BAU Part IV: Food (more lentils in a fortnight than I've had cumulatively in my life until now...)

BAU guesthouse canteen and some staff accommodation buildings

The canteen at the BAU guesthouse mainly feeds visitors: residential staff occasionally pop in for lunch or dinner.  Prices are controlled by the university and it's basic but extremely tasty, and nourishing, food.  I have had a veg diet and it's been really good, though more lentil-filled (in a good way) than I am accustomed to.

Inside the canteen looking towards the kitchen area

Breakfast was an omelette with toast for thirteen days; on my last day, apparently randomly, I got chickpea curry and puffed fried balls of batter.  I gather the traditional Indian breakfast is paratha with vegetables.  Both the omelette and chickpea curry were very tasty - I must try to figure out a way to get a more varied breakfast more reliably.

Toast, tomato sauce, omelette (with chilli and onion) and chai

Lunch and dinner are a thali: a large stainless steel plate with a couple of chapattis (or rice), dhal, one or two curries (depending on the cook's mood I think), and some slices of carrot, onion and radish.  The radishes were delicious and sweet; the carrots an extraordinary red, almost the colour of capsicums.  Sometimes there was a sweet dish of rice, or noodles, cooked in milk and cardamom with sultanas.

Chapatti, chopped veggies, fried potatoes, dhal, and eggplant and potato curry

One of the most strange things for me to get used to is the complete lack of control I have over my meals: they are at times which are, to me, non standard (breakfast at 0830, lunch at 1345 and dinner at 2030) and I have very limited ability to influence what I eat.  I could request a non-veg curry instead of a veg one, but otherwise I'm very much eating what I'm given: there's no menu, or choice of another restaurant.  There's also no corner shop or vending machine I can pop out to for a snack.  It's not bad - it's just taking a while to get used to.  I didn't realise how autonomous I like to be at meal times: it's in stark contrast to all those times I don't want to cook, but have to if I want to eat!

Chapatti, veggies, cauliflower curry, dhal, paneer curry, and sweet rice

The other loss of choice I'm aware of is in drinks: my choices are water or chai (which comes in very, very small cups - maybe 1/3c sized serves).  I've not involuntarily given up coffee for two weeks very often before, either!

Chapatti, pepper sauce, carrot and bean curry, potato and pea curry, dhal, veggies and deep fried eggplant slice

I think that I am eating well, however: I have a diet rich in vegetables, plant protein and not-highly-refined carbohydrates (chapatti are made with wholemeal flour).  Because there are small portions of many dishes at lunch and dinner it seems very varied, although I don't eat a lot of any one thing.  It's probably a good way to eat.  Also, I've certainly lost a lot of my sweet tooth, though not my taste for coffee!

Green mango (+ e-numbers!?!?) juice

When I met with the Dean he shared with me some green mango juice the university has begun producing commercially.  It had a very delicate and pleasant flavour, but was so violently coloured it looked radioactive!