Week 10: India

The eldest and her beautiful headband.

It's always a mix of emotions when something good comes to an end.  This project has been such a good thing for me and the kids and for that I'm really sad to see the end.  However, it has been a huge amount of work, planning and prepping the meals and encouraging the kids to do their part, and for that I'm happy to see the end.  No matter what, though... what a fantastic cuisine to end on!  Indian cuisine is definitely one of my favorites.

I learned so much reading up for this meal.  The plethora of different cuisines within India's borders was astounding.  I was worried how to best represent this all in one dinner.  And before I even started thinking about what dishes I would make, I read this blog, which spelled out that the meal should consist of rice and/or Indian bread, one or more main dishes (meat dish and a lentil dish), a chutney, usually two vegetables (one ‘wet’ and one ‘dry’).  And then I was confronted with not just finding the right foods, now I needed to be concerned about 'wet' and 'dry'.  Thankfully this blog proved helpful, not just on the wet/dry issue, but I also ended up getting a lot of my ideas for the specific dishes to fix from the sample menus.

Once the ideas of the individual dishes started coming, I was on a roll and I probably went a little crazy.  I even ended up with two chicken dishes that I wanted to try... so just like Albania, we delved into India a few days early.  The Spicy Chicken Dry was amazing... and so fast and easy.  I have included the recipe below as an extra... and you really should try it!  It was a hit with everyone... and as it cooked, it filled the house with such a mouth-watering smell that the eldest kept asking to try a little bite before it was fully cooked. 

I knew ahead of time that I knew I wanted this meal to be our big blowout/celebration to wrap up this summer project... so I was prepared to fix a feast that would feed more than just us.  Luckily, we did have another family join us, but as much food as there was, we could have easily fed more... if only our house would accommodate that many people.

So back to the idea of how best to represent all the different Indian cuisines in one meal... I didn't.  It was totally coincidental, but all the dishes that I chose were from Northern India.

Starters:  Mango Chutney, Mint Chutney, Vegetable Pakoras and Naan
Dinner:  Aloo Gobi, Chana Saag, Dal Makhani and Tandoori Chicken
Dessert:  Kulfi
Extra:  Spicy Chicken Dry

Originally, I was only going to make the mango chutney to have with our meal.  Then I came across the idea to make the crispy vegetable pakora, and I read how good they are dipped in the mint chutney... so I caved and made both.  The mango chutney was goose bump good.  It was sweet, but had a bit of a kick from the red pepper.  I knew that it would be that good while it was cooking though... anything that smells that good cooking has to taste good, right?  The mint chutney was good, but maybe needed to be mintier?  I don't know... I guess anything that has to compete with the mango chutney doesn't stand much of a chance.

Mango Chutney

Mint Chutney

The vegetable pakora did not turn out like I was expecting they would.  I followed the recipe and tried frying them in the oil and ended up with grease soaked mush that looked inedible.  If the husband hadn't tried the batter prior to my attempting to fry them and exclaimed how tasty it was, I would have just given up right then and there, considering the pakora was the last thing I was making (and our guests had arrived).  Though knowing it had a good flavor, I just started over, eliminating the oil and just pan frying them in a little bit of Pam spray.  It didn't really turn out like the picture, but more like breaded vegetable crumbles... thank goodness the flavor was so good.  The littlest kept asking for more "salad". 

My version of Crispy Vegetable Pakora

The main dishes that I wanted to make came so easily.  I knew that I wanted to make the national dish of India, Dal Makhani (Spicy Black Lentils).  And when I read that I could make Tandoori Chicken without a traditional clay oven, I added that to my list as well.  The dal was really spicy... really really good spicy.  It may have been a might too spicy for some, especially the littles... all who tried hard to eat it, but no amount of milk quelled the fire.  Maybe I shouldn't have added that last chili pepper? 

Spicy Black Lentil (Dal Makhani)

The Tandoori Chicken looked just like the dish at the restaurant!  It was good... I think it would have been better cooked out on the grill instead of in the oven, but even so it was tasty.  The flavor was much more subtle compared to the spiciness of the dal.  The color seemed to be an issue for the littlest, but for once the color didn't affect whether the middle little ate it or not... he ate it!  We did get lots of questions about the color and why it was red and why it wasn't red on the inside... but he ate it!

Tandoori Chicken

Two vegetable dishes shouldn't be hard to come up with... right?  I think it was more a struggle of narrowing it down to just two and finding the perfect two that I thought would be best received by the littles as well as our guests.  So I stuck with two that I knew and love... spinach and cauliflower.  The aloo gobi (spiced cauliflower and potatoes) was the husband's favorite (after the mango chutney).  As an aside, the photo keeps distracting me... the turmeric colors everything orange and I keep looking at that photo thinking the color needs some adjustment... but no.

Aloo Gobi

The chana saag (spiced spinach with chickpeas) didn't seem to go over.  All the littles ate the chickpeas out of the spinach and left a little puddle of spinach on their plates.  I thought it was really good... I could make a meal out of just the saag with naan... yum.

Chana Saag

The dinner plate minus the aloo gobi... I just want to dig in!  So who wants to join us for leftovers?

भोजनोत्सव (bhojanotsav) = dinner in Hindi

The desert I chose was Kulfi, which is an Indian ice cream.  I thought it would be a nice soothing end to the meal... a nice counter-balance to the spice of dinner.  It was absolutely delicious.  It tasted and had the consistency of real ice cream, which I was concerned about since I didn't really truly make ice cream... but no one was the wiser!  I sprinkled some ground cinnamon and ground cardamom in it before freezing and just so good.  The littles all wanted seconds... and so did the adults.

Kulfi

For all the food that I made for this feast... I spent less time actually in the kitchen than I did for Argentina!  I think it's because Indian dishes are relatively easy and fast prep... they just have to simmer for a long time.  I need to incorporate more Indian cuisine into my normal cooking routine... just so so tasty! 

Interesting Facts:
- India has the largest number of post offices in the world, yet it could take 2 weeks for a letter to travel 30 miles.
- Games such as Chess and Snakes and Ladders were invented in India.
- Algebra, Trigonometry and Calculus originated in India.
- India has not participated in the FIFA World Cup, but has been the runner-up in the Asian Nations Cup.
- The national fruit is the mango, the national animal is the Bengal Tiger, and the national bird is the peacock (originally raised for food).
- The capital of India is New Delhi, but Bombay is the biggest city.
- India's population is 1,095,351,995, and is the 2nd most populous country in the world.
- The area of India is 222,243 square miles - one-third of the size of the US.  It is the seventh largest country in the world.
- Hindi and English are the official languages of India, but there are 17 other Indian languages.
- Indian currency is the rupee, and it is illegal to take rupees out of the country.
- India recognizes six season:  fall, winter monsoon, winter, summer, summer monsoon and spring.
- India has the largest democracy in the world.
- The Ganges river in India is one of the dirtiest rivers in the world, yet Indians still bathe in it, as it is thought to wash away their sins.
- In India's 100,000 year history, it has never invaded another country.
- The world's first university was established in India in 700 BC at Takshila.
- The official country name in Sanskrit is Bharat.
- Toilet paper is repellent to most Indians.  They prefer to splash water with the left hand, which is considered unclean and is never used for eating.
- Cows can be found freely wandering the streets of cities in India, they are considered sacred.
- It is a sign of disrespect to say one's husband's name aloud.
- Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism are Indian religions though all major religions are represented in India.
- All of India is in one time zone.
- On India's Independence Day, August 15, 1947, the country was split into India and Pakistan.