Fried Goat and Deep‑Fried Roti Sure Beat the Usual Business‑Trip Meals
Fried Goat and Deep‑Fried Roti Sure Beat the Usual Business‑Trip Meals
Breakfast in Chitwan
Chitwan, in southern Nepal, is famous for one-horned rhinos, elephants, leopards, and the occasional Bengal tiger. I travel to Chitwan regularly to do work with the British Council. I don’t go on any jungle safaris; I stay along the highway in a business hotel with a conference room and a questionably cleaned pool. The highlight of my day is kicking it off with a with a deep-fried roti (in this case, puri, a puffed-up flatbread) and deep-fried, sugar-soaked swirls, dipped into potato and chickpea curry, along with sweet and milky masala tea.
I like it, and often, I need it. Usually, I’ve gone out with the local staff the evening before. That means drinking Royal Stag whiskey and eating fried spicy goat or mutton, or tass, with beaten rice and spicy achar. That’s the culture here: work in the 90-plus degree heat until you’ve sweated through your shirt eight times, then go find a bench on the Rapti bridge or maybe inside a small restaurant. Drink. Wake up to puri bhaji jelabi chai. Go to work.
These puri are little puffy spaceships made of atta, or wheat flour, so I like to think they’re healthy. There’s one shop near my hotel that rocks only this meal in the mornings. One man is in charge of the puri station, while another mans the tea. The milky, spiced hot brew is lightly boiled, then strained and served in a small glass towards the end of the meal. It takes a little while to steep, so it gets started in advance. In the meantime, four fresh, hot puri are placed on a metal tray. The lid comes off a simmering pot of spicy turmeric-colored curry made of potatoes and the pea of the day—maybe chick, black-eyed, or green. After a couple of stirs, a ladleful goes into a metal bowl placed in the corner of the tray. Raw red onions and cilantro are sprinkled on top. The next component: a few bright orange swirls of sugar syrup. These jalebi are the caloric spike I need to wake up.
By now, someone has turned the Nepali news to CNN to kindly adapt to the clientele. I’ve washed my hands and am ready to tuck into breakfast. The other tables are full of people eating the same meal. Around us, staff bus the tables, wash the glasses, and deliver fresh puri when stacks run low. Tea comes around and I sit back and watch a few of the international headlines.
After paying the boss not very many rupees, I hop in one of the local electric golf cart/tram hybrids and ride off into the pastel haze from the early sun, ready to get to work. Good morning, Chitwan.