Agra, home of the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders in the world is visited by millions every year. People from every corner of the globe travels here to see its beauty and hear the story that inspired it. At six in the morning as the sun was beginning to rise, I started my drive into the complex. Though it was barely day break the line waiting to enter was already forming. As with most attractions, tourists and locals are separated when waiting to enter, however I found the sign both amusing and slightly offensive to the locals.


I guess since we tourists pay 750 rps vs the 20 rps locals pay our value has increased. Once inside, you are greeted by the entrance gate which itself is massive in size.


The carvings and decor found on this red gate are identical to those later seen on the Taj. As you walk through the gate and squeeze by the numerous crowds of tour groups fighting to take photos, you are at once face to face with the legendary Taj Mahal. Situated at the end of a long fountain strip, there are identical walkways on both sides. It sits elevated on a platform at the end dominating and towering everything around it.


From every corner of the garden a spectacular vantage point is present. As the early morning sunlight reflects off the white marble, the monument shines with a warm golden hue. Up close you can see the detailed engravings on the walls filled with flowers and passages from the Koran. There are also twenty-two small domes at the top of the gate signifying the number of years the monument took to build.


Inside the mausoleum, the size of the monument is rather deceiving as only two coffins laid side by side in the center. However what most may not know is that the actual coffin lay under ground in the basement where the true size of the monument can be felt. It was also said that the emperor had plans to built a second Taj in black marble to be used as his burial site across the water so the two can be directly facing each other. However when his son heard of this, he thought him mad, and locked him up, so the complex was never finished aside from the base foundation.


In addition to the Taj, Agra is also home to Agra Fort, the second biggest fort in India and the model for the Red Fort in Delhi.


This fort like others I've seen in India consisted of courtyards within courtyards for a total of 94 acres of sculpted garden and marble shrines. Though by now the idea of it was no longer unique, what was impressive about this fort is its sheer size and magnitude. Like many Mughal architect, it also contained the intricate carvings and gems embedded on the wall along with the delicate arched patterns that supported the structure.





The last site in Agra I visited was I'Timad-Ud-Daulah otherwise known as Baby Taj. This monument built by an empress in her father's memory had a slight resemblance to the Taj but was obviously much smaller in scale.What I found interesting was how deserted and poorly maintained the site was despite the fact that it's beauty would have been boasted by any other city that housed it. I guess in the shadow of the real Taj Mahal I can see how many would found it redundant.


Now of course the Taj is THE monument people come to see in Agra if not all of India. However nearby there is another complex not to be missed. The Fatehpur Sikri was built in the beginning of 1500 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. The actual grounds of the complex sits on a rocky ridge and is divided into two parts. The first is the courtyard and royal housing.


The king at the time had three wives, one Hindi, one Muslim and one Christian, each with their own room. However it was the Hindi wife that bore him a son, hence she became the favorite and her resident hall was larger than the other two. The second part of this massive complex is the Jama Masjid. It was built in the manner of Indian mosques and house the body of the Holy Man, whose blessing the king received shortly before producing a heir.


Even today it is said that if you visit his grave and place upon it a shawl you will be granted up to three wishes that is sure to come true. Now all this sounds a little gimmicky to me, but by the looks of the people waiting in line to place their shawl I'd say they are not short of believers.

Rating:
Atmosphere: The town of Agra is pretty run down with the building half torn apart and wild monkeys climbing all over. In fact it is not uncommon to see cows, goats or even boars walking the streets. Small children no older than six going home from school are subject to walk in the streets as the limited sidewalks are occupied by street vendors. As motorbikes and rickshaws narrowly graze by it becomes hard to watch as disapproving looks are given to these kids for moving too slowly. Based on these sad situations one would never guess the city housed the nation's gem.
People: Given the touristy nature of the city, most people are extremely aggressive to offer you their products or ask for money. This soon became extremely aggravating and took away from the delight of the city.
Food: Surprising I had some of the best Indian dishes so far in Agra, which one wouldn't suspected given how most restaurants are catered to tourists. Perhaps when it comes to Indian food I much prefer it tailored to Western's taste bud instead of the real thing. Either way, the Chicken Tikka Masala and Shahi Mutton Do Pyaza (mutton stew) was superb.


Cleanliness: There was nothing clean about the city. The streets were filled with trash piles, the houses worn down, and small children were begging on the streets everywhere. Only in India would you be stuck in traffic due to a pack of buffalo crossing!
Beauty: This category made up for everything else the city lacked. Not only was the beauty of Taj Mahal breathtaking but Agra Fort and Sikri was also quite a sight. Having seen many wonders around the world, some came as a disappointment, however the Taj was everything people claimed and more. I can't even fathom the splendor of a second Taj had the emperor succeeded.
Comment: So far this trip has proven to be more difficult than any other I've taken with all of the last minute changes and alterations. However India is truly a country like no other housing so much culture, but it's sad to think that many wouldn't get to see it due to its poor infrastructure and living conditions.

Scale: 1-10 = 8

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The Magnificent Pink City: Jaipur

Jaipur is a 6hr ride by car from Delhi. On the way there you pass through many smaller towns and villages where people are crammed into old buses and cows wonder the streets unattended. Once in Jaipur the city is vastly different than any other. First off in the old town all the buildings are in the same pink color and design, originally built to imitate the red sandstone architecture of Mughal cities.


It is the only city of such kind in all of India, hence the name Pink City. In addition the cities in Rajasthan where Jaipur lies was not built by Mughals but instead stemmed from Kachchwaha rulers, descendent of Kush. One of the most visited site in the city is Amber Fort, this massive fort-palace complex is built in a Hindu-Muslim hybrid style.


Located high on a hill there are two ways of getting up, walking or hitching an elephant ride. So despite it being the touristy thing to do I decided to take the twenty min ride on Dumbo. The ride was shaky as the poor elephants marched sadly up the hill one behind another.


Even though the ride was uncomfortable the experience was worth it all. Once at the top we were dropped off at the main courtyard where armies use to hold victory parades on their return from battles.


Through an impressive decorated stairway we entered the first of four courtyards.


The first courtyard is the main courtyard and leads to the private quarters of the royal family.


The second courtyard contains the public audience hall, which was used to hear and receive petitions from the public. It was built with double columns, the red representing Mughal architect and the white Hindi.


The third courtyard were the private quarters and contained two beautiful palaces, one for the winter and the other summer. The winter palace on the right contained a room on each side for the king's two wives, followed by a room in the middle for the king himself. The walls were covered with mirror mosaics and small sculptures, that glistened in the light.


The summer palace on the opposite side was built with a sandalwood door and marble inlay. The water used to cool the palace was then recycled into the garden out front.


The final courtyard was for the king's concubines and denoted women only, with the exception of the king himself. Often times the queen would visit and sit in the middle, listening to the gossip of the day.


Aside from this amazing fort, the city also has 2 palaces worth visiting. The first is a water palace known as Jal Mahal, which is situated right in the middle of the lake. The bottom two levels are under water in the summer but visible in the winter. Currently however it is unused as the government considers turning it into a restaurant.


The second is the City Palace, which is the present home of Jaipur's king. Yes Jaipur still has a king, strictly as a figure head however. This complex also house a museum containing of all the past king's garment and head pieces.


In addition it also house two of the world's largest silver vessels. As far as temples go, the only one I visited was the marble temple or Birla Temple, a Hindu temple located on a hill. On the outside of the temple walls there are many carvings of historic and religious figures. The three marble domes represents the three major religions of the country.


On last extremely interesting attraction in the city was slightly unexpected for me. The Jantar Mantar is an astronomical observatory build by Maharaja Jai Singh. It consists of fourteen major geometric devices for functions such as measuring time and predicting eclipses.





I tested on of them and after doing the math it was spot on. What makes the site even the more interesting is how unsuspecting the place is tucked next to the city palace in old town.

Rating:
Atmosphere: The city is extremely loud due to all the noise of cars and rickshaws. People cross the street in every form and I'm not quiet sure who really yields to who. As my driver said there are three things you need to have in order to drive in India, Good Breaks, Good Horn and Good Luck!
People: People starred more often than in Delhi, and I had a few people asking for photos with I don't quiet understand. I asked my tour guide and he said it was because when they see light skin people they want a picture with them since not everywhere in India you see tourist. It's great that in India I'm considered light skinned, since my relatives in China always tells me I'm getting dark!
Food: The food of Jaipur is suppose to be one of the best and most diverse in the country. I decided to try a few of the local classics including Handi meat, a mutton stew


and Rajasthanl Thaal, an assorted platter of veggies, chickpeas and bread. Of the two the stew was better given the tender texture of the meat. However I was surprised at the level of spice in the dish as it was hotter than expected. The veggie platter I was unimpressed. With the exception of the cauliflower, all the other dishes were extremely pungent, with a strange lingering after taste. Many were grainy from the texture of the chickpeas. In the end I was more sold on the concept and presentation than taste.


For dessert I tried some local sweet lassi and Gulab Jamun. THe lassi reminded me of the yogurts I get in China while the Gulab resembled a donut hole, but sweeter and dipped in ghee. Not bad in flavor but definitely on the rich side.


In the end I wasn't extremely impressed with the food experience.
Beauty: From the outside the beauty and size of Amber Fort was enough for me to love the city. It was thus hard to imagine how its interior could surpass that, yet it did so in every aspect. The glory of the city as seen from the fort is truly indescribable.
Cleanliness: There really are cows walking all over the city, and who knew they ate trash. Inside Old Town the streets are extremely dirty and narrow. Traffic is horrendous and some of the old historic buildings has clearly not been maintained well. Yet once outside the old town gates, part of Jaipur begins to even resemble Delhi slightly, with wider, cleaner roads and traffic signals.
Comments: Jaipur is great to visit if you have a car to drive you around to all the sites. Otherwise the sidewalks are virtually non existent, and street signs are even harder to find. Another interesting thing I saw was handmade fabric patterns. In essences works stamp each layer of color individually on cloth which when completed produces a multicolored fabric to be used as clothes or sheets.


Scale: 1-10 = 7.5

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The Sights of Delhi

Now as many of you are probably aware, flying to India is an multiple day adventure. In addition to the time differences there are also layovers which results in complete jet lag when you finally land. For me my adventures began even before I left the country as my shuttle service to JFK brought about quite a scare. First I must advice all those ever considering taking Super Shuttle from Philly to Newark or JFK airport to find alternate transportation. Not only does the driver speed down the turnpike recklessly, breaking ever traffic law from speeding to using the emergency shoulder but his english was so poor that when he got lost picking up his final passenger I had to make the call and ask for directions! I spent majority of the ride praying for a safe and prompt arrival to the airport. Once on the flight my luck was no better. Seated in front of me was a young couple with a baby who managed to bring on a whole gallon of water onto the plane. However in his haste to bring it down from his many many bags in the overhead he dropped the gallon on my arm which broke the plastic and half the gallon spilled on my pants. Luckily I wore my silk cargo pants which dried rather quickly, however that was definitely not the best way to be woke up.
Upon arriving in Kuwait airport I quickly realized this place would not be featured on Bourdain's The Layover for the foreseeable future.

With the exception of the bare essentials the airport did not provide much more. It quickly became a dilemma as to how to past the next 7 hours. Had I been 18 I would have jumped at this opportunity to venture out and visit Kuwait City. However finally feeling my age, I quickly decided to take a long nap followed by a nice hot cup of cappuccino instead.
At 4:30am local time I finally arrive in New Delhi where I was greeted by my tour guide and taken to my hotel. The official tour started at 9:30 with the first stop being the Red Fort. The fort is about 2 kilometers around the whole ground, with its name originating from the red sandstones used to built the walls.

Though looking at it today it seems pretty beaten down, at the height of its glory it was the residence of the emperor after he moved the capital from Agra to Delhi.

Our next stop was Jama Masjid mosque, one of the world's largest mosque, built by Shah Jahan the same emperor who built the Taj. The architect of the mosque is a clear representation of Mughal design as presented by the beautiful archways while the structure itself was erected with red sandstone and white and black marble carved with passages of the koran.

At full capacity the courtyard holds 25,000 worshippers, all male however as females have their own special area.

After that we visited the nearby Old Delhi with streets so narrow only rickshaws were able to remove around. Street vendors selling various goods from fruits to clothing set up shops on the side.

Not even the old quarters of Shanghai had streets like these.

The last stop before lunch was the cremation site of Mahatma Gandhi, father of India. The site was perfect for the purpose, situated in a serene park with an eternal burning flame.

Lunch was slightly disappointing as the restaurant I was escorted to was clearly aimed at tourists. The food was slightly pricey and the flavor not much different than those I found in Philly. Guess I was hoping authentic Indian to be completely different like Chinese is in China.

To be fair however the Karahi chicken wasn't bad and I'd probably try to make it once I get home. After lunch the combination of the heat and humidity with food coma really set in. To make matters worse, the Lotus Temple like all other temples required walking around the grounds bare foot, which in the mid day sun felt like walking on fire. From the outside it slightly resembled the Sydney Opera House, while inside was just one large empty hall for prayers.

The concept of the temple is perhaps what makes it the most intriguing, as it's open to all religion, emphasizing the worship of God without denominational restrictions! The India gate was my least favorite attraction of the day.

It resembled other similar structures like the Arc de Triomphe, all monuments built to remember fallen soldiers. The final site of the day was the Parliament Building which was built with symmetry on both sides of the street. The buildings provided both a sense of importance yet was also estheticly beautiful to look at unlike other typical government buildings.

Dinner was at a tiny kebab house recommended by all the guide books. Khan Chacha is situated in an expat area tucked in between tiny streets. I ordered the chicken tikka rolls and the paneer tikka, both of which was delicious and probably one of the more authentic food I was going to get to try on this trip.
Rating:
Atmosphere: The air quality was like China, where despite it being a sunny day, the sun is hardly visible due to thick layers of pollution. Instead you are left with a sad looking hazy blue-ish grey sky. The worst is definitely noise pollution as every driver honks at everyone else. With thousands of rickshaws, cars and scooters the roads are completely chaotic. Lanes are blatantly ignored as often someone will drive down the middle just to squeeze by. Surpringly I saw no accidents!
Food: Not bad but not terribly impressed, was hoping for something unique in flavor.
People: Perhaps the hardest to summarize in such a crowded country. The idea of personal space is non existent like much of other over populated country, however they weren't out right rude. In fact there really wasnt any thing special to note or comment really.
Beauty: The architect around the city was truly amazing. Though I've seen many mosques throughout my travels, Jama Masjid was definitely one of my favorites. The intricate carving paired with the delicate curves of the arch was unlike anything I've seen before.
Cleanliness: Anyone who goes to India expecting a spotless city is definitely in the wrong place. However despite all I've heard about India, Delhi proved not to be so bad. Yes some streets were dirty and people were literally all over the place, however I expected nothing less. Instead I actually found the city to be surprisingly green, with trees and gardens everywhere.
Comments: The city is vast and virtually unaccessible without a car. Yet tucked into these shabby streets are some on the most beautiful monuments I've seen to date. What makes Delhi memorable is the balance of how they fit into the everyday life of the people as they change the landscape of the neighborhood.

Scale 1-10: 6.5

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Authentic Cooking Experiment: Hot Tamales

I have to admit tamales has never been my favorite dish in Mexican cuisine. It's mainly the texture of the corn mealy that puts me off. Most I have had in my days tend to be grainy and bland from the result of both under seasoning and lack of fat content. However for a friend's Mexican themed party tonight I decided to give Rick Bayless version of Red Chile Pork Tamales a try.

Ingredients
Filling:
16 medium dried guajillo chiles, stemmed, seeded and torn into pieces
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 tsp cumin freshly ground
1/2 tsp black pepper freshly ground
1 1/2 lbs lean boneless pork shoulder cut into 1/2 inches cubes
Salt

Batter:
1 1/4 cups pork lard, slightly soften but not at all runny
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 1/2 cps dried masa harina w/ 21/4 ups hot water
1 1/2 cups chicken broth

2 dozen corn husk

Directions

First make the filling with requires combining the first 4 items under filling along with 2.5 cups of water in a blender and blend until its a smooth purée. Strain the mixture through a strainer into a medium saucepan.


Add the pork, 1 tsp salt and 3 cups of water, simmer uncovered over medium heat until the meat is fork tender and the sauce is reduced to a thick consistency, about 1.5 hr. Break apart the meat and let it cool to room temperature. Taste and add salt if necessary.


For the batter, in an electric mixture on medium high speed beat the lard, 2 tsp salt and baking powder until light in texture, about 1 min. Continue beating as you add the masa in 3 additions. Reduce the speed to medium-low and add 1.5 cup of broth to obtain a soft cake batter consistency but not runny. It should hold its texture on a spoon. Taste an salt if necessary.

Refrigerate the batter for an hour then rebeat, adding enough additional broth to bring the mixture to the soft consistency it had before.


Soften the corn husk by soaking them in hot boiling water for an hour or until pliable.

Wrap the tamales by laying the corn husk with the tapered end towards you. Spread about 1/4 cup of the masa, spreading it out evenly into an 8 x 4 rectangle. Scoop about 2 tbs of the pork on top, then fold over the right part to combine the masa.


Fold up the bottom tappered part of the corn husk and then roll and tie with a thin piece of corn husk. Make sure you don't tie too tight as the masa will expand when steamed.


Place in a steamer making sure they are all laid down and not stacked otherwise they will not cook evenly. Once the husk pulls away from the masa they are done.


For the best texture let the tamales cool completely and then steam again for15 mins to heat them through.

As you can see by the recipe the ingredients and steps are pretty straight forward. It may seem kind of tedious but the actual hands on time is not really long. The resulting tamales were creamy in flavor with a slight hint of heat from the peppers. The masa were not at all grainy but instead light in texture. In addition when in the steamer the tamales gave off a wonderful rich corn aroma similar to that of corn chowder. This recipe completely changed my view of the dish and I can't wait to try Bayless' Green Chicken version.


Tips:
- I know some of you may be a little started by the need for lard in this recipe, however as Bayless says, lard actually has less saturated fat and cholesterol than butter.
- To make lard, simply put the fat cut from the pork shoulders into a baking dish and set it in the oven at 275F. After 2 hrs the fat should have rendered out resulting in a golden color, hence the culinary term "liquid gold".

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