Some things in the north and south of India are the same. The main staples in all of India are dal, lentlils, and rice. Indian food has lots of spices. Indian food uses turmeric, cardamom, cumin, ginger, red chili powder, black pepper, coriander, fresh green chilis, cloves, and garlic. Most of Indians are vegetarian, so almost every Indian dish has vegetables. It uses potatoes, cauliflower, chilis, spinach, peas, onions, carrots, squash, tomatoes, eggplant and okra. Pinkie, from our host family, made a really good dish from okra yesterday. It was fried okra seasoned with loads of spices – simple, yet tasty.

From The Big Field Trip – India, December, 2009

In every culture, cuisine is influenced by the traditions of the people and the climate the food is grown in. For example, no Hindus eat beef as cows are sacred. In North India where it is cold and dry, wheat is the main grain. In South India, where it is hot and moist, rice is the main grain. Also, in the South, they use coconut oil to fry their food. In the North, they use mustard oil. When I leave a North Indian restaurant, I feel like I’ll never eat again, because the food is so rich. When I leave a South Indian restaurant, I feel like my mouth is on fire. South Indian food is less rich than in the North, but it’s much more simple. North and South Indian food are very different, even though they are the same country.

From The Big Field Trip – India, December, 2009

I have had a lot more North Indian food than South Indian food because we live in Rajasthan, which is in the north. Gee is very popular in the North. Gee is clarified butter. It is added to Indian food to make it rich. Most Indians in the north eat food with their hands and/or chapatti. Chapati is a simple tortilla like bread, used as a spoon. Some popular North Indians foods are palak paneer (spinach cheese) and aloo gobi (potato cauliflower). Most people in India are vegetarians, but some eat meat. Since Hindus consider cows holy, and there are many Muslims in India, beef and pork is not eaten. Indian meat dishes have either chicken, mutton, or fish in them. My favorite meat dish is tandori chicken, which is baked in a special oven called a tandoor.

Indian food is delicious. From palak paneer to dal, Indian food is rich and spicy. Indian food can differ from north to south, but all of it makes my mouth water. I like Indian food, but I think I’ve had too much. When ever I go to a restaurant, I order fried chicken. I’m tired of rich food.

From The Big Field Trip – India, January, 2010

Chapati recipe (serves 5)

Ingredients:

3 c. Flour

2 t. Salt

2 c. Water

Directions:

1. Mix the flour and the salt in a large flat bottomed mixing bowl.
2. Slowly add the two cups of water to the mix kneading all the time.
3. Break the dough into small balls, about the size of golf balls.
4. With a rolling pin roll the balls one at a time into thin circles about 8 in. in diameter.
5. In a frying brown the chapattis on both sides, then put them over the direct flame until they puff up. Be careful not to burn them.
6. Serve hot with any North Indian dish.

From The Big Fieid Trip – London and Sofia, September 2009

Sofia is also a city of trees. Brown tree trunks line the streets like hundreds of statues. Leaves with all the colors of the rainbow float down to cover the sidewalks like a warm blanket. Chestnuts in a spiky cover hang on chestnut trees ready to fall.

As I wandered in Sofia, I noticed that the trees were full of seeds; big and little, circle and oval, they all scattered far from the parent tree. I saw crazy teenagers throwing chestnuts at bikes and trains. A maple seed with curved wings fluttered to the ground like a spinning parachute, and I picked it up. I split the seed open and put it on my nose so I looked like a rhino! Cruz did the same with papa’s help.

From Bulgaria

As I stood beneath a mighty walnut tree, I spied a dry walnut (stored by a lucky squirrel) hidden in a knot-hole. I reached up, standing on papa’s shoulders. I heard the “chip! chip!” of a squirrel chattering at us!

From Bulgaria

After that we said, “Sorry for taking your lunch, but thank you!” Oak trees were raining acorns, and squirrels were leaping and dancing as they gathered them up. I saw seeds in pods, cotton, purple fruit, spiky shells, berries, parachutes, and flat banana pods. Everywhere I looked there were seeds. 

 From Bulgaria

 Trees are living things. They get minerals and water from the ground through their roots. They use energy from the sun to turn carbon dioxide and water into sugar. This happens in the leaves, and it is called photosynthesis. Trees grow and then reproduce. When their flowers are pollinated they grow seeds.  Seeds are baby trees with food and nutrients so they can start to grow. They need enough food to live until they grow leaves and roots.

Seeds are made in all different shapes to help them disperse. Disperse means move away from the parent tree. If seeds did not disperse, when they grew they would be all crammed together, and they would have to fight for minerals, light, and water. Trees can’t move. Trees depend on other things to move the seeds like animals, people, gravity, and the wind. Some even get moved by the sun! When their pods dry up their seeds burst out of them like a spring had pushed them out. Seeds can even be dispersed by a wild teenager chucking chestnuts at trains!

From Bulgaria

For my project I took a lot of time to observe seeds. I threw seeds up in the air to see how they moved. I collected as many different types of seeds as I could and took them home to observe them. I drew their outside appearance then cut them open and drew their inside appearance. I drew details like color and texture. I described each seed in words. I read about seeds on the internet and saw a lot with my own eyes. On the internet I learned that poppies have very small seeds. The top of the poppy is like a rattle with really small holes. When the wind blows the poppy around, the rattle shakes, and poppy seeds go flying out. The whole seed experience was a lot of fun, especially standing on papa’s shoulders to get the dried walnut out of the tree.

From Bulgaria

As part of my project, papa and I made Baklava out of walnuts. Baklava is a great tasting desert that is made in Bulgaria. We made it because it has a lot of seeds. Walnuts are are the seeds of walnut trees. The sheets of phylo dough are made from the seeds of wheat, which is a grass. Here’s the recipe that we used. It is best to eat it with ice cream!

 BAKLAVA

INGREDIENTS: 

1 lb.  pastry sheets (phylo dough)

1 cup of butter

1 lb chopped or ground walnuts

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

1  cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup honey

1. Grease a baking pan with melted butter
2. Layer 8 pastry sheets with melted butter brushed between every two sheets
3. Mix the chopped or ground walnuts and cinnamon and spread 1/3 of the nuts over the pastry sheets
4. Cover with 2 pastry sheets and brush with butter
5. Add another 1/3 of the nut mixture, spread evenly
6. Cover with 2 pastry sheets and brush with butter
7. Add remaining nut mixture, spread evenly
8. Cover with remaning pastry sheets with melted butter brushed between every two sheets
9. Cut the bakalava into diamond shaped pieces
10. Bake until golden
11. Make syrup form sugar  and water. boil & add honey. simmer for 20 minutes.  let cool.
12. Spread syrup over cooled baklava & soak for 24 hours!

From Bulgaria