What you’ve heard is true; Indian food is WAY better in India than it is in all of your favorite go-to spots of Middletown. Not only have I found the food flavorful, spicy, and diverse, but also, every Indian woman I’ve met has made it her duty to feed me until I’m stuffed. I finally learned how to say “My stomach is full” in Hindi, so hopefully my problems will be solved, but let’s just say that in the past few weeks, the food has been overabundant.

I’m currently studying abroad in Jaipur, which is in Northern India. The types of Indian food vary just as much as the country’s religions, languages, castes, and tribes. My host family is Bengali, so a lot of the food I have been eating has been Bengalese. What most Americans call Indian food is an oily version of North Indian food, vastly different from all of the South Indian dishes (if you’ve ever gone to Udupi, those dosas are from the south).

I thought for my first column I would share with you the recipes of two crucial dishes to any Indian family: chai and roti (bread).

Chai

I have chai (which literally means tea in Hindi) at least five times a day. We have chai breaks built regularly into my school schedule, and it is the first thing I am served in the morning and when I return from classes. Don’t think that this chai is like the American chai lattes from Pi; it is fresh, steamy and slightly spicy depending on the morning. This recipe is a little more involved than just sticking a tea bag into boiling water, but definitely worth the effort. This is the recipe from Sandra, my host sister.

• Put 1 cup of water in a pot and let it warm up for a bit.

• Add 1 cup of milk, whole milk is preferred.

• Add 2 spoons of loose chai leaves. Add a few slices of fresh ginger, cardamom and masala-ja if you want it to be a bit spicy.

• Let it boil until it is nice and steamy.

• Add 3 spoonfuls of sugar.

• Pour the tea through a strainer into your mug and you are done!

Roti

Instead of having rice with our meals, most of the time roti is served. Rotis are round, thin circles of bread that have been grilled on your stovetop. Most Indians eat with their hands (only their right hand, of course) and use the roti to spoon the dal or vegetables into their mouths.  My host family makes this recipe ahead of time and then puts it in the fridge so fresh roti can be grilled at each meal. Delicious.

• In a mixer (or by hand if you don’t have one), mix one cup of flour and one cup of water. If you don’t have a mixer, knead the dough until it is smooth. Put it in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

• Roll out a small ball on a surface into a thin circle. It should be about 7 inches in diameter.

• Fry it on a small cast-iron pan with a little oil, about a minute on each side.

• Now this step might only work if you have a gas stove, but I guess you could try it on a burner too. Use tongs to place the roti on the flames of the burner and quickly flip it back and forth until it is a bit browned and puffs up.

• Let it cool on a plate and it will sink back down so it is flat. Enjoy!