You may or may not have picked up on this, but I’m a fairly picky eater. Well, I’m a “potato is a vegetable” type of picky eater and that, coupled with an unusual lack of tolerance for spicy food (very unusual for a Singaporean), means that there are lots of things that are popular in Singapore which I can’t eat.

So you might be able to imagine my slight apprehension when I booked a flight to India for my friend’s wedding. I do enjoy Indian cuisine (well, mostly stuff like Keema curry and Palek Paneer – all finds from my time in Japan) but I was very worried about the spice level. And the fact that I’m not a huge vegetable person; I only started eating them after starting cooking class and didn’t want to explain to the nice Japanese aunties why I wasn’t going to be eating half the meal.

But guess what? I ENJOYED ALL THE FOOD!

I didn’t even miss meat that much; everything was so tasty and well flavoured (albeit spicy, which meant I kept myself hydrated). So in honour of all the good food I ate, and to subject you to some badly taken photos, here’s a round up of my favourite dishes:

I’m not sure what this bread is called (forgot to ask) but it was freshly made and delicious

Paneer Paratha – the first time I heard about paratha, I thought it was another version of the prata that we have hear in Singapore. But this paratha stuffed with paneer (a type of cheese) is the bomb. It’s amazing with curry (of course) but I also put hummus on it. Not the proper way to do things at all but I loved that combination.

Honey Chili Cauliflower (and the potato version) – I was told this is a staple/exclusive to Indian weddings which is a pity because it’s so good. It somehow reminds me of the sauce that was on the ketchup potato chips in MGS, just with a kick to it, so you can imagine my joy at finding the potato version.

Chili Garlic Mushroom – This was fried so well (it’s a bit crunchy) and it’s so tasty it’s addictive. I could not stop eating this and the honey chili cauliflower.

Dosa – I had the plain dosa and I loved it! It goes so well with the dal that was given… or really any form of curry.

Garlic Naan with Paneer Butter Masala – We were served this crispy naan (I’ve always had the softer version so this was a surprise) that was very addictive because of the garlic on it. It went superbly with the paneer butter masala, which was so good I went to take a picture of the pot.

Pani Puri – No picture of this because it’s a bit messy to eat, but this snack was highly recommended by my friends. It’s basically a fried ball of dough that’s hollow inside and filled with a liquid – either savoury of sweet. Your challenge is to pop the whole thing in your mouth in one go (you can drink the soup that didn’t make it after).

Gulab Jamun – I showed the picture of Gulab Jamun to a friend and she did not look impressed but I LOVED these balls of dough that were soaked in a sweet syrup. I mean, yes, it was sweet but not too sweet and they are amazing hot.

Jalebi – I loved this crispy sweet as well, it’s another one of the foods that I found addictive. Well, you can tell I found most things here addictive. I can’t quite remember the dessert that was recommended to go with it (though Jalebi is also amazing by itself) but I think it’s rabri.

As you can tell, I ate very well during my short visit! It helped that everyone there was so enthusiastic about the food and everything was so well made. A new friend told me that the moniker “big fat Indian wedding” is, in part, because the food is so good that you get fat after! I can’t say I disagree but the food was definitely worth it.