Today Joe and I and some of my classmates drove down to Chicago to meet our Hindi professor and his wife on Devon Avenue. We went to a restaurant called Tiffin for lunch, where there was a giant buffet full of good food, from both North and South India. I ate too much and I didn’t even sample everything. Good yellow dal, good Jaipuri aloo, naan that was not made from pizza dough.

After that we went to Sukhadia’s, where I bought Indian sweets made from ghee and paneer. I don’t really know what all I received because I was too full to sample anything. Hope it’s good! Now I wish I had bought some namkiin, too–salty snacks. Have to go back for those sometime.

Devon Ave is full of temptations, mostly in the form of expensive Indian jewelry and textiles. I didn’t buy anything of great significance, but it was exciting just to look. I even spoke a little Hindi, which always makes me feel good. (The most interesting converstion was with a jewelry-wallah whose opening line was “Aap ki shaadii ho gayii?” Literally, “Has your wedding happened?” He was pointing suggestively at a mangalsutra, a necklace that is the Indian equivalent of a wedding ring. I don’t think the woman customarily buys one for herself…)

We also went into a grocery store that sold vegetables I have never seen elsewhere, not even in Central Market. Karela, for instance, and tiny round Indian eggplants. It was a sad moment to be in the process of emptying one’s apartment of food and, simultaneously, in such an interesting grocery. They did not, however, have Alphonso mangoes in the store, so my professor must remain jealous that I found them in Houston.

Our professor and his wife bought us sugar cane juice. I had seen people make this in India but never tried it, and now I know I should have. Just like in India, there was a man standing on the street under the hot sun, feeding a pile of sugar cane, stick by stick, into a machine that squeezed the juice out one side and turned the rest of the cane into sticky sawdust on the other. This particular machine was electric, so at least he did not have to crank it by hand. He was also putting little chunks of ginger into the machine, just enough for a subtle flavor. Following that, he was squeezing lime slices into the cups. Unattractive dull green color though it is, the juice is delicious–cool and sweet and just a little creamy.

So it was an interesting expedition, and someday I will have to go back. When I do, I’ll try to remember to have thousands of dollars to spend, worry-free, on beautiful Indian gold.

Posted in Hindi, Joe, food, jewelry, shopping by rachel