Vegetarians must love traveling to India. Since much of the population is vegetarian, there are always options at every restaurant. I’ve been adhering to a vegetarian diet while in India, but have dabbled in a few carnivorous cravings (when appropriate). For example, when we went to eat dinner at The Royal Afghan, known for their meats cooked in a Tandoor, I couldn’t pass up a chance to try the specialties of North/West India. We started our meal with papdums topped with chopped tomatoes and onions… think Indian nachos, where the chips are fried lentil crackers.

Next we had dal Bukhara (stewed black lentils), raita with cucumber, onions and tomatoes, murgh makhani (butter chicken), tandoori lamb and a basket of parathas, rotis and chapatis.

Thankfully we had ordered the raita, because everything was super SPICY, even the lentils. The chicken was rich and the lamb was oh so tender. North Indian food is flavorful yet heavy, so we were quite stuffed by the end of the meal. And as full as we were, we felt like it was our duty as tourists to sample a few of the regional desserts. Just doing our job. We tried the rasmalai (paneer in clotted cream) and the shir berinj (rice pudding). I liked the cardamom spice of the rasmalai, but really loved the creamy shir berinj. I am a sucker for rice pudding though.

Traveling for work means never paying for a meal. Hello per diem! Just like being taken out on a date for every meal every day of the week. A girl sure could get use to this.