A few highlights from last week

I (Andi) spent a day last week with Lissy Jonny, the wife of Gareth ’s boss who is quickly becoming a friend and advisor on all things Indian. Back in March when we or actually I visited Hyderabad for the first time, Lissy and I met and she made the rash promise to try and teach me how to cook a real Indian feast, none of this jar rubbish! So off I pottered at 10.30 am and with her two girls at school and Jonny at work this meant we had the house to ourselves.

Lissy is an instinctive cook and therefore following her recipes for meat masala, chapatis and dal, meant I had to make up versions of the measurements used in the dishes. For example what she described as a pinch was in fact 2 tablespoons of some form of spice - this could be very dangerous... It was impressive to watch her throw everything together and the meal we were preparing was to be shared by the family and Gareth and I that night.

Occasionally allowing me the responsibility of stirring a pot or chopping a tomato, I mostly sat and watched the master at work. Sipping chai (tea) and taking notes as we went along, just as importantly we started sharing stories and getting to know each other better, with Lissy telling me about growing up in Kerala a city further south than Hyderabad it takes 24 hours to get there by train.

As the steam rose from the pots Lissy’s stories of her childhood flowed, she also shared with me how she became a Christian, worked with OM (Operation Mobilisation not OM Books/STL who Gareth works for) for two years, which is also where she met her husband. Her stories brought to life another part of India with its different cultural practices, food and language.
It was fascinating and she handled my many questions with patience. Lissy also has a great sense of humour and would often break out into infectious giggles especially as I tried to roll the dough, used for the chapatis, into a perfect oval shape as she had tried to show me, but didn't quite master ..

Around 3.30pm her two girls Brija and Silja returned from school and immediately dragged me off to watch a performance from one of their school open days. This mostly consisted of me admiring their dance moves and singing abilities…

Finally the day’s cooking was completed and with Gareth and Jonny back from work around 6pm, we eventually sat down to eat the amazing array of dishes Lissy had whipped up for us (unfortunately though I’d like to I can’t take any credit for them).

Now I just have to use the recipes myself, trying not in the process to subject Gareth to any serious stomach issues….

Lissy’s next lesson she has told me, is to demonstrate how I wear a sari properly so it doesn’t look like I've wrapped a bandage around my body (for those on my MK hens night this might ring a bell!)


The next day I spent some time with Leah Kadwell. Leah and her husband Kevin are from the States but have lived in Hyderabad for over eight years now. Their two children Clark and Claire were both born here and they give invaluable advice on how to settle in/integrate as expats and make it your home. Leah and I met up to walk round the community she lives in to see if any of the homes were available to rent. This is sometimes the best way to find somewhere to live, apart from word of mouth. However there was nothing for us to look at that day, but it gave me a good idea of the sort of area we’d like to live in and again had time to get to know Leah better.

We really value and are enjoying developing friendships with both Indians and some of the expats who we've met and are starting to feel more and more at home in Hyderabad and India.

Finding a permanent home is part of this process and we've spent a good deal of time recently looking for apartments and had thought we found the right place a few days ago. Unfortunately the landlord was unsure about renting to non-Hindus who may cook meat in the apartment. So there you go, we either convert or stop eating meat… Ok, so we couldn’t handle not eating meat....