Steve, my US friend, messaged me. He said that our Kolkata homestay owner (in Turquiose Letterbox) had contacted him. The owner asked Steve to buy some Dalle Khursani for him. Steve told him I was in Kalimpong.
Dalle Khursani means “round chillies” in Nepali. It’s grown in Bhutan and Nepal. In India, it’s grown in the states of Sikkim and West Bengal (Darjeeling and Kalimpong).
Steve and I were due to be briefly reunited in Kalimpong. He could take the chillies with him to Kolkata, where he was returning for a stopover.
I asked my current homestay owner where I could buy Dalle Khursani. He said it was not quite the season. However, if they were anywhere, they’d be in Haat Bazaar, Kalimpong’s main market.
This morning, I headed to the market. Kevin messaged to say he and Sophie were going to the market too.
It was a lovely, local market where people were friendly. There were no tourists. I got speaking to a fellow shopper, who spoke very good English. I asked her if she’d seen the chillies anywhere. She said she’d seen some in the far corner of the market and pointed me in the right direction.
Kevin messaged to say he and Sophie were on their way. We both sent each other our live locations.
During my search for Dalle Khursani, I saw quite a few stalls selling what looked like grey stones! I asked someone what they were. They were yeast to make alcohol at home!
As I was wandering around, I saw Kevin and Sophie! Together, we went hunting for Dalle Khursani, which does sound like a baddie in The Usual Suspects.
We tried several stalls. One stall owner said it was not the season. Another pointed us to a possible seller. Again, we went looking. When, eventually, a stall owner said he had some, we all shouted, “You do?!”, and laughed. It was not much, a small bowl, but I bought all of it. Mission accomplished!
Our next destination was a monastery designed by a Japanese architect. Before leaving the market, Sophie bought some phambi, a traditional mung bean dish.
