On to the important stuff: beverage news.
1. You should make your own masala chai with whole spices. I will tell you how. Take the following and crunch them up a bit with a mortar and pestle or with a pulse or two in a spice grinder: 3 black peppercorns, a piece of star anise (or a few fennel seeds), 3 cloves, 2-3 green cardamom pods, and a small piece broken from a stick of cinnamon. Dump that along with a slice of peeled fresh ginger into a pot with 2 cups water and 1 cup milk or soy milk. Bring it to a boil for a few minutes. Turn off heat and dump in 3 rounded teaspoons of loose black tea and let it steep for 3 minutes. Strain everything into a teapot or mugs or whatever. Sweeten to taste. Enjoy the spicy goodness.
B. You should also make your own fresh lime soda. Squeeze some limes. Make some simple syrup (boil equal parts water and granulated sugar till the sugar is dissolved; let cool, then store in fridge). Pour about 1" lime juice in a glass, add a glop of sugar syrup, and top off with chilled club soda. We like to add a few shakes of salt, too. It's like Gatorade, except yummy.
iii. It is hard to get good coffee here, and in any case we do not have a coffee maker. I have discovered the beauty of the Greek "frappe." In a cocktail shaker put a couple of ice cubes, a Tbsp. of instant coffee (preferably the powdery kind, it dissolves easier), a couple glugs of milk or soy milk, about a Tbsp. of sugar syrup (see above), and about 1/2 cup water. Shake it up real shakey. Pour into a glass. It will have a nice head of foam.
d. We have now flown a couple of times on Kingfisher Airlines--yup, the same Kingfisher as Kingfisher beer. And yet Indian law prohibits the consumption of alcohol on domestic flights. THIS IS SO, SO WRONG. On the other hand, the flight attendants are gorgeous. Seriously, they are hot. Did I just say that in my out loud voice?
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