Travel Food

It would depend on where you are going, and how you are traveling. And what cooking amenities you'd have wherever you are staying.
Traveling Delhi to Rameshwaram by train in the old old days would involve packing a lot of food for two days. All those kinds of foods can still be made in small amounts, packed in ziploc bags, and taken along for travel.

 

Ah..ha! Air travel ! That would involve your baggage to be x-rayed and sniffed by dogs. Lack of Pressure in high altitudes would require safe packaging of ziploc bags containing liquids/gels/spillables/squeezables. Many such things are not allowed in carry-on luggage.

We dot know your food culture in "home" country -- i.e., the country you would travel out of. What is your regular non-travel diet ?

All the foods that our ancients cooked to take along on a 2+day train journey sat pretty good without a fridge. However, if you are not a regular indian-food eater, this is moot.

Your mention of planning a nut/fruit travel diet makes me wonder if you are in forin country already, and not in India.

Travel to a new culture/country offers the chance to eat something out of the ordinary. However, eating out while on business travel often got me a non-food problem -- not easy to go out on one's own to eat in a restaurant. Fortunately in many countries there are food deliveries direct from restaurant-menu to hotel room. You can try that.

 

I prefer homemade food more than eating out and also it's sometimes being a vegetarian it's difficult to find good veggie options around. That being said I would first confirm from the hotel if they have fridge and microwave in the room. This is what I usually carry when I travel and then either cook it microwave or re-heat:
- Homemade idli and chutney
- Homemade veggie patties with some chutney
- Paneer rolls
- Roasted upma mix (add water to it and cook it in microwave)
- Thepla's or paratha's. (Either homemade or if you are in India there are ladies who cook and sell it)
- Khichdi mix or rice to cook in microwave along with some pickle
- If it's not a long flight, you can also carry dry curries with roti's.
- I have also got pav bhaji's bhaji from India to US.. packed in air-tight container and put it in check in bag.
- Poha

Apart from these I also carry some dry Indian snacks. Everything I listed might not be healthy, but I mostly prefer homemade food over outside food.

 

From whatever I listed, I have carried everything except pav-bhaji in my carry-on luggage without any issues. Just make sure things are dry as much as possible and if something is little oily (like even dry curry or dry chutney with some moisture) I would pack it in air-tight containers.

Also most countries doesn't allow outside produce in the country, so confirm it before you carry fruits. Also fruits should be easily available there too.

 

Here are some recipes for you & mind what sneha1985 says about food imports.

It is a pity that you don't have checked in luggage:

1. Make 8 or more idlies. In a dinner plate, mix a couple of table spoons of gun-powder (milagai-podi, any commercial brand will do) with a mix of 1:1:1 sesame-coconut-olive oils. Coat each idly with this mix. Instead of milagi-podi, you may use other podi's using the same procedure. Oil coated idlies will not go dry/stiff for a few days. Pack 4 idlies to a ziploc bag. Pack some for the husband to eat when you are away. The oils give you distinct tastes.

2. Make ghee-tadka with mustard, cumin, ginger, curryleaves, cashew nuts. When Cashews are golden brown, add sooji and salt, dry roast under very low heat for a couple of minutes. The heat is off. Pack this half/cup per ziploc.
This is ready-made sooji-ka-upma mix. Think of what you might need at the destination to convert this to Upma. Water heater, microwave, etc..
When we travelled (family of 4 with older visitor from India) we used this upma mix, with a packet of knorr vegetable soup dry-mix, and very hot water to make upma. She was delighted. And with a decoction coffee chaser, it put her back in her home town. While she was thusly basking, we could sneak off with the kids, and eat a sumptuous non-veg dinner in a local restaurant.

3. Puliogare recipes are on the web. Get one that has Turmeric in the concoction. This is an anti-fungal. Make and pack in ziploc bag. Good for a week. Do Not refrigerate. Refrigeration spoils the taste.

 

For idli's you can do what @Amulet mentioned. Incase if you want to avoid the coating, here is what I do for idli's. I don't get time to cook everyday, so I sometimes make idli's in advance and keep them in fridge or freeze them. Then take a plate and 2 paper towels. Moist the paper towels i.e. wet it in the water and then press and remove the water. Open and spread one of the wet towels on the plate, place the idli's on it and cover it with another wet paper towel. Then microwave this for 2-3mins and you will get the soft idli's as this method acts like steaming the idli's again.

 

Look for healthy options near by,such as clear soups,sandwiches and salads.Use little to no dressing (in-case you are concerned about the calorie intake).Most of the restaurant chains such as subway,panera bread provide healthy options with nutritional information which could help you decide.

Most of the hotel rooms are equipped with a mini kitchen that includes microwave,fridge and stove.Check with your hotel before you travel.Make sure to carry a sauce pan (to cook rice/pasta),ladles and few microwave friendly bowls.
You could probably carry some of these...
1.Tamarind pulihora mix (you can later mix it with some cooked rice)
2.Rasam mix (concentrated tamarind rasam mixture, you can later dilute it with water and simmer for sometime at your hotel suite)
3.Methi teplas
4.Poories,roties with dry potato curry or tomato thokku.
5.Kakhras (crispy roties)
6.Sarvapindi (its a big round roti made with onions,rice flour,spices,chana dal and peanuts),you can find these in swargruha sweet stores.
7.Home made karam podi and pickles.
8.You can carry some lightly coated peanut pakodi in ziplock bags.To make this,mix some raw peanuts with salt,chilli powder,cumin seeds,green chilli paste,ginger garlic paste,chopped mint leaves and cilantro,little rice flour,little besan.Deep fry in oil,remove,cool.For a healthier version spread these on a parchment paper and microwave for a couple of minutes or bake in the oven.
9.Tadka (Heat oil,add red dried chillies,green chillies,hing,mustard seeds,curry leaves,ginger,turmeric and fry,remove and store in an air tight container).You could purchase some limes/bottle of lime juice and curds at your local store later for a quick lemon rice and curd rice.
10.Fried onions mixture - heat some oil,fry some chopped or sliced onions till translucent,remove let cool and store in an air tight container.Refrigerate at your hotel and use to make egg bhurji (buy eggs at your local store).
11.Masala onion mixture - heat some oil,fry some chopped or sliced onions, till brown,add green chillies,ginger garlic paste and fry till raw smell leaves,add salt,chilli powder,turmeric,garam masala powder and mix.let cool and store in an air tight container.You can refrigerate this at your hotel and use to make curries such as chicken curry,boiled egg curry.You could also add curds to this mixture to make your own pulao/biryani with coconut milk and/or tomatoes or mixed veggies or chicken or keema.You can add chicken/mutton mince and a vegetable such as cabbage or potato or fresh green peas to this mixture to make keema cabbage/potato/peas fry (coconut milk,tomatoes,frozen mixed veggies,curds,cabbage,potatoes,peas,eggs,chicken,keema are easily available at your local store).
12.You can make a very concentrated version of tamarind gravy by simmering the gravy till it thickens,also avoid using fresh coconut (can use dry coconut) using this recipe - . Cool and store in an air tight container,and refrigerate later.Dilute it with water and add boiled eggs and heat to make egg pulusu.(you can also add raw fish fillets found at your local store instead of boiled eggs and cook for 10 mins to make fish pulusu).
13.Make dry subzies that goes well as a side dish with rasam/curd rice such as potato,lady finger,tindora (deep fry or bake veggies of your choice with little oil and mix with idli karam podi,can also add roasted peanuts and/or onion pakodi),let cool and store in ziplock bags. You also try beans pakodi fry and store in a ziplock bag, recipe at this link Beans Pakodi Kura ~ French beans Fritters Stir fry - Indian food recipes - Food and cooking blog
14.Carry some karela chips (found in hot chips stores),goes well with rasam/curd rice.
15.Carry some raw rice or grab some at your local store to cook later.
16.Shop at a local grocery store for bread,pasta and/or ravioli (stuffed pasta) and pasta sauce,peanut butter,jams,eggs,cereal,milk,a tray of fresh cut veggies with hummus dip,fresh fruits and nuts.
17.You can also get some freshly made salads,soups and sandwiches from a local organic store.
18.You can also get some pre-marinated boneless and skinless fish/chicken pieces from an organic grocery store found at the deli section.Grill these on a pan at your hotel suite using a cooking oil spray.
19.If you dont mind the preservatives,you could carry a few instant mixes like MTR upma and pongal mix,knorr soup mix,cup noodles,MTR read to eat dal/curries, you can also make your own instant upma mix just like someone suggested.
20.In case you have trouble carrying you can shop at your local indian stores later,you could also look for some freshly made roties(cooked and uncooked).Frozen idlies,vadas,dosa batter,coconut chutney and sambar can be found at your local Indian store.These are not branded as they are made by home cooks without preservatives and stored in their fridge/freezer section.