Long time no write blog, huh?  Well, fortunately for me “long time no blog” does not mean “long time no eat”.  In fact, I’ve been eating quite well these past few months and it’s high time I reported back on what all I have been shoveling into my mouth and stomach. Let’s talk India.  I had the great opportunity to accompany my wife, Shefali , on a trip to India where we visited family and played the part of tourists for five weeks.  So how do I even begin to describe this vast country and it’s wide variety of food? Rice and beans.  Yeah basically, it’s like Mexican food. Okay, not really… but kind of.   Bear with me and my amateur analysis of one of the world’s great cuisines.  As I see it, like most of the world’s cuisines, Indian food has at it’s base: starch – in this case rice (and to a lesser degree wheat).    As a majority Hindu country, much of the population is vegetarian and does not even eat meat (which is more expensive anyway) so the protein in Indian meals comes in the form of legumes  – mostly lentils. But don’t get me wrong.  In my limited experiences eating in India, by no means did I find the food bland. It is the opposite. It is fresh, vibrant, at some times subtle, at other times bold and at all times delicious. The wonder of Indian food is in fact the variety and depth of flavors that can be derived from basic ingredients and the ingenious blending of aromatic herbs and spices.  At least that’s what I found during our first five days in India (spent mostly in Bombay with a couple days in Pune).  Now, since we were visiting Shefali’s family during this time, we ate mostly home food which, as we all know, is often the best.  Although to be honest, home cooked in many families, often means a cook prepares the meal and serves it to the family.  It still comes from a place of love, but it’s more in thinking up what’s for lunch or dinner and the creation of the menu than the execution.  Anyway, please enjoy some photos and descriptive captions of some of the delicious things we ate in Bombay and Pune.