Foodie Friday: Samosa + Chai = Love

One of the things I loved the most about Dubai was the huge population of Indians and Pakistanis. Of course this is for purely selfish reasons: it’s my favorite cuisine.. ever. (In fact, my friends would probably tell you that it isn’t even worth asking me what kind of food I want to eat when going out–my answer is always “Indian”.)

One evening in Dubai, I was dying to visit the older areas of the city–the areas that aren’t flooded with tourists, malls, and skyscrapers. So my friend and I headed towards the gold souq so I could do a bit of ogling and we could see a different side of the city.

This area of Dubai reminded me a bit of Morocco’s medinas–people on the street inviting you into their shops; promising you good prices. Men on the corners very hurriedly speaking in hushed tones, offering you the best prices on knock-off Rolexes, and Prada and Gucci bags. But at this point, we weren’t in the market for those kinds of goods–we just wanted to find a good place to sit for a few minutes and have a cup of chai.

Thankfully, my friend loves seeking out the local establishments as much as I do, so when an older gentleman approached us touting his knock-off goods, my friend said, “We don’t want that. Where’s the chai?” The gentleman led us down a small, dark walkway flanked by concrete buildings, before dropping us at a crowded doorway. I figured this must be a good sign.

We entered a tiny “restaurant” with only three small tables and a passthrough to the kitchen where we ordered. We picked a table in a corner under the glaring fluorescent lights (which apparently made my pale skin almost see-through) and waited for our chai. “Don’t be alarmed if men stare at you in here. Women don’t frequent these types of places–especially not American women,” my friend warned me as I pulled my pashmina a bit tighter, covering any exposed skin.

We’d had chai a few times before during our trip, but my friend, and resident chai expert, said that what I was about to taste was the real deal. And he wasn’t wrong–it was one of the tastiest chais I’ve ever had. Hot, milky, spicy goodness.

In addition to our tea, we decided to splurge on a samosa to hold us over until dinnertime. Samosas might be one of my all-time favorite foods, so I was excited to have a relatively authentic one (at least compared to the ones I was used to eating in Austin). It was served with two different sauces, both equally delicious and spicy. The samosa was actually spicier than any I’d ever had before.

It was the perfect late-afternoon reprieve: great conversation + chai + samosa = love.