The Indian Invasion

Since we live in Maine, you might think I could be talking about MicMacs or some other tribe of native Americans. But no, I mean from-India Indians.
It's because of Reny's, actually. Reny's is a chain-- a small chain, about 14 stores-of small stores that in another time and place might have been called dime stores. They sell clothes-- good work clothes, casual clothes, seasonal stuff like waterproof boots and snowshoes when that time comes around. And they sell all the other stuff you'd expect in a dime store-- pots and pans and cloth and needles and decorations and sundries, as in all and sundry. A bit of this and a bit of that. And they sell food.
They don't sell the sort of food you'd find in a grocery store. That is, you might find cereal or you might not. Soup, for sure, but you never know what kind. Chips and snacks, but you couldn't predict which ones. Years ago, we bought a box of Bugles, a corn chip snack product that I would have thought was extinct. But no, Reny's had it, but it was packaged for the Middle East-- all the writing was in Arabic. O-kay....
So, I was in Reny's a few weeks ago, and looking around in the food section, saw that good old stand-by, Alu-Mutter. For those of you unacquainted with Alu-Mutter, let me tell you it is an Indian dish, made chiefly of potatoes and peas, in a sort of curry sauce. Your typical, standard, New England fare.
Well, boggled though the mind was, I picked one up, and a couple of packages of adjacent Other Indian Stuff. And came the day when Inspiration lacked, I made some rice and heated up the pre-cooked, ready to eat pouches in the microwave, and voila, Instant Dinner.
It turned out not only to be cheap, at $2 a pop, but the kids and I all liked it. We have Alu-Mutter in the pantry, and in addition Dal Fry, Navratan Kurma (mixed vegetable stuff), Dal Makhani (curried black lentils) and several other varieties of insta-food.
It's pretty hard to argue with this stuff-- the kids like it, we like it, it's vegetarian, free of noxious ingredients and cheap. The only mystery is how it came to rest on the shelves of Reny's in Bath, Maine. I am certain there is a great reason, but it's not a reason anyone has seen fit to share with me-- and I've asked. No one at the store will admit to knowing the crooked path that led to these MREs sitting on these old shelves, but hey, it's like Lola-- it's a crazy, mixed-up world. And for that, and MTR's well made offerings, we are eternally grateful.