Indian Wedgies

VegeTAbles

VEGtables

Ve Ge Ta Bles

but my favourite one is

Wedgies

not veggies

WEDGIES

Local street market and supermarket finds are very fresh, very colourful, and if truly local,
very very cheap indeed Sir!

After buying my first bunch of coriander from a street vendor, I was disappointed to find out that only half was actually coriander.    The other half was carrot tops, tasteless of course, and much finer than the coriander leaves.   So, the next time I needed coriander, I took my body guard, tour guide, travel companion, driver, heavy luggage-carrier, -loser and -chucker, tight bottle caps opener, champagne, wine and whiskey connoisseur, bathroom fixer, kitchen builder, deck maintainer, lavender planter, yo-yo champion, flower lover, sailing seaman, brunch buddy,  best mate, cooking partner, the love of my life, and now...coriander controller, with me.

The vendor immediately knew that we meant business.

I asked for dhania.

He gave me a big bunch.

I smiled, and inspected it.

mmmmm half carrot tops, half dhania.

I returned it to him with a smile.

The Dhania Policeman said nothing.  Just stood silently behind me.

He couldn't hide a chuckle when I took the wind out of the vendor's sails.

The vendor looked at him, as if to say, this lady doesn't need you!

They both laughed.

I said - I want 100% dhania or nothing.

His English deteriorated badly. Very quickly.

I went to the woman around the corner.   Her dhania was tied in a tattered but beautiful cloth.

I showed her exactly what I wanted.    She told her partner: This woman knows her stuff.

He laughed and assured us that what we see is pure coriander.

I argued.   He smiled. Yeah right.

In the end I settled for the mixed bunch but at a much reduced price.

We went home and I immediately put the Coriander Controller and Carrot Top Weeder to work.

Sort it out please ?  

Then he made a startling discovery:

Well, I came to India to learn. Not to teach.

It IS coriander.  This one actually tasted like coriander too.

My first bunch was a fake, because it was the first time that I had bought  from my local market.

Apparently they do sell carrot tops to unsuspecting and obviously new/foreign custormers.

Now I can go to the market all by myself, am met with knowing smiles 

and dare I say, respect?

And I get good prices too!

And my Coriander Cop?

These days he's into Pomegranate Pipping.