Adventuring Out: Indian

I teach 10th grade English at a rad charter school dedicated to tripling the number of low-income Houstonians that go to college. My kiddos totally rule, but they know next-to-nothing about food. Oh, they can make a mean tamale and have fully fed my passion for Mexican soda... but they don’t branch out. Like, ever.

So this week I made a proposal. It went something like this.

ME: Hey, how many of you guys love tacos?
THEM: Oh me! Me! Me! I luuuuuve tacos.
ME: Great. How many of you like masala and naan?
THEM: [Blank stares]
ME: Time to branch out! Who wants to try Indian food on Thursday?!?
THEM: [Blank stares]
ME: Come on, guys! Let’s get out there and try new things!
THEM: Um, there’s a new [something-or-other] at Taco Bell...
ME: No! I mean something REALLY new. Like INDIAN FOOD.
THEM: [To each other] Really? Is she joking?

So Thursday night we toted 9 brave students to an Indian restaurant near campus. I gave them a brief primer on what to expect (samosas are like Indian egg rolls, naan is like tortillas but thicker) and excitement was in the air.

The restaurant prepared a buffet sampler for us, and while the kiddos initially turned up their noses at how the food looked, they got over it. And fast. They loved the thickness of the naan, the spices in the chicken rub, and the aromatic rice. They all cleaned their plates, and most went back for seconds. Hooray!


My classes were fired up the next day. How did it go? Can we go on a Wednesday next time? I really want to try Mediterranean food -- When will that one be?

So the buzz is there. Next up? Vietnamese.