would make me chai and class would commence one half hour. His wife was looking after their grandson. She had the most beautiful olive eyes I have ever seen. Both were very concerned that I liked the masala, which I did. i also liked that this tea was not sweetened. If you are ever in india and want unsweetened chai, seek out the yogis. If you are in Pushkar look up Dr. Yogesh Bharti gwalior ghat, pushkar, ajmer-rajastan(INDIA). Practice here too is in a beautiful temple, the masala was really good.

That afternoon I got my second lesson in Chipati. I was lured to a house by the sound of a baby goat crying on a roof on my way up a mountain to a temple that overlooks Pushkar. A bossy matriarch reigning over her sisters in law, once of which had a jewel of a baby boy, pulled me from the mid day heat and scolded me as if I was one of her own to look after. 

The final morning I made it to yoga in the main temple, lured by an agreement to meet there with a new friend from Delhi. The practice was manly Pranayama and the light on the walls of the temple made the 5:30am start time make sense. Finding vendors on the street selling packets of saffron kissed rice was luck. The rice is seasoned with saffron, onions are put on top, parsley when available, the vendors will put fried strips of dough that are noodle like in texture unless you speak up, say yes to spicy, and finally a lemon wedge is placed on top. The lemon tames the spice and all is right with your day thanks to the vendors of Pushkar.