I'm (Eating Paneer) on a Boat

Family. Can't escape it, can't avoid it. Even more so when your family holds reunions aboard a cruise ship. There is a long list of things I'd prefer over confinement to a small space and non-stop kitschy, mediocre activities, all while the floor rocks to and fro. But my emboldened family wasn't going to let my fear of boats stop them, and we embarked on a 3-night cruise to the Bahamas.

Others have written about the wonders and glory of cruises; this post will focus on the culinary side of things. We'd taken the exact same cruise in the past, and everything was strangely comfortably familiar. Less getting lost (stateroom staircase connects floors 1-13, cross to dining room and lounges on floor 4), less wondering what's happening (ongoing buffet, plenty of mediocre activities and games), less worrying about finding each other (meet at meals, do your own thing in between).

Yet sitting down for dinner the first night, my heart leaped with joy: Indian food for dinner! The menu featured Paneer Makhani, with rice and raita. The menu promised pappadams, but these did not materialize (yet). The curried sauce was quite good, but the paneer was cruise-quality (read: raw tofu?), and the raita was lovely.

The problem began on the second night. The menu featured a curry, which ended up being strangely identical to the first night, except that potatoes displaced the paneer and the pappadams actually showed up. The third night offered Kaju Paneer Dhansak, which was essentially the first night's dinner, plus a few chunks of pineapple in the curry.

Now, a quiz. Can you identify which dinner was served on which night? All correct answers will be entered into a drawing; one will be selected for the grand prize - an invitation to be a guest blogger and review an Indian restaurant of one's choosing. Good luck!!