19 October Wednesday

OK, so day before yesterday I wrote a second post. I pre-dated it for yesterday, but then forgot to post it. So, I just posted it now, a day late, and guess what, you may just have to relax, put on a pot of tea, slip into your slippers, and read a second post.

The other day, the beef stew day, even before this posting debacle, I had Naan dough in the fridge, intended to serve. And I forgot all about it, to the consternation of my guests. We had the stew, it was yummy, ya da, ya da, you were there. So tonight, when I went to polish off the Indian curries, I discovered the plastic bag with three day old Naan dough in it. Now, the oven is pre-heating, and I am about to try out what smells like a beautiful sourdough Naan.

I ate it. I ate every morsel. I took the last golden brown bite of sweet, tangy Naan and dredged it through the spicy dal and rich Chicken curry. Is this, perhaps, what heaven tastes like? Beyond, beyond. I am bathed is sweat. I should have mentioned we are having a last little heat spell before winter, it was about 80F today, it’s about 67F now, but getting my little Magic Tandoori going to 500F well, that was somethin different.

Praise is owed to yet another master teacher and cookbook writer, Julie Sahni. Her book, Classic Indian Cooking, is a must read for anyone who cares about anything. How much one can learn from a cookbook besides cooking! The introduction itself is a master essay on having confidence, being comfortable in the kitchen, and trying something different. She claims that Indian cooking is the easiest international cuisine for the American home cook to master. Well, that’s easy for her to say. Yet, I have to agree. There is less reliance on technique and more on ingredients and their assimilation into a dish. For instance, I notice that Garam Masala is often added at the very end, after the cooking is done and before the finished dish rests, which is also a common feature of these recipes. Some spices are toasted in the pan that the rest of the stew cooks in, and some are cooked separately in ghee before being added mid-cook. You may need to remember the order, but there are no unusual techniques to doing this, you just add the ingredients when necessary.

Anyway, I bask in the afterglow of Indian spice. I’m contented, almost sated. And the fridge is mostly empty again. I want to encourage all of you to try cooking some different foods. Making Indian food at home is significantly better tasting than most of the restaurant equivalents, it is less expensive, you flex a creative muscle that sustains you biologically, and if you mind your ingredients and flex some actual muscle, you may feel your pants are a bit looser.

Goodnight. Let hope spring eternal.