I love ethnic foods and learning how to prepare them alongside the masters-those that grew up cooking with their parents and grandparents. It’s those recipes that have been passed down through generations by hands-on teaching, not written down in cookbooks, which seem to be full of flavor and uniqueness. It’s most enjoyable for me to cook with someone that I can learn from that uses fresh ingredients and measures by the eye and “feeling”. During my study abroad in Costa Rica, I was able to spend time in the kitchen with mami as we cut up fresh herbs and vegetables and added spices to taste. She knew what to throw together without following a strict recipe but just mixing the freshest ingredients to taste. Cooking with the ladies at my friend’s parents’ retreat was so much fun as they always made great tasting, elaborate but yet simple dishes that were also mostly healthy . . .and the desserts and breads. . .yum.
I didn’t grow up eating Indian food and always thought it was heavy, greasy, and full of cream and curry that made my stomach hurt just thinking about it. But, I’ve learned that cooking techniques and the ingredients vary from one region to another. The Indian cuisine can be basically classified into four major regional varieties, Northern, Western, Eastern, and Southern, though wide differences exist within each region: North Indian cuisine is normally known for major usage of dairy products, apart from flat, bread-type of items prepared from wheat powder, known as roti, which are dry baked on a griddle or deep fried in oil. The main dishes of Eastern Indian region include pasty, fried, vaporized, and thin spicy preparations, generally terms as curries. South Indian food items are dominated by rice items. The food items of Western India are typically categorized as Maharashtrian, Gujarati, and Goan preparations with seafood as the main staple.
It wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I realized how good Indian food could be. As a vegetarian, I knew it provided many options, but, except for one small Indian restaurant in Ann Arbor, I never really explored it much. For my Indian friend’s birthday, we went to Tamarind in Gramercy and just kept ordering a bunch of different dishes. It was a wonderful experience. .. .everything was so good, prepared in a fancier way, but perfect to expose me to how tasty Indian food can be without giving me stomach pain after.
I’ve been lucky enough to cook with Latino and French “chefs” but it wasn’t until just recently that I had the opportunity to learn Indian cooking. No recipe involved as we prepared yellow dal and a cauliflower dish. My friend had to bring over all her spices since they’re not ones that I keep in my cupboards and a few were specialty ones only found at Indian bodegas (in the east village I think). While the food does smell up the apartment for a while, I lit candles and opened windows to try and counter balance the smells. It was well worth this sacrifice though to have a warm, delicious, fresh, meal. The ginger, jalapeños and cilantro are excellent combinations! The Indian cauliflower dish was made with basically the same ingredients as the lentil recipe below but was incorporated in to the chopped cauliflower as opposed to the lentils . . .. so addicting!
Ingredients:
yellow split peas
water
salt
fresh ginger root, grated
diced jalapeno chile pepper
diced tomatoes
lemon juice
turmeric
vegetable oil
cumin seed
garlic cloves, chopped
cilantro, chopped
garam masala
From what I can remember ;)
Rinse split peas; soak in water for about 30 minutes.
Heat split peas and water with salt until boiling.
Reduce heat to medium and cook 15 to 20 minutes until tender and thickened.
Heat oil in a small saucepan and add onions and garlic until they begin to clarify.
Add spices, ginger, tomato and other ingredients except for the cilantro.
Stir the mixture into the split peas and add cilantro. Mix well.
And don’t forget to garnish with cilantro and serve with roti or naan bread!
It wasn’t until about 2 years ago that I realized how good Indian food could be. As a vegetarian, I knew it provided many options, but, except for one small Indian restaurant in Ann Arbor, I never really explored it much. For my Indian friend’s birthday, we went to Tamarind in Gramercy and just kept ordering a bunch of different dishes. It was a wonderful experience. .. .everything was so good, prepared in a fancier way, but perfect to expose me to how tasty Indian food can be without giving me stomach pain after.
I’ve been lucky enough to cook with Latino and French “chefs” but it wasn’t until just recently that I had the opportunity to learn Indian cooking. No recipe involved as we prepared yellow dal and a cauliflower dish. My friend had to bring over all her spices since they’re not ones that I keep in my cupboards and a few were specialty ones only found at Indian bodegas (in the east village I think). While the food does smell up the apartment for a while, I lit candles and opened windows to try and counter balance the smells. It was well worth this sacrifice though to have a warm, delicious, fresh, meal. The ginger, jalapeños and cilantro are excellent combinations! The Indian cauliflower dish was made with basically the same ingredients as the lentil recipe below but was incorporated in to the chopped cauliflower as opposed to the lentils . . .. so addicting!
Ingredients:
yellow split peas
water
salt
fresh ginger root, grated
diced jalapeno chile pepper
diced tomatoes
lemon juice
turmeric
vegetable oil
cumin seed
garlic cloves, chopped
cilantro, chopped
garam masala
From what I can remember ;)
Rinse split peas; soak in water for about 30 minutes.
Heat split peas and water with salt until boiling.
Reduce heat to medium and cook 15 to 20 minutes until tender and thickened.
Heat oil in a small saucepan and add onions and garlic until they begin to clarify.
Add spices, ginger, tomato and other ingredients except for the cilantro.
Stir the mixture into the split peas and add cilantro. Mix well.
And don’t forget to garnish with cilantro and serve with roti or naan bread!
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