Asafoetida

So tonight i discovered the taste of asafoetida, well actually i was able to put a name on the taste of one dish I tried in Mysore last week. I brought it back with a giant bag of indian spices.
I cooked one curry with it, seeing the size of the box (which is mostly full of layers of plastic bags) i guessed that i should put a small amount into my food. I did put about 3mm^3 in a triple portion of food, then tried to get the strong smell out of my hands. Now that I am eating it i can tell you one thing: this is the strongest (not hot though) spice I have ever found, I did probably put 5 to 10x too much. I tried to mask the too strong taste with chilli but it is just impossible :). The taste is interresting and very surprising though so I suggest you try (in tiny quantities).

Bangalore city of trees

One of the things that impressed me the most in Bangalore is that all the streets of the city are surrounded by beautyfull giant trees. Those streets are also one crazy place to drive on, a third of motorbike, a third of 3-wheels, and a third of cars, all of those not really following any kind of rule besides that they tend to drive on the left side and relatively slowly. The main safety feature available is the horn, that most people use pretty widely to signal their presence and their intentions. So widely used that many trucks have huge signs on their back saying "please horn", "sound horn ok"...