Fast Food

Today being Sunday, the streets are a little quieter so I took advantage of that today. These are a few of the little pavement shops (except there isn't any pavement) I mentioned yesterday. India invented fast food I think and these are a couple of examples. 

The first guy is using a mandolin type blade to slice potatoes thinly, straight into boiling fat to make crisps. Yesterday I mentioned the fear of deep fat frying I now have at home - after my parents generation where there was always a pan full of fat in the cupboard (not the fridge) ready to make chips or other delectables. This chap is operating with a huge open pan full of boiling fat over a gas flame powered by calor gas. Not only that but he is smiling at me while using an unguarded Mandolin (I am very wary of those too, convinced I'm going to slice half of my hands off even when using a guard!). Mind you the crisp he gave me was delicious - even with no salt on it! His arms and hands didn't appear to be marked by the scars of burns caused by splashing fat I was glad to note.

You'll notice the large pile of green bananas near by, ready,  when he has finished the potatoes, to start slicing and frying. Banana chips are a particular local delicacy as apparently they have the perfect banana type here.

The men are working on producing parrotta, I've blipped another place making them in the past. They are another delicacy eaten in the evening with an evening meal. As you can see the dough requires lots of oil to get it to the correct elasticity before being cooked on a griddle type hotplate. Parotta masters are in high demand and can make or break the reputation of a food outlet. You can just make out in the background that there are men sitting in the background, at little tables, tucking in. Parrotta are usually eaten, if as a snack, with a dish of either veg, or non veg, gravy. In a restaurant if served with a meal there are usually for to a portion. They are always served freshly made and are quite delicious.

The final image in the collage is a view from the auto - not Raja today he is at church. This auto was the smartest I've ever seen apparently it is 4 months old and quite immaculate! You can see in front a very common sight, a family of on their two wheeler with mum sitting side saddle as she had to when wearing a sari. They had a little girl aged about 3 sitting between them and a slightly older child in from of dad perched on the engine and hanging on too the handle bars. Mum also has a bag of shopping - not a helmet in sight either. 

The extra picture is really for my own interest, it has two different things of note in it, firstly, the motor cycle on the left is a three wheeler, very common here as disability vehicles for those who are able to manage them. They seem to work very well as such. The other, pink vehicle covered with flowers is a hearse. You see them parked up by the sides of the road particularly near hospitals alongside ambulances!. In fact there usually are two parked opposite where I am staying. This one is decorated with traditional garlands, they are open sides with a canopy type roof. The body is inside on either a stretcher or in a wooden or glass type coffin. 

From my understanding  and experience,   funerals usually take place the day after a death and the body is kept in the house until then. Family and friends visit the house where the body is on display, to pay their respects. There are often, in Christian households, times of hymn singing as the mourners gather. In this picture you can see in the background, dressed in red, a group of musicians who have played the coffin off as it leaves for either the funeral service or the graveyard or whichever place their culture dictates. 

The hearse moved very slowly and there were people inside sitting alongside the coffin throwing flowers out through the back. I've often thought of taking a picture of the grades as they are so different to ours, and usually pink! but have not wanted to do so as not to offend.  I had the perfect chance today from inside the auto.