Meena is an excellent cook. She prepared a number of tasty dishes during my stay. The Baliyani family is vegetarian. They eat dairy products but no eggs.
Aloo gobi and roti.
Aloo is potato; gobi is cauliflower. Roti is an unleavened wheat bread.
The aloo gobi was delicious!
Daal (lentil soup) and rice with a lump of butter, which Meena also makes herself. They have a buffalo which produces milk, and Meena has an electric butter churner.
Channa masala and saag paneer.
My birthday dinner was so good! Channa is Hindi for chickpeas. Masala means spices. Meena knew I couldn’t handle chili peppers, and she spiced everything appropriately. It had many spices in it, just nothing that burned. Saag is spinach, paneer is cheese. Indian cheese typically does not melt easily the way mozzarella does. It’s closer to cottage cheese but has the consistency of tofu.
Poori.
Meena’s poori is so good! Poori is a puffed bread with a delicate dusting of sugar so there’s only a hint of sweetness. After the dough is rolled, she drops it directly onto the embers and it puffs up.
Gobi paranthas, soon to be demolished.
Biryani, a rice dish with lentils and beans, with melted butter on the side.
Travels in India 
These photos are crystal clear and depict the food so well I want to jump into my computer screen and eat it all!
Fab photos, Marie! Yummy food too. I haven’t tried sweet puri before.Must go there…!!
Yes, you must! I have yet to meet an Indian bread I didn’t love.
It was all so delish! And — not that I’m overly concerned about this — but it’s a very healthy way of eating. All fresh ingredients, nothing processed. Also, with the added butter or yogurt in almost every dish, it makes the daal and rice form a complete protein. Plus they eat very few sweets. When I say “they,” I mean this family specifically. Indians in general love sweet treats.
Looks delish for sure. As usual, your photos are excellent. Thanks for the translations, too. I am going to gain weight!!!!
Seven weeks from right now I will be in the air somewhere between Istanbul and Delhi.
You never know. I ate whatever I wanted, but I found I was less hungry than at home. I came home eight pounds lighter. Seven weeks are going to go by in a flash! You’ll have a great time!
Eight pounds lighter…….love it.