The Magic Green Yogurt

I did a little research. It's called Raita.

Raita is a Pakistani/Indian condiment made with yoghurt (dahi) and used as a sauce or dip. The yoghurt may be seasoned with coriander (cilantro), cumin, mint, cayenne pepper, and other herbs and spices. It is prepared by frying cumin (zīrā) along with black mustard (rāī), and these mixtures are mixed into the yoghurt. Minced, raw vegetables or fruits—such as cucumber, onion, or carrot, pineapple, or papaya—are mixed into the yoghurt. Raw ginger and garlic paste, green chili paste, and sometimes mustard paste, are used to enrich flavour. A popular variety of raita of Northern India is boondi raitha—tiny balls of fried gram flour (chickpea flour), which may taste salty or tīkhā (spicy). The mixture is served chilled. Raita may cool the palate when eating spicy Pakistani/Indian dishes. Raita is also eaten with kebabs.

T-minus 36 days

Today I drove to the Indian Embassy in DC and picked up my Visa which is printed in my Official Passport. Yes, having that little red passport is pretty sweet and makes me feel just a little bit more important.  I had to get an Official passport because India is a restricted country for DoD folks unless you are on "official" business. So official business leads to an official passport.

Going to DC today also allowed me to stop at my friend's favorite authentic Indian/Pakistani restaurant called Kabob Palace in Arlington, VA. This place is so delicious. The first time I went here with Qasim and my other friend Udit was before we went to this Indian dance club after party thing in DC. That was an adventure in itself and definitely a story for another time. Today at Kabob Palace I got some chicken with rice and spicy chickpeas spread on top. The kicker for today though was ordering a Mango Lassi which Udit introduced me to about two weeks ago. All I know is that it is mango deliciousness, but here is what the internet says about it. 

Lassi is a popular and traditional Punjabi yogurt-based drink of India and Pakistan. It is made by blending yogurt with water or milk and Indian spices. Traditional lassi (also known as salted lassi, or, simply lassi) is a savory drink sometimes flavored with ground roasted cumin while sweet lassi on the other hand is blended with sugar or fruits instead of spices.

 One thing I never knew about Indian food is how much yogurt they use. Almost everything has yogurt in it. Of course my mango lassi was made of yogurt but there is this greenish looking yogurt that is very very popular. I can't quite describe exactly what it tastes like (maybe later once I have it everyday for 11 weeks) but you dip your chicken in it, pour it on your chickpeas and rice, or even drink it straight! All of which I did or saw tonight.

 I'm also starting to make some real progress with learning to read script. This has got to be one of the hardest things I've done in awhile simply because its so different. Urdu reads from right to left. Not really a hard thing to adapt to. What's difficult is that the letters change depending on where they are in the word. When a letter is in the middle of a word, it gets "shortened" down to only about a half or a quarter of what it looks like if it was by itself. Oh yea, and this is only "reading" the words. I still have to continue putting the vocabulary to what I'm reading and saying. Haha. I still have a long way to go.