A trip around the world just wouldn’t be complete without a highlight of some of the best foods and local treats I found along the way. And while traveling around the world as a vegetarian has its obvious draw-backs, I still managed to sample plenty of delicacies and specialties along the way.

An example of something I skipped? Fried tarantulas in Cambodia.

A vegetarian friendly highlight? Fruit salad and curd.

In fact, who ever knew that curd could taste so good?! India’s rampant use of curd (it’s a whole lot like yogurt) in many of their dishes started my love affair. Although you have to be careful eating raw fruits in India (skip un-skinned apple skins and grapes), the morning curd and fruit dish is pretty ubiquitous. And it’s sometimes also served with a spoonful of honey to offset the tart flavor of unaltered curd.

Another use for curd? As an accompaniment to spicy foods! A dallop of a curd in a side dish is a great way to cool down burning taste buds (tip: they also have a delicious coconut paste that is served with dosas and thalis that functions similarly – it was so good I always sheepishly asked for a tad more!).

Are you all curded out? Well, let’s move onto…more curd (sorry, I really do just love it).

The Indian lassi is a staple of the diet in India as well – it’s truly not just for tourists! Indians eat a lot of curd and yogurt based drinks because they aid with digestion, and it’s not uncommon to have curd of some-sort with every single meal. I was a big fan and firmly believe all of the curd helped me keep my GI track in order and limited the times I got ill.

The lassi is an easy addition to a meal – trust me, no trouble at all to order one of these! I most often opted for the traditional and refreshingly simple: sweet lassi. But then a rare find in Pushkar produced the Makhania lassi; it’s made from saffron extract, almond extract, cardamom, and rose and topped off with cashews, pistachios, pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and a sprinkle of coconut.

My mouth waters at the memory.

Stay tuned in next week for another look at favorite foods from India – I promise the next post will include only a minor mention of curd and instead focus on favorite dinner dishes! (You could also subscribe and make it easy on yourself).

So tell me, what are your favorite Indian foodie finds?! Anyone else out there have a love for curd, or is it just me? Anyone?…Bueller?