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Growing up in a ‘Bread, meat & potatoes’ family, I consider myself very lucky to have the opportunity, and more importantly, the palate to taste ethnic cuisine. This became a blessing when my family moved to Vancouver when I was ten. My two sisters, who say ‘NO’ to almost everything foreign to them, still call me an alien when it comes to food.
I developed a love for spicy food during the last summer of my high school year when I was introduced to Indian Curry working at a shop on Kingsway owned by an Indian family. Behind the store was a small kitchen where Prem the owner, his wife and their young son ate, lunc the very same kitchen where I had my first Naan and Chick Pea Stew.
Prem was a generous man who enjoyed eating as much as talking about the Vancouver Canucks; apparently, those were my favourite subjects too! Needless to say, we got along fine.
I forgot to pack lunch one day and was going to grab a burger nearby; Prem stopped me and invited me to try his home-cook meal.
“My mother made these last night.” Prem pointed to the Naan, “Eat it with the stew.” The naan, wrapped in foil, had been re-heated in the toaster oven. I took a piece and sank it into the bowl of stew. “Wow, it’s hot.” I said after taking a huge bite, “but it’s not as spicy as I thought. What’s in it?”
“You see! Herbs and spices give the food exotic flavours, but not necessarily chili hot taste.” Prem explained, “My mom put onions, chickpeas, and added a lot of herbs and spices, like cumin, tamarind, carom and cinnamon to make this. She has the best recipes.” I had no idea what those ingredients besides onions and chickpeas were but politely replied, “I am sure she does.” Quickly I finished that piece of stew-dipped naan and was relieved Prem only gave me a small bowl. Yes, the naan was yummy; the taste of the stew was no doubt delicious and intense, but I was never a chickpea fan! My first encounter with Indian food was, shall I say, very brief.
Couple weeks later, I brought a Tupperware box of left over Penne with Meat sauce for lunch. As I was about to eat my micro-wave heated pasta, Prem’s wife, who was stirring a pot of brownish-green aromatic something said to me, “Come, try this.” Without waiting for an answer, she put a scoop of the brownish-green something right onto the pasta. And, before I could say anything, she said, “Eat! You’ll like it. It’s Lamb in green curry.”
So I did!
Meaty, tender and soaked with so much flavour were the lamb cubes which somehow mixed in nicely with the ground beef. When the silky, thick green curry touched the tip of my tongue, my palate rejoiced.
The bite-sized chunks of lamb and the explosive green curry turned my boring pasta into a sensational dish of ‘East meets West’ gourmet. As a result, I asked her for more Lamb Curry to add to my pasta for dinner that evening. Little did I know; this Green Curry marked the beginning of my culinary journey of many more curry dishes, some of which I learnt to cook and impress my dinner guests with. |
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