When on the road, or travelling in the rural hinterlands, as I often do (not as frequently as I used to, but nevertheless a lot)…one is either dependent upon the food served by a local host (amazing recipes & foods I have discovered this way) or one is on one’s own.
At one time, I used to habitually carry with me a bottle of mustard oil, a small tin of ghee, a spice-box & a small bag of Onions, Garlic & ginger.
Many a times one had to cook one’s own food, and these came in handy. One thing I really enjoyed making then was the desi style of mutton, without any curd/yoghurt or tomatoes. When one reached a village late at night, the local people would have normally finished with their dinners. (Leftover) Curd, for the fear of going sour in absence of refrigerators (or even electricity) was fed to the milch cattle. Fresh vegetables, at that hour were hard to find. But, surprisingly, the mutton could always be found fresh , since they normally catered to the daily wagers returning late from the nearby towns and having the money to buy some mutton to add to their veggies/dals/rice. I always took advantage of this phenomenon… 😉
