Jules CP-4

I picked up Jamal after his classes last Friday for a lunchtime conversation meeting. He sat down in my car and we were brainstorming for places to eat when he noticed I was listening to some Indian music. I started talking about how I love music from all over the world, and then the thought struck me-- "We should get some Indian food!". So we ventured over to The Curry Pot, a quaint little restaurant on Betton & Thomasville that features a lunch buffet on the weekdays.

As we savored our Korma and Pakoras, Jamal confirmed that this place has a truly authentic flavor, although it was prepared in a considerably milder fashion. Presumably the cooks did this to try to accommodate the American palate. I often wonder why ethnic restaurants practice this "blandification" of their menus-- do they view it as a form of assimilation? Do Americans really want battered, fried chicken from a Chinese establishment?... Right here I would normally say "I digress", but most of our conversation did revolve around food that day. Jamal has been getting pretty homesick lately, and he really appreciated getting a taste (albeit an Americanized one) of the food he is accustomed to enjoying at home.

We talked extensively about naan, the flatbread that is a staple in central Asian cuisine. Apparently naan production is a huge industry in Afghanistan; there are people who make entire careers out of producing and distributing it. (Of course this makes sense, as we have people who make bread for a living-- it just struck me that I had never considered naan-making as a career option!) Jamal described how the Afghanis do it: First, they make a large cylindrical vessel, about the size of an oil barrel, out of red clay. You may have heard of these before-- they're referred to as tandoors. The tandoor is fired in a kiln in the same way we make pottery, a process which leaves a distinctive texture on its inner walls. To make the dough, they combine flour, water, and yeast in just the right ratio (he said he isn't sure of the exact measurements, but can just tell when it's right). After letting the dough rise for about an hour, they divide it into little disks about 8 inches in diameter. Then they slap the disks onto the inner walls of the tandoor, which is heated from below by a fire, and the textured walls create a beautiful, lacey pattern on the bread. I could tell Jamal enjoyed talking about this process, so I listened intently as he carried on about how Afghani naan is the best in the world, and just leaves one's stomach feeling so happy, and so on. If any of you are ever running short on topics to discuss with your conversation partners, rest assured that Food is always a winner!