India: The Mangana

Other than wanting to go to India itself and knocking off another country off my list, the other reason was to attend my friend R’s wedding!  Yes, an Indian wedding in India!  And if you’ve ever been to an Indian wedding you know that celebrations can last a week long.  So after a short two day stint in Paris we started our journey to India.  Our main hub was a city in Punjab called Ludhiana and the first event leading up to the wedding was the Mangana – which is what I’m told is the “engagement”.  It was hosted at and catered by the Hotel Maharaja Regency.  Here, the bride is not present but is an event on the groom’s side with the bride’s immediate/close family.  Gifts are given to the groom and we eat…..we eat at every event – did I tell you how much I love attending Indian weddings 🙂  And how much I love pakoras!  Typically made with vegetables in a spiced batter and deep fried – delicious!  Check out some of the other dishes I sampled.