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I will be traveling to India in January and would like any and all ideas on how to staying high raw and healthy. In addition to packing an extensive herbal medicine chest, I am planning on using grapefruit seed extract for washing peelable fruit, taking my own knife for peeling/cutting fruit and taking a green powder with me. I have a sad feeling I will not be eating raw vegetables for 3 weeks and am open to eating cooked vegetables if I feel my body wants them. Thanks for your ideas!
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i too will be going soon and had some concerns. my best friend is from New Delhi, so here’s what i know so far, though i haven’t had the “raw food” talk with her yet. =)
in general i think that fruits would be AMAZING, but you’ll have to pay a little more for the better quality stuff. you will definitely be able to get by if you love fruit.
veggies are going to be more difficult because things are so contaminated there (hence the overcooking). my friend’s family soaks their salad greens in a chemical for several hours before they eat them. this sounds a little suspect to me, but you might investigate what that “chemical” would be and use it to soak your veggies when you get there.
ALTERNATE solutions: -make some dehydrated crackers with lots of leafy greens -sun dry some herbs like mint, parsley, etc… to top fruit with (?? psychologically this would make me feel i was eating “green”) -pack some nuts etc, of course. -don’t be too stringent with yourself… part of traveling is experiencing new flavors. you might get a great idea for a future RAW recipe! -depending on where you are in india, there might just be ONE fresh dish you can eat everywhere you go (you never know!)...
have fun!
From what you say I can’t tell if you will have to eat at restaurants or relatives homes or if you will be able to buy and prepare your own food. One thing I would get if I were you when you are there are some great curry mixes from the region. Then you could add them to dishes to make them regionally authentic and for dishes at home when you get back for something extra special.
One idea would be for you to sprout different ingredients and make flours out of them. For instance, quinoa could be sprouted and dehydrated then you could make a dough out of it and add carrots, onion, red pepper, and maybe soaked garbanzo beans into the middle and then roll into a ball like an indian dumpling of sorts. You could add some curry to the vegetables inside for an authentic taste and if possible you could marinate the veges for an hour or even a day ahead with salt and oil to make them softer. You could sprout garbanzo beans and then dehydrate them and take this flour and make dumplings or wraps with some flax. If you are some place with a sunny window you could put some things in the sun to dry out a little- or you could have it in a plastic container with exposure to the sun like I did when I was on a recent road trip. You should be able to spout a small quantity with out too much problem. You can make rice by chopping cauliflower finely, and if you grind up dehydrated sundried tomatoes and dehydrated carrots, celery, onion- etc. you could then add water and make a masala with local spices. Dried and rehydrated peas would be good with this. If you can experiment with a dehydrator before you leave you might be able to make some nut chese and then dehydrate small squares of it to add to dishes.
I hope this helps!
When I was in India I pretty much lived off fresh green coconuts, very cooling , refreshing, no contamination, great as a drink and helps stave off the runs as well! I was in the south so the coconuts were easy come by..and it was very hot. I found that most of the bigger cities had markets and shops so fruit and veg shouldn’t be a problem but can be expensive compared to other things in India.. This is a couple of years ago , by the way..
I do love fruit, and am looking forward to that!! I will be traveling in South India—I don’t have a huge appetite when it is hot anyway. So staying hydrated will be a top priority, thanks for the coconut tip Freesia. Did you eat raw veg when you were there? The raw cracker idea with lots of greens is a good one pianissima—I may also make kale chips to take with me along with a homemade trail mix. Although I hesitate to eat too much dehydrated food in the heat. I’ll definatley allow myself to enjoy the cuisine in moderation, I just don’t want to find myself eating dosas and uttapams every day :) thanks for the raw indian food ideas writeeternity.
Musingmama, I was planning to go to India also. In fact the person who told me to go raw lives in India anyway. My question to you is are you going to have injections b4 you go?
Hi Musingmama, you’ve got a lovely picture of the warrior goddess Durga there….. I’m Indian from Mumbai, living in London/Paris and discovered Raw only a couple of months ago. I’ve been wondering and thinking about raw food in India for when I go back to visit too. First of all, let me tell you, there is no raw food culture in India at all – everything is cooked and very often overcooked. In south India, like Freesia said, its very easy to find coconuts and they are usually cheap and delicious, so thats a wonderful idea. There are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetable shops and markets, so thats great but you will definitely have to peel whatever fruits and veggies you can and wash everything in bottled water. And of course, don’t drink any water except bottled and no ice unless you’ve made it yourself with clean water. I wouldn’t eat anything raw in restaurants – its safer to eat cooked food….. If you’re anywhere close to Pondicherry down south, there is a health shop called “Bon apetit” where you can stock up on nuts, seeds, quinoa, buckwheat groats etc….and Auroville which is next door to Pondicherry is a great place to find spirulina, nut butters, other interesting things. I guess it all depends on where you are staying, what you have access to and whether you can make your own food or not – I tell myslef, I’ll have to be very flexible about food when I next go to India and its going to be fine, I’ll definitely miss my vita-mix, my smoothies and veg juices, and yet, India has other things to offer and can be really enriching….. If there’s anything else you need to know or I can help with, feel free :-)
Little Mango, I am not planning on having injections before I travel. Are you considering doing so? Which ones? Thanks for the suggestions Neeta, I will be visiting Pondicherry and Auroville :) I will be extremely careful about any fruit/veg that I buy, and LOVE indian cuisine, so will definately allow myself to be culturally enriched! I strive for flexability in life, and am sure this will be a handy virtue to cultivate while traveling in India . . .
Musingmama, the last time I visited India I was 11 and I had injections and I was sicker than sick the entire time. It was so bad. I really wouldn’t want to take any shots before I go. My parents are going to Mumbai in November but, I don’t think I’ll go this year.