Indian food

Idlis, steamed fermented rice and lentil dumplings, are a staple of South Indian cuisine. When your culture has been strictly vegetarian for about five thousand or so years, you're going to find some innovative ways to deal with the rice and lentil aspect of your diet, a.k.a most of it. I found two new ways to enjoy them. Also if the Hindu god of fixin' that which ain't broke comes looking for me, I'm not here.

The first test a sushi spot must pass to win my heart is chirashi don. If the fish is fresh and the presentation is pleasant, we're good to go. If not...well, just don't order any spicy tuna rolls. Turns out I've been doing chirashi wrong, as a Japanophile friend recently taught me by calling me out at a restaurant. All food writers love that; more people should do that to us. Here are more ways to mix it up, via Asia and the Subcontinent.

I remember dipping fries into ketchup in India as a kid and thinking "what the hell is this stuff?" It was definitely ketchup — thick, sweet and dark — but it was sharper and more spiced than its glossy, pale red American counterpart. Comprehending as an American child that another country's ketchup could possibly be better on more things really did a number on my juvenile patriotism. And it really didn't help the early onset urge to photograph and document what I ate.