Pixie Dust

"You can't cook to save your life, man!"-a friend had said it to me some years ago. At that time, I truly couldn't cook. I couldn't even boil an egg right. I was student then in Aberdeen and luckily I had friends who I shared an apartment with and who were better at it. I just did my part by doing all the dishes after the meal. Needless to say when we had to part ways after college, I had to cook for myself. I would depend on ready to eat microwavable food, cheap take-away and the likes.

A time came when I had moved to Edinburgh and was sharing a dwelling with a childhood friend of mine from India, Ashwin Shenoy. This guy was heavier than me and needless to say, he was more passionate about food than me. This is when I was introduced to the right use of masalas and the ingredients that made great Indian food. He made a great teacher because he was very specific about the meal that me and him would eat and tolerate none of my mistakes-"Is that how you finely chop the bloody onions?!", " You sure the chicken in the curry is dead yet?!", "If you add any more of the chilli powder, you will need to take the fire extinguisher with you to the restroom tomorrow!", "Keep stirring! You will burn it otherwise!” were some of his remarks during the act. I loved the fact that I was getting the hang of it. That point of time, I knew what a fine dish the 'finely chopped onions' would make. I was the apprentice and he was that mental Gordon Ramsay from 'Hells Kitchens'.

After that, I was an experimental chef. I would try stuff the conventional way with a dash of my own twist. The mixture of flavours will sometimes backfire but I was getting better. The main ingredients are- cumin, coriander and red chilli in powdered form, mustard seeds, cumin seeds, garam masala (a blend of spices like nutmeg, clove, cinnamon, cardamom powdered together), curry leaves, turmeric powder. With these you can pretty much make a decent curry out of anything! Again, you will need to know when exactly to add it to the pan and what it would do. It’s like 'Pixie dust' for an Indian chef.

Before leaving to Sweden, I was shopping with my mom for these masalas and she was surprised how I knew about all these. She probably never thought I used these specific items that probably only Indian women were fussy without. Great success! I am still yet to cook for my foreign friends here to know how they find my culinary skills. Just yesterday I made this 'Pepper chicken Chettinaad' and it was gorgeous! A link to the same that might get you lot interested-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thQvn31Wdn4

Next time I meet Ashwin, I might challenge him for a cook-off! This blog is to encourage readers to try the real Indian food in their own kitchens. Also, this is a token of appreciation and gratitude to my dear ol' friend Ashwin. Without his inception I couldn't have become a person with decent aptitude for Indian cooking.

PS. Do check out the related links to the video on youtube. He is a good cook.