Govinda's

No, that's not the Govinda, Goooovinda at the Thirupathi temple.

Govinda's is a vegetarian restaurant run by the Hare Krishna people (as they are known around here). They sell what they call "karma-free food".

The menu explains that Govinda (another name for Lord Krishna) means protector of the cows. Cows are sacred and worshipped... the essence of Hinduism. Hence, they serve only vegetarian food. Great, I thought... D, P and I are all vegetarians.

We met P after a day of Dublin sightseeing, ending with firangs in Dhotis, Kurtas and Saris... shaven heads with little "pujari juttus" - the Hare Krishna people - singing away, banging on Mridangams and Tablas at the bottom of Grafton Street. I could swear that the firang woman playing the flute wore her sari much better than I could even dream of without my mum's help. An amateur rock band were playing Whiskey in the Jar (originally by an Irishman, before Metallica made it famous) 100 metres up the street, their electric guitars drowning out the solemn chanting of the pujari juttus.

Of all the karma-free food on their menu we just decided to have a plate each with everything on their buffet bar piled on it. No accessories - papads, pickles, etc. Karma free food, remember? Lots of rice, dal, and "curries" (potato, cabbage, paneer, courgette and carrot). Good value for 9 euro. I wanted to try some samosas after that, but was too full. Anyway, I thought it'll give me an excuse to come back. Big gulab jamuns and square laddus were displayed as examples from the dessert menu. Wait a minute... square laddus? I asked the firang woman behind the counter

Me: Isn't a laddu supposed to be round?

Firang lady: Yes, but this one is square.

Aiyooo only.

She then explained that it was just easier for them to make it if it was square. I shot rapid fire questions at her for 10 minutes, judging if she knew what she was talking about. If I should risk it or not. Asked her what it was made from and how it was made. She gave me all the right answers - "besan", then explained ot me that besan was chickpea flour. The laddu was made with besan, sugar and "ghee". Still, I couldnt bring myself to eat a square laddu... especially when laddu is almost synonymous with the spherical shape. Golmatol - like a laddu or a rossogolla (Ground beneath her feet, anyone?). I remember, in school, when we used to tease a fat friend saying "yemme thara thinkondu laddu thara aagbuttidiya". Square laddus? blasphemy. It might have made it easier if they had jsut called it burfi. Made it much, much, easier for me to eat. And that too for someone as conservative as me about food rules. I wouldn't dare eat Northindian papads with rasam and rice. Those two food groups are kept separate. Ah, well... next time i'll try the gulab jamuns instead.

Next time, I have to try the samosas... for the first time, I saw authentic looking samosas. The ones in England are soggy and flat with the crust so thin that you can see the filling form the outside. And of course, they haven't heard of spices. I'm putting all my hopes on samosas of the Hare Krishna people. I saw them selling those at a weekend market in Temple Bar. Looked almost like the ones we get in K.C. Das. How my mouth watered... but I'd already spent my money on a crepe filled with salad, feta, sundried tomatoes and olives. I'm not complaining.... that was good too.

I'll just save it for another time. I'm here for 6 weeks, and there's lots to eat, including the posh restaurant Rasam (www.rasam.ie), which has no rasam on the menu, but what the hell!!