When I first tried a curry my homestay family made, I was blown away by the taste of the amount of flavors entering my mouth. I had to ask many times what spices she used, and half of them I had never heard of before. Of the ones I recognize, my homestay mom uses a lot of paprika, cardamom and red peppers in all of her cooking. Also, before trying it I had braced myself for a higher spice level than I am used to, but it turned out not to be that hot. However, I do think my homestay mom is increasing the spice level every day to test my ability to handle spiciness.
Curries are usually brewed in a pot over a gas-lit stove, and then served in a bowl for eating family-style. You never pour the curry directly over rice or roti on your plate. Instead, you put it in a small bowl that is on your larger plate for the meal; it helps keep the curry from spilling all around your plate. One day I would love to learn how to make at least one curry dish to bring home to make for my family.
As I mentioned before, most of India's population is vegetarian, because most of India's population practices the Hindu religion. Eating meat is against the practices of this religion. Most places where you find meat, it is prepared by someone who is Muslim.
Being a vegetarian is very much tied to the environment, though. Walking or driving down the street, you will come across many different animals: cows, birds, horses, camels, elephants, dogs and goats are some of the ones my friends and I have seen so far!
