The World has flattened, distances have shrunk and people have migrated all over , so cultural differences are not all that big these days. Being a vegetarian was once a mighty big inconvenience when traveling overseas . It is no problem at all now as Vegetarianism is well embraced everywhere and has also grown its own sub-fads like Veganism , Ketodiets etc . Finding "rabbit food" ( as it was once trolled) is not difficult anywhere now.
Still , had a tiny prick of anxiety about Russia , because so little is discussed about food choices there .
A quick reading up revealed Russians are not great lovers of Vegetarian food and other than a stray potato or cabbage salad, most cafes may not have much on offer.
Not to panic ! Georgian cuisine to the rescue !
Its logo is a khinkali fluttering on tiny wings . Khinkali , dumplings with stuffing of choice , is the quintessential Georgian food which we never got to taste - to our eternal regret . Each meal is served course by course and portions are humongous . By the time we had munched through the starters and appetisers , we were overstuffed and had to wave away the dumplings . Had to save space for the pudding ! It happened in both the Georgian restaurants we visited, so no taste of Khinkali , sadly !
But plenty of other flavours and textures to remember:
1.Cucumber , Onion and Tomato salad , dressed with ground
walnut, lime and olive oil . ( walnuts are used extensively in everything )
2.Pkhali (minced vegetables, served moulded like colourful
idlis : spinach , cabbage , beetroot ,seasoned with garlic , herbs and powdered
walnut . )
3.Badrijani : grilled slices of eggplant ,covered with thick
walnut-garlic paste and rolled up . Served cold with cilantro/ parsley .
4. Ajapsandali : a kind of ratatouille consisting of
aubergines, tomatoes, mushroom , potatoes and red pepper, seasoned with garlic
and herbs.
5. Mchadi are small, crispy toasties made of cornflour, milk
and water. Served with cheese.
6. Lobio , a dip made of white beans , walnut, garlic and herbs
.
7. Khachapuri : a Georgian staple , the "cheesy
bread" . Something like naan/ pita filled with cheese. Some cheese is
added as topping too. BTW , puri means bread in Georgia !
8. Ajika : a kind of spicy pesto made of red peppers . Goes
well with the bread .
A mash of stewed vegetables tasted very indian. Reason : The all purpose , mixed spice powder they use (Khmeli-Suneli) , resembles our garam masala .Ingredients : coriander, marigold, fenugreek, dill, mint, parsley .
2.Pelamushi : delightful pudding made of grape juice, wine
and cornflour .
Trdelnik .
The one Russian snack we tried, in a cute kiosk outside a Basilica .
A sort of funnel cake , made fresh upon order . Crisp at first bite , it loses the crunch very soon , but a treat nonetheless . The girl in the kiosk dint speak English , but the sign boards were helpful.
So what is a Trdelnik ? A hollow pastry of Czeck-Slovak origin. It which is cooked a special way , on a spit , like kebab . The dough , cut in ribbons, is wrapped around a wooden cylinder , sprinkled with sugar and baked over open flame with frequent turning of the cylinder . The hot pastry is slid off the cylinder when the sugar on top caramilises into a shiny , crisp crust . It is best eaten hot/warm , right off the oven. The pastry can be plain or kneaded with olives , nuts etc. Sugar is omitted if so desired.
And of course , no escaping desi fare ! We certainly dint go looking for it , but just stumbled upon a cafe called “ In Jagannath We Trust “ that had , in addition to beverages , some non-spicy , non greasy Indian foods sans onion and garlic. The picture above shows one of the posters on the wall of the cafe. No idea what it says, though !
No , not run by ISKCON , but by another Vaishnava Trust .
