expanding culinary horizons

I'll be the first to admit that I'm not very brave when it comes to food. I like dishes that I'm familiar with, am not too fond of anything too hot or spicy, and tend to make the same stuff over and over. And even before I turned vegan I would order favourite items from restaurant menus (not that I ate out a lot), instead of trying something new. But I was in a mall the other day and realized that I was hungry enough that I wouldn't be able to make it home before having to eat. So I walked around the food court looking for something quick, cheap, filling, and vegan. Quite the order! Luckily, I then happened across The True Indian Gourmet where the staff patiently filled me in on what the different dishes were. When I explained that I was vegan, they right away understood and pointed out the dishes that contained no animal products at all. I ended up trying the vegetable samosa, and they let me sample the chana masala (chickpea curry) with basmati rice and boy were they both ever good! Spicy, yes, but I didn't seem to mind, and it occurred to me that maybe I should try more ethnic dishes that I wouldn't otherwise consider in order to literally spice things up a bit. Hmmm.