A Note on cooking
Cooking is probably the most useful skill to acquire while in India. Eating out often is not practical, because of the effort (often not within walking distance), the cost (an average meal in a restaurant is around $10), and the fact that it takes some time to acquire different tastes. It is often a welcome break though!
Also, there comes a time in everyone's existence in America when one is absolutely tired of cooking. The better the cook you are, the later this will happen. And yes, you will feel at times that you were better off eating hostel mess grub. Most students cook regularly, so ensure you know the basics for a simple meal, and then learn specialities if you have the time and motivation. Vegetables commonly available all season are Potatoes, Onions, Green peppers (Capsicum), Tomatoes, various kinds of beans including green beans, Chana, kidney beans, and others. Cauliflower, Cabbage, mushrooms, are also available easily. All kinds of meats are easily found. Most kinds of dals are available at Indian stores like 'Saraswati Indian Grocery' which are a great convenience. For those more ambitious, there are a number of on-line recipe books you can find on the internet. Whether you're looking for new ideas, many of these are floating around on the internet.
